“Lia,” Raiden’s father took her by the shoulders and kissed her warmly on each cheek. Behind the smoke and roast meat, she caught the scent of citrus and wondered if he and Raiden shared the same soaps. “It is lovely to meet you.”
“And you,” she flushed.
“And this is my uncle, Samuel,” Raiden said, and one of the other men stepped forward to kiss her cheeks with as much enthusiasm as Wade had. “Liam, and Seth.”
It was a ritual, she thought, the double cheek kiss. But she detected that each time, they inhaled, and she remembered what the book had said about scent. She wondered what her scent told them, and blushed harder, wondering if they could detect that Raiden had slept with her and what they had done together.
“I am sorry, I am probably not going to remember all the names,” she said awkwardly.
They laughed.
“Don’t worry, darling,” Wade assured her. “That is perfectly understandable. Take her to your mother, Raiden, and get the girl a drink.”
“This way,” Raiden turned towards the rotunda. There were so many people clustered around the table, she knew that she had no hope of remembering their names. “Mother.”
“Ah,” a tall woman turned from pouring champagne into flutes, and her face lit on seeing Raiden and Lia. Her hair was not as dark as her son’s, but Raiden had her eyes in the shape and color. Like Wade, she did not look old enough for Raiden to be her child.
Lia wondered if the glamour aged them appropriately. She could see its shimmer over them out of the corner of her eye if she angled her head precisely right, but as she could see through the glamour, she could not see its effect.
“Here,” Raiden’s mother passed the champagne to the woman beside her, and she wiped her hands off on her jeans as she pushed through the people to meet them. The others did not carry on with what they were doing as most people would have done but stilled to watch.
All werewolves, here, too, Lia noted. She was the only non-Other present.
“Lia,” Raiden said. “This is my mother, Diedre. Mum, this is Lia.”
“It is lovely to meet you,” Diedre took her by the shoulders and kissed her warmly on each cheek, breathing in as she did so. “Are these for me?” She asked with every impression of delight. “Thank you.” She took the flowers from Lia. “The herbs are a gorgeous addition, and these roses are stunning. I will pop them straight into some water whilst Raiden shows you around.”
She headed towards the house and Raiden continued the introductions, a sea of names and people stepping forward to repeat the ritual of kissing her cheeks and smelling her.
She wondered if they thought they were being discrete about it. If she had not read the book, she might have wondered why they were all sniffing her, as it was, she worried over what they smelled and wished she had put on perfume before coming.
Finally, they came to an end, and Ethan handed her a glass of champagne whilst Raiden dug into an ice chest, retrieving a beer.
“Come on,” Raiden put his arm around her and guided her towards one of the picnic blankets.
He leaned his back against a tree trunk with a pillow to cushion him, and arranged her between his legs, so that she leaned against his chest. It was very idyllic, she thought, to sit in the beautiful back garden in the shade of a magnificent tree, with the perfect family barbecue happening before her, and a gorgeous man wrapped around her.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” He laughed as he put his arm around her waist.
“I don’t think I remember even half of their names,” she admitted, laying her hand over his, and threading their fingers. She took a sip of her champagne, and watched the children chase fairies across the lawn with a smile.
“If you remember half of them, I will be impressed,” he replied comfortably. She saw his mother returning from the house, pausing to scold the children for harassing the fairies. “Tara isn’t here yet,” he added hastily as if to cover the interaction. “She works Sunday mornings, teaching horse riding.”
“So,” Diedre brought her champagne over and sat onto the blanket cross legged, with ease. “Tell me about yourself Lia. Raiden tells me you are a dancer?”
“Yes, in my final year at the academy,” Lia replied sitting forward slightly from Raiden, flushing. He pulled her back against him subtly. “Ballet, mostly, though up until last year I took outside classes in contemporary as well.”
“I love ballet,” Diedre was enthusiastic. “It always amazes me how the dancers stand their entire weight on their toes like that and make it look so effortless. Does it hurt?”
“Every time,” Lia smiled. “You grow used to it, and to keep your mind off of it.”
“I didn’t know that.” Raiden sounded appalled. “Why do it?”
Lia shrugged. “I guess, you are either a dancer, or you are not. It is not a bad trade off to be in discomfort in order to dance en pointe, so I never really think about it.”
“Dancers don’t dance forever,” Diedre commented, looking at Raiden, as if offering him consolation. “Their careers are very short.”
“That is often true,” Lia agreed. “There are some that dance all their lives or take their dancing into teaching instead. But, professionally, in a company, the career is a short one. It is very hard on the body. I won’t go into a company, however.”
“You won’t?”
“No. There are only a small number of positions available every year, and a lot of student ballerinas graduating.”
“So, what did you plan to do after this year?” Diedre asked.
“Paris and I were hoping to get into entertainment dancing. Small shows, in night clubs, and places like that,” she explained. “It is why Paris and I work at the club. If you waitress for him, Elior will let you try out for stage.”
“Pft, Elior,” Diedre made a sound of disgust. “Slimy vamp-” She caught herself, her eyes flicking to Raiden’s, and she took a mouthful of her champagne before smiling at Lia again brightly. “Sorry, I should not insult your boss.”
“It is okay, I have only worked two nights there so far, it is not exactly long enough to be loyal to him,” Lia replied.
“It is not the best place to work,” Diedre frowned slightly. “There are some unsavory characters there.”
“It is okay, mum,” Raiden murmured. “Brock and I will go whilst the girls work there.”
Lia glanced over her shoulder at him. He was watching his mother and there was an under-current to the conversation between mother and son that Lia was uncertain of. Maybe, she hazarded a guess, something to do with werewolf hierarchy.
Diedre sighed heavily. “Alright, I guess,” she said if her permission had been sought. “So,” she refocused on Lia. “What about family, Lia?”
“None,” Lia admitted. “I am sort of the opposite to Raiden, there. My parents died when I was six, and my grandmother raised me. She passed last year.”
“I am sorry,” Diedre reached out and put her hand over’s Lia’s, and, because Lia’s rested on Raiden’s, his by extension. “That must have been very hard.”
“It was,” Lia looked away, but a tear slipped free.
“Oh, darling girl,” Diedre murmured, squeezing her hand. Raiden tightened his arms around Lia and pressed his lips against her cheek with a murmur. “Any aunts and uncles? Cousins?”
“No one.”
“I cannot even imagine how lonely that would be,” Diedre said with sympathy.
“I have Paris.”
“Of course. And Raiden and us, now,” she added firmly, with a final squeeze of her hand. “Right, I will get you another glass of champagne.” She rose gracefully to her feet and took the finished glass out of Lia’s fingers. “Do you need another, Rai?”
“Thanks mum.” Raiden drew Lia tighter against him and stroked his hand along her arm. “Sorry,” he said quietly. “She had to satisfy her curiosity. She does not mean to be…”
“No, it is fine,” she leaned back against him and kissed the underside of his jaw breathing in the scent of citrus and lavender that clung to his skin. “She is lovely.” She frowned, however, her eyes going to the side fences. “If this is your parent’s house…”
“The other is mine, and Ethan’s is on the other side, Tara is across the road.”
The beautiful and expensive house was his. She was stunned and awed and tried to cover her amazement and intimidation. “You all live close together?”
He shrugged. “It is our way.”
Of course, she thought. The werewolf way was to live in packs, and this was the modern version of one.