Page 7 of Mistletoe and Mayhem
“Avery…” he murmured, and his grandfather must have noticed he was back to normal, because he released him without Ozen needing to ask.
Striding across the room, Ozen kneeled in front of his mate, taking his hands and kissing the backs of them. “I’m sorry, my love. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Here. Have a drink.” Brody offered Avery a glass of wine, patting his shoulder supportively. He tried to offer something toOzen, but he politely declined with a shake of his head. His focus was on his mate now.
When a tear slipped over Avery’s cheek, Ozen’s heart broke. He hated seeing his mate cry. Avery was such a bright and shining soul. His smile lit up rooms. Seeing him so upset felt like the world had gone dark.
Sylix sighed heavily, coming to sit in one of the arm chairs nearby. Brody moved to join him, but Ozen didn’t look away from Avery, wiping the tear away with his thumb.
“Your father did a terrible job explaining things to you,” Sylix grumbled.
That comment got their attention, and he and Avery both turned to look at his grandfather.
“What do you mean?” Ozen asked.
Sylix waved his hand toward the two of them with a scowl. “Always so sure the worst will happen when it's just part of your biology. You’re in no way required to procreate. You wouldn’t be able to the natural way anyway, as your mate is male. It’s like a werewolf’s heat. It will pass with time or by continuing your line. There is no biological requirement. You could adopt, and it would have the same effect.”
Brody huffed, petting Sylix’s chest from where he sat in his lap. “That still happens to you and how many kids do you have?”
Sylix grinned up at him. “Twenty two. It’s a small number for an incubus my age, but I had my hands full with the ones I created. And I’ll create no more the natural way now that I’m mated to the two of you. You’ll just have to put up with me and my demands when the time comes.”
“I’m sure as hell not complaining,” Connor said as he moved to join his mates, sitting on the arm of Sylix’s chair. He was a sassy man in general, but his smile was kind when he spoke to Avery. “I know it can feel like a lot, and if you tell him it bothers you, his instinct to care for you will override any instinct to breedyou, but you’re not required to have kids. It’s just something that happens to incubi. I can send you some information about it. Humans really don’t educate their kids enough about supes. It’s like they don’t want humans finding mates.”
“That’s neither here, nor there,” Sylix interrupted, putting his arm around Connor’s waist. “No ranting about human rights. They’ve got enough on their plates right now.”
Connor rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, but he didn’t argue. Ozen would need to talk to the man more. He realized he didn't know what either of his grandfather’s mates did for a living. He just assumed they were all living the nomadic life that he’d known his grandfather enjoyed.
Sniffles caught his attention, and he moved without thinking, pulling Avery into his lap and taking his place on the couch, wrapping himself around his mate and burying his face into Avery’s wild curls.
“So… he won’t need to sleep with someone else?”
“Goddess, no,” Sylix agreed. “That’s physically impossible for a mated incubus. If there was another meant to join your family, you’d both feel that pull toward them when you met, but there’s no guarantee that would happen. The incubi mated to their own gender don’t suffer for being unable to procreate naturally. There are plenty of options for them, and it all has the same effect on a breeding frenzy. And if you’re not ready for a child, then you just need to wait it out. It can take a few weeks, and I might suggest some ointments to prevent any pain from the… demanding aspect of it. But no. He won’t need to sleep with anyone else. He’s only meant for you.”
Chapter Five
The relief hit them both together, and Avery slumped against Ozen’s chest, giving himself a few moments to just let the adrenaline run its course. Ozen let out his own breath, hugging Avery a little tighter.
“I’ll be having words with your father. He’s experienced breeding frenzies himself. It’s wrong that he never explained them to his own children,” Sylix snapped.
“That might have been my fault,” Ozen interrupted with a sigh. “I left the moment I became of age. I stayed with Taron for half a century while getting the company off the ground. It was easier to stay with my friend than argue constantly with my family.”
“Argue about what?” Avery couldn’t help but ask. He’d only ever spent time with Sylix and his mates, and while Ozen had mentioned here and there that he didn't see eye to eye with his family, he’d never specifically told him what drove them apart.
“My grandson is one of the few incubi who didn’t argue against limitations on our true form,” Sylix explained, his head tipped as he studied Ozen. “You’ve always been careful. It’s been a point of contention between you and the rest of the family since you were very young.”
Ozen nodded, giving his attention back to Avery. “There was a vote once, I told you about that, right? Most of my family went to protest. I refused. I still believe using our true forms in public removes consent. It’s why I prefer to live outside of this realm. You have to be in specific buildings to use your true forms in our city. If anyone goes inside it, they know what to expect and are agreeing to feel that way.”
That would be hard to find common ground with an argument like that. Avery understood both sides, but he agreed with Ozen that consent freely given was more important than anything else.
“Now that everyone understands what’s happening, I think we can return to the party,” Sylix said suddenly. At Ozen’s concerned frown, he explained, “As long as no one touches Avery, you’ll be fine. Stick together, and enjoy the holiday. Your instincts should be focused on caring for him right now and keeping him happy.”
“And I always have a few teleportation spells on me, just in case,” Connor offered. “I’ll get the two of you home in a snap if you really feel like you can’t handle sticking around.”
“Thank you,” Ozen told them, hugging Avery a little tighter. “I appreciate everything you do for us.”
They stayed for the party,and Ozen eventually apologized to Korath. Once he explained what was happening, Korath understood immediately and apologized for not considering that option. He still got reamed by Sylix for not informing his son about that possibility, but Ozen reassured him that they were both at fault for the trouble. His promise to visit more often was apology enough for Korath, who showed them a private room hewould keep empty just for them if they visited and things turned… amorous, so they wouldn’t feel the need to leave.
Ozen was still on edge, despite the reassurances from his family that they understood and would keep away from Avery while the frenzy was still an issue, so they only stayed until dinner was over before heading home.
