We made it home, and I told my father all about our time away. He let me in on the fact that he already knew what Dante had planned, he made short work of saying how he knew I wouldn't come back unmated, and that he only hoped we would get married faster with the complete mating ceremony. Even went to the trouble of booking the church while we were gone and notifying my mothers family.

"So now what? I have to start planning my wedding?" I asked and he laughed and nodded.

"Three weeks from now." He told me and I felt a little panic.

"Three?"

"Yes darling, earliest appointment." He winked at me and stood up before tapping the table. "I have an appointment. Be good, unpack, relax. Dante said he would be back within in an hour." I nodded and stood up, giving his cheek a kiss before going upstairs.

I laid in bed, cracking my neck, working my shoulders. I unpacked, put my new clothes in a basket before going right to the other end of the small suitcase and unrolling the bag dumping the clothes I had been wearing on the trip and made a half basket full before going to lay down. I was tired, I almost got used to the other time zone.

I curled in bed, dreaming about our wedding, thinking about how I would look. I wanted to look beautiful. Dante would be in an expensive suit, his tie would match my ribbons. I would wear a pure white soft dress, a green or gold ribbon to show what kind of man I was marrying, usually if it was another clan we would wear their colors and our colors would be in my hair and veil.

"Going to lay back and dream all day?" I felt his hands on my cheek as he woke me up and I opened my eyes and saw him lounging. "Look at those pretty eyes."

"Where did you go?" I asked as I sat up and rubbed over my face.

"To get you something." I laughed as I shook my head and he raised his hands. They were both empty, but he turned them palm facing his chest, touched his heart, then he pulled them away before there was a box in his hand.

"What is that?" I asked and he smiled and opened it up, the ring was stunning, huge, and yellow. 

"This is your engagement ring. I am having your wedding ring made. I had to give the jeweler I know the design." He told me and he took the ring out, pulling my hand up to his level and he slipped the gold band with the heavy rock down on my finger.

"It's huge Dante." I said and played with it. It was a perfect fit, but easily moved around.

"Shows every human who walks into the inn that you're taken, happy, and with a rich man. We both know men like a woman who can cook." He winked at me and I just got to the point where he was making me laugh and smile constantly.

"Did my father tell you?" I asked knowing that he was just going to the other side of the bed.

"That he booked a church? He told me before we left that he would look into it, and when he got back, he told me 3 weeks was the earliest he could get me." He told me and I paused and looked at him before we were both facing each other and he smiled softly at me. "I asked him to get the earliest, and he wanted to wait a month or two to make sure everything was perfect for you. However... I am rich, you want something, I will get it within three weeks." He told me and tipped my chin up.

"You're going to spoil me rotten, I don't think I mind it right now, but one day it will get annoying or I will want something you need to tell me no." I laughed and moved to get my arms up and around his shoulders.

"I don't care if one day you want a castle and a squire, I will pay for it." He smiled at me and I just laughed and shook my head. "Anything to keep that smile on your face."

"You're too sweet." My mind jumped to the last time I thought I wanted something, and that was babies. I would want some, but I wanted a long life with him. Maybe we would be able to adopt. Find some kids who were like us, someone who might have lost their parents, or didn't know anything about us and take care of them.

"You want kids even if they aren't ours? That's fine. Adopt or steal if we have to." He teased and I giggled.

"No stealing... unless it's from bad families." I amended and he nodded, leaning his head down and resting it on me. "I am seriously wondering what is going on in that head of yours." I said after a moment. I had seen something flicker in his eyes when I said bad families, and now he was closed off from sharing his thoughts unlike me.

"I could let you walk around in there if you like darlin, but you might get lost." He teased and I knew he was going to joke about it, but I wanted to know something.

"Tell me something good, after your long life you have to know some pretty good stories." I urged and he took a breath, thinking before his eyes lit up.

"There was this time that I was left on my own, I had been a prisoner for a man who kept me to build his fortune. They left me alone in this sort of meeting, and I listened until I got the details I needed. I was winning in cards, in stories, and in wo-" He cut himself off, sent me a smile before clearing his throat. "I was winning."

"Yeah." I nodded and he smiled before looking to the other side of the room.

"So I bet my freedom for the next 50 years of the mans life. If I won the next card game, I would be able to walk out of there a freeman."

"You won?" I asked and he smiled at me.

"Yes. I did. And as a parting gift, we were to become friends, and I would get half of all the money I made him." He told me and I just waited as he continued to talk about the winning hand, the deals he made for his benefit. He helped his former master marry the love of his life, he was godfather to the kids, and he made sure the line kept going. Even when one became mated to a Yeti.

"So... Charlie's parents-"

"I was a sort of benefactor to their business. Which was why they moved around so much. His mother... she wasn't the descendent, she wasn't a very nice woman. The man however, he was a push over, nothing like Matthew."

"Was that the first-"

"Former master of mine?" He asked me and I nodded. "He was. Human as they come. However he married a witch, which was how he knew about me, but she was lost early in life. She was the first love of his young life, but overall he found his destined human love." He told me and caressed my cheek and pushed my hair away from my eyes.

"So Charlie is technically a godson of yours?" I asked and he nodded. "Which means what? You have to watch over him and make sure he is ok?"

"No. I don't have to. But I wanted to. He didn't have the best parents. But sadly, I made sure that he was taken care of, and that he had fun in college, and he wanted to go into my industry, and I made sure that he was going to get the jobs he wanted." I nodded along with his story. But then he got a sad look.

"What?"'

"I knew my aunt was here. Yasmin's mother. I didn't know she died, and I didn't know that Yasmin was in need of money. I should have come back here sooner."

"She is fine. She has Charlie now."

"I paid my  aunts way through this world. She was banished just like me. She had a little girl I decided I wanted nothing to do with because she was half human, beneath even me." He sounded truly disgusted, hopefully with himself. "I was a sorry excuse for family. The only one Yasmin has now." He rubbed his jaw, getting a bit agitated and I brought his mouth down to mine. Kissing him slowly and making sure that he would calm down but the time I pulled away.

"She is here, we can have dinner." I suggested and he nodded slowly. "I can set it up. You can make sure she's happy. Not that she won't be. Charlie is making sure she is plenty happy." I told him and ran my hands through his short hair.

"Dinner... tonight?" He asked and I just nodded slowly.

"We can do that. We can go and invite them here, I will head to the market and get everything we need for a dinner of 5." I told him and he nodded at me. "Good. Let's get cleaned up and head over."

"Ok."

We got dressed, and he took his time putting on his tie and jacket. He looked very nice... and nervous. I knew it would be okay, it had to be if we were all going to live in the same town, work together... and be a family.

I pulled on my sweater and went out into the sun with him on my arm, walking happily down the walkways, and then we strolled up to their house. I rang the doorbell and before they door was fully unlocked, I felt him leave. I turned to see where he was walking to, but he was gone, vanished.

"Hey Lyla. You're back." I looked up at Charlie and nodded. Taking a breath I sighed.

"We both are, and one of us has come to invite you and your mate to a dinner. You know... let cousins get to know each other a bit better. He's a little worried about the idea, something about the need to clear the air, and about her mother." I shrugged and he looked back into the house before he looked at me and nodded. "We can do it tonight, or whenever she is feeling up to it."

"She's napping right now, but I will ask her when she wakes up. If not tonight then I can promise something tomorrow. I will make sure she is well rested. I want them to be friends, be a family too." He told me and I nodded.

"He disappeared didn't he?" He asked me and I nodded. "He does that when he thinks things might go wrong." He told me and I sighed and looked around.

"Good to know." I blew out hot hair, making it a bit smoky and he laughed.

"He won't leave you in a battle, a fight, but when it comes to feelings, he was always hard to read. I never knew why he wanted to keep me around. I was just a kid that moved around a lot. He took a chance on me, must have had something to do with luck."

"Or blood." I told him with a laugh and he looked confused. "You and Yazzy come to dinner, and you might be told the truth." I told him and turned, taking the stairs one at a time before waving as I got to the side walk. "See you tomorrow." I decided, waving he nodded back and closed the door before I was out of his line of sight and then all of a sudden, I wasn't alone anymore. "Chicken." 

"I don't do well with confrontation."

"She was asleep." I told him and he kept up with my walking before we got to the market. "They will come for dinner tomorrow which gives me time to marinate things. You will not disappear, or so help me you will be waiting three weeks to have sex... no, to kiss me again." I told him and he let his mouth hang open as we got to the store doors. "Oh, and keep up." I winked and grabbed a cart before going through the store to get things we would need for dinner tomorrow.