Beorn's POV:

"Irene?" Mrs. Albreight knocks on the door, sounding almost hesitant. Irene rolls her eyes and hops off of the seat in the corner of the room, opening the door and smiling out at the older woman.

"Yes, mom?"

"I just came to tell you two that dinner's ready." The woman glances into the room as if to catch me in a compromising position. Irene steps into the woman's field of view, curtly blocking her view.

"Okay. Thank you. We'll be right down." She politely closes the door on her mother, turning to face me, a small smirk on her face. "Before we go down to dinner, I'd warn you not to get too upset at my brother if he's an inch too close to your sister. My dad's kinda rooting for him and hoping he found a girlfriend-I mean, we all are- so at least wait to crush our dreams for our dorky li'l Raori."

The idea of Raori and Jordi in any kind of relationship makes my jaw tighten and my teeth grit. Out of the corner of my eye, a steel picture frame rattles, barely noticeable but not inconspicuous.

I force myself to calm down and take a breath before nodding, the picture settling calmly again. "Okay. But if he does anything to disrespect her-"

"That's completely fair. But be realistic. This is my little brother we're talking about. He already practically kisses the ground below her feet. He'd probably let her shoot him before he'd even raise his voice at her."

I blink in shock for a moment. "What do you mean? I haven't seen anything like that..." Anger flares again. How could I have not noticed something like that?!

She laughs. "Raori isn't as blunt about it as you are. For a dork, he's really good at keeping his feelings on the down-low." She shrugs. "I'm his sister though, so I know him. I mean, I was the person he told about his first crush."

I chuckle lightly at the thought of Raori struggling to earn the affections of a girl. My expression sombers as I realize Jordi might be the girl he's trying to woo.

"...okay?" Irene's question brings my attention back to her, and I realize she's been talking the entire time I've been spacing out.

My eyebrows raise questioningly. "What?"

"I was just making sure you knew you'd have to set up your own sleeping mat... You're cute, but I'm not giving up my bed for you."

I laugh a little, both at her words and the parallels her words have between what I said to my own sister less than an hour earlier.

Just sleep on the same bed. No one's saying that you need to do anything together...nor is anyone suggesting anything...

A part of me wants to feel bad for being so harsh on Roari over things like that, but another part really doesn't care; even thinks it's the best way to handle the situation.

Yet another part of me is cackling away at the irony; me working overtime to scare a semi-respectable man away from the idea if my sister (though I must give the boy props for putting up with me, especially if his intentions are as honorable as his morals seem), and here I am, rejected before the thought's even crossed my mind.

From the other side of the room, I hear the quiet rustling of clothes and turn to see Irene pulling a dark green sweater over her tank top before shutting the dresser drawer and turning back to face me. "Let's go get some food. I'm starving."

We both laugh a little as she leads the way out of the room and down the hallway toward the staircase.

"So... Since it seems like I'm probably going to have to get used to having your brother around, is there anything that would be good for me to know?"

Irene lets out a bubbly laugh, her head tipping toward the ceiling. She turns and tosses a playful glance over her shoulder. "If you want to know so bad, just ask Raori yourself."

I shrug. "I would, but I don't want to scare the little shrimp."

Irene laughs again, almost derisively. "He's not scared of you. He's just showing you some respect."

I purse my lips and shake my head. "Hm... No, I'm pretty sure he's scared of me, at least a little bit."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but my brother can dead lift almost 500 pounds and take down people twice his size in 30 seconds flat. He's not scared of you. He might be cautious about you, yeah. But not nearly "scared" enough to change his decisions over that."

"Then why would he act scared if he isn't?"

"I'm sure you've heard us all joke about how borderline antisocial Raori was when he was younger. Watching the world go on around him without really interacting or worrying about his position in it let him learn a lot about how other people operate. He can tell what most people want even before they know, and he'll use that in whatever way he feels he needs to, so long as it doesn't end in too much collateral."

I frown and cross my arms, leaning against the wall. "So you're saying he's just playing along with what he thinks I want?"

"Not in the nefarious way you're making it sound. Yes, he's playing along with what you want- which is fairly obvious anyway, that you want to show him who's the big bad alpha. He's willing to accept that. He's always been non-confrontational, and this is his little olive branch; his way of keeping the peace and avoiding some macho showdown."

I mull over her words for a moment, considering. Two arguments pop up in my head at this.

First of all: Well, if he isn't really afraid of you or what you'll do, that means he must really respect Jordi to be willing to pretend and avoid any real conflict...

And second; That little... Why not just be a man and stop letting me walk all over him in front of Jordi?! How can he let me embarrass him in front of her like that if he doesn't fear me at all?!

I shake my head a little and let out a sigh. Irene gives me a look of mild concern before continuing to the stairs and making her way down to the living room. I follow her and freeze up for a moment as I reach the top step and see Raori and Jordi laughing at something. She seems to recover, wiping her eyes. Just as she calms down, a small smile makes its way onto Raori's face, and she dissolves into another fit of giggles.

I roll my eyes and loudly make my way down the stairs. In a couple of seconds, they're both watching me, almost nothing left in their expressions as evidence of their laughter but slight traces of smiles.

"That's right, lovebirds," I grumble, just loud enough for them to hear. "Knock it off while I'm in the room."

I snicker a little as a red flush slowly appears on Raori's face, and Jordi's cheeks blush brightly. They exchange an awkward glance before standing and following Irene and I into the dining room.

As soon as I cross the threshold into the airy room, the smells of delicious food greet me, making my mouth water and stomach gurgle. On the counter, I spy a pan of what looks like stroganoff beside a wooden bowl of salad and a basket of rolls.

"Mom, this looks amazing." Raori's eyes lock onto the food, and from the expression on his face, he looks as excited to eat as I am.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Dodge's hand snake into the bread basket. In less time than it takes for me to blink, his hand is swatted away by a wooden spoon wielded by Jordan Albreight, the strike marked by a surprised yelp as it disappears under the counter to its owner.

I can't help the small chuckle that escapes my mouth. I remember doing the same thing when I was his age, and I also remember my ¹moeder doing the exact same thing, with a bamboo spoon remarkably similar.

"Okay, kiddos, grab a plate and sit down." Jordan gestures to a stack of plates before grabbing the pan of stroganoff and hefting it to the table. Graham grabs the salad bowl and two plates, setting the bowl in the middle of the table, and handing a plate to his seated wife before joining her at the table. For a moment, the rest of us just mill around the counter before grabbing our plates and joining the Albreight couple at the table.

It takes me a second to realize Jordi has positioned herself comfortably between Raori and Willaw, almost perfectly across the table from me. Though I guess I don't have much room to throw stones; I've wedged myself between Irene and Dodge.

Everyone starts to dish themselves food, and almost instantaneously, conversation breaks out around me.

"So Dodge, how is your history report going?" Graham folds his hands above his food, his forearms resting on the edge of the table.

"We just started learning about...um...what's it called..." The boy's face screws up in thought for a moment before lighting up brightly with the found memory. "Oh yeah! They called it "early American democracy"."

Raori nods, then mumbles around a mouthful of salad, "Like George Washington and the Boston Tea Party."

Dodge nods. "Yep." He adopts a thoughtful expression. "But I still don't understand how he could have a tea party in Boston while crossing the Delaware river..."

Jordi laughs quietly, and Dodge gives her a beaming smile. I reach for a roll, but realize the basket is still on the counter behind us. I raise my hand, and with barely a second thought or any effort, the basket drops gently into my waiting hand.

Dodge lets out a delighted cackle of glee, while everyone else stares in a temporary state of shock. Jordi quickly recovers and glares at me.

Beorn! What are you doing?!

I choke on my bread for a second at her voice booming inside my head, then give her an innocent look.

What?! I just wanted some bread!

She narrows her eyes at me and grabs a roll, tearing a chunk off with more aggression than necessary. A large leaf of spinach suddenly flies off of my plate and covers my eye and part of my left cheek. I let out a small yell before swatting it off and returning Jordi's glare.

Jordan clears her throat, drawing almost everyone's eyes to her. She leans forward a little, a mischievous smile adding a twinkle to her grey eyes. "So Raori, I know you already had a story of how you and Jordi met, but I'm guessing that was just a ruse. But I'd like to hear the real story."

Jordi freezes mid-chew, and Raori chokes on thin air.

"M-mom!" He gives her a look of desperation, a blush creeping up his neck for the second time in less than an hour. I let out a quiet snicker.

She gives her son a look of surprised indignance. "What? Since she's going to be staying here, I would very much like to know the real story of how you two met." She winks at her son, adopting an air of slyness. "I want a good story to tell my grandkids about their parents."

"Mom!"

"Jordan," Graham warns in a not-completely-serious tone. Jordi has turned a muted but noticeable red.

"I just want to know, Graham. I'm a mother, it's my job to know."

"But mom, I don't know-"

"It's okay. I'll tell them." Jordi quietly chimes in, giving Raori a gentle look of reassurance as he sighs in resignation and sinks into his seat. I can see Jordan's heart practically burst with joy at how my sister's two simple sentences have placated her son. I guess she's taking her influence over him as a sure sign of true love.

To play devil's advocate, a telepathic girl isn't exactly socially inept. She could probably talk anyone into a calmer mood, or force them into one.

Jordi clears her throat, straightening her fork perfectly beside her plate to stall for a second. "We met a little over a week ago, after my brother had escaped. Beorn somehow found me and decided to come stay with me for a while. Of course, that was the first place they looked, though I do hope the effort I made to stay under the radar stalled them a little bit at least."

Raori chuckles and nods. "Yep. It bought an extra two days."

Jordi smiles faintly, nodding before continuing. "He came to my house with his little squadron of Retrievers, asking for any information I had. At that point, I had no idea who he actually was, just a man in an ArmorTech suit at my doorstep." Jordi shifts in her seat, letting out a sigh and taking a deep breath. "Then, the next day, he came back. He wasn't in a suit or anything. Just him and his chivalrous hope to help the unjustly oppressed freak and his sister." She tosses me a little smirk at her little chivalry-ain't-dead joke. "He even volunteered to cut out my brother's chip. I mean, that was after the initial meeting, which was pretty rocky, but I'd say they're on pretty good teems now. Despite all of my brother's bravado, I mean." The table shares a knowing smirk at her last line, and it's my turn to be a little embarrassed.

"Oh you two," Jordan gushes, making a cute face at Jordi and Raori. "You're both such a great match for one another. I can see it already. It makes me so happy to see my little boy all grown up into a good man, fighting for what he thinks is right. Fighting for the woman he loves." She sighs dreamily, doting on Jordi.

Her and Raori are both almost as red as tomatoes in their embarrassment, probably resisting the urge to grab each other by the arm and escape.

"Mom." Raori lets out a pitiful little whine; what I'm interpreting as a plea for her to stop.

"Alright, alright. I'll give it a rest." She grins again. "You two are just so darn cute together!"

I inwardly groan, seriously questioning if I have the mental fortitude to make it through an entire family dinner if the rest of it is going to be anything like the last fifteen minutes.

★★★
Call me selfish, but can we get a little celebration for the first ever chapter in Beorn's point of view?! :D

Thank you all for being so patient in my little hiatus, and please know that I hated every second of being away from Wattpad and being unable to write.

Aaaannnd remember; if you loved this chapter, please please please vote, comment, and share this book with your friends! ♡

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!

-ice♡

★★
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: mother