Page 35 of Imbalance
"Oh, Jace," his mom shook her head, "you should have told her. I am so sorry. My son can be a bit difficult, like his father. What's your name?"
"Amare, or Ama," I murmured, feeling so out of my element.
"It’s wonderful to finally meet you," a masculine voice said as its owner came down the steps. "I'm Cyrus, and this is my beautiful wife, Safiya. I didn't think our son would ever find a mate, so this is fantastic news."
Ah, this was so incredibly awkward. At least with the other men, I had expected the reaction of their parents to some extent. With this, I was just being thrown for a complete loop.
I blew out a breath and looked at both of them, "Of course, it is wonderful to meet both of you, as well. We actually came to talk about—"
"And who is this with you?" Cyrus asked, frowning.
"These are my other mates," I said firmly.
Both of them frowned in confusion and stared back at me for a few moments before Safiya finally spoke, "But...they are pure-bloods." They made it sound like that wasn't possible...Actually, to be fair, this situation was more than a bit outside of the norm.
"I promise you, it’s the truth," I insisted quietly before looking at Jace. "Could we possibly talk about—"
"I think you are mistaken," Cyrus insisted, ignoring the growl that rumbled from Damien's throat. I had to admit, my mates were really holding back right now, and I was thankful for it. "You're our son's mate, not theirs."
Oh right.Because all I needed was someone telling me who was or was not my mate.Fucking wonderful.I’d reached my limit and exhaled sharply.
"Okay, here is the thing, I know who my mates are, and I promise you that is not why we are here. In fact, the reason I wanted to talk to you in the first place is that I—sorrywe—need your help."
"What's wrong?" Safiya offered me a soft look, touching my shoulder in a way that seemed maternal and almost had me forgetting what I was going to say—I wasn’t used to women being this nice to me.
"The Kingdom of Pura has been taken over by one of the houses in a coup. My father and the other royalty are imprisoned and unable to defend the kingdom. As the heirs to those houses, we are here to ask for your help. Please."
"You want us to help the Kingdom of Pura?" Cyrus asked, amusement flashing in his gaze as Jace sighed.
"Yes." I swallowed, feeling suddenly stupid for this entire situation.
"You must be exhausted," Safiya suddenly switched topics, almost giving me whiplash. "How about we handle this later? Jace, you should show them to their rooms, and tonight we can talk about everything at the ball."
"The ball?" I frowned.
"Oh yes. We have to celebrate that you're here. We started planning for it the minute we knew of your arrival." Cyrus’ eyes moved over my shoulders, "Of course, all of you are welcome to stay here and come to the ball. We extend courtesy and hospitality even to the Kingdom of Pura."
But I had a feeling they weren't so keen on saving them.
"Well, that just leaves me to show you to your room. Come on, love," Jace led me ahead, but I paused to look back at the guys. Jace sighed, "Come on. All of you."
Now, why did I feel like this was going to end poorly?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Ama
We trailed behind the prince of the damned hybrids—who happened to be my mate, and who I also happened to want to punch in the face most of the time—as he showed us to where we'd be staying for the duration of our visit.
This was just great. Nothing was going according to plan.
We needed to get an answer out of his parents, and soon. I would go along with their dumb celebration, just to ensure I didn't look like an arrogant prick, demanding something from them without showing them the respect they were owed as the leaders of this kingdom. But my patience was going to burn out soon.
It was hard to hold my tongue when their disdain for my other mates was clear as day, shining through in their mannerisms and tones.
Calm down, Ama. Just get through the ball tonight, and then you will be in a better position to proposition them for an answer.
"Ahh, here we go. This will be your room, Ama," Jace announced, gesturing through two large marble doors that opened into a lavish room fit for a queen.
