Page 224 of The Heart of Winter

"I apologize, I was in a… turbulent state."

Father’s face changed a bit, becoming a bit more understanding.

"I can imagine. I’m sorry I put you through that… conversation we had. I was… out of line. And I didn’t know what really happened on the island. After reading the interview, I realized how wrong I had been."

Gaping, my mouth, I stared at my father. Wow, was he saying sorry? That was so rare for him. Winter stared at him too, obviously unsure what to answer.

"So. No time off during pregnancy?" Father was quickly back to being himself again, and I just had to roll my eyes.

"As long as my health holds up, I’ll be working," Winter assured him in a polite tone.

"Excellent. It will hold up. True Mates have their advantages," he summarized with a definite tone.

We all stood in silence for a while, then my father rubbed his chin and said to Winter, with a slightly awkward tone,

"I can scent yourAllurenow."

Winter slowly nodded.

"Well, yes, my bond with Sariel awakened it in me."

Father took another inhale and muttered something I couldn’t decipher, "Now I understand certain things… it all fits."

"Wait. What do you mean?" I needed to know.

He pursed his lips and patted them with one finger.

"He’s my High Mate, Sariel."

"Fuck!" I growled, clenching my jaw, instinctively pulling Winter a bit back to put some space between him and my sire.

But Father only snorted contemptuously. "Don’t be a child, Sariel." His voice was icy. "I never did anything, and I never would. It often happens in families with True Mates. It’s almost certain the relatives will have high mateship to each other. But nothing trumps the power of a TM relationship, so keep yourself together."

Winter responded with seriousness.

"I can confirm it. From what I know about my family, my brother Rain’s partner is also a High Mate for two of my other brothers. And Soren is a High Mate for three of them. So I’m not surprised at all, and I’m grateful for the professional conduct you’ve always shown around me, Jacob. I admire and appreciate it a lot."

My father responded with a firm nod, then he glanced at his phone.

"Now, get back to work, Winter, it’s already past eight. I need you in this company—my son-in-law or not, there’s work waiting."

Winter made a little bow with his head. He was far more respectful toward my father than I was, but I suppose it made sense. When he joined the company at nineteen, my father was his first boss and mentor. Their relationship had always been rooted in mutual esteem. For me, though… well, it had been a lot more complicated. Emotions, rebellion, and all that.

Now, I had to accept that my father wasn’t likely to change his approach toward me. He’d always been, above all, a businessman.

But I was glad he valued and accepted Winter. Our future felt a lot more relaxed now.

***

For the weekend, we planned to visit Winter's parents and tell them the news in person.

He’d wanted to call them at first, but I was the one who changed his mind after watching him closely.

When the workday ended, and we headed back to his place, we barely made it two minutes into the apartment before we were making love. It was just in us, the need to be close, powerful, overwhelming.

The whole time, I could sense a rising impatience in him, excitement he tried to futilely keep contained. I’d already seen it start to surface back at the lab during our bloodwork. At that point, the news hadn’t fully hit him yet. He seemed to be taking it all in stride.

Then came the conversation with my father. On one level, it seemed to put him at ease. But on a deeper level, the inner exhilaration grew even stronger!

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