Page 18 of Emberly

“Ready?” he asked as he gave Emberly’s hand a squeeze.

“Yep.”

He could feel she was nervous, but he knew he’d be nervous meeting her parents, so he didn’t bother telling her not to worry. While he knew his mom would love her because she was his heart-match, nerves seemed to be a usual thing.

His mom was sitting on a couch, a pair of knitting needles clicking swiftly together as she worked on what appeared to be a blanket. She put the needles and yarn on the coffee table and stood, giving him a hug and greeting Em.

“Mom, this is my heart-match, Emberly Greer. Baby, this is my mom, Marlene.”

The two females hugged, and his mom said, “It’s so nice to meet you! Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Sit, please,” Marlene said, gesturing to the couch. As they sat, she said, “Can I get you anything to eat or drink?”

“No thanks,” he answered. “We’re going to dinner and a movie in a little while.”

“Sounds fun. So, Diesel said that you two met at Tails, and you had some trouble with your friends and their dislike of shifters. I’m so sorry that happened.”

Emberly nodded, telling her in more detail about the end of her and Chloe’s friendship.

Marlene gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry you lost your friend, but I’m not sorry that you and Diesel found each other. I’ve been so hopeful he’d find a worthy female to be with, and I honestly couldn’t be happier for the two of you. Your friend is missing out, because lions are pretty amazing. I might be a little biased, but still, it’s true.”

With a chuckle, Emberly said, “I wouldn’t have wanted to continue being friends with her if I’d known how she felt about shifters. I can’t imagine holding the actions of one person against an entire group.”

“Probably they didn’t like shifters anyway, and the accident just gave them a reason to put on the face of their bigotry. You’re far better off, anyway. Once you and Diesel have children, it would be a shame to expose them to hatred like that,” Marlene said.

“Mom, we’re not talking about kids yet. We just met last night,” Diesel reminded her.

“Oh fine. But I hope you don’t wait too long to give me a grandcub.”

“Grandcub?” Emberly asked.

Marlene hummed in confirmation. “That’s what we call them. Lion offspring are called cubs.”

“That’s adorable. But would you still call them cubs if they can’t shift? Diesel said that mixed matings don’t always produce shifting children.”

“It doesn’t matter in the least; they’ll still be my grandcubs and I have every intention of spoiling them rotten.”

“Pump the brakes,” Diesel said with a laugh. “First things first, I need to meet her parents, which I’ll do on Monday.”

He felt Emberly relax as they spent time with his mom, the two females finding lots in common including a love of crafting.

“I’d be happy to teach you how to knit,” Marlene said. “This blanket is for a mating gift for Duke and Ree. I was in the middle of another project when they announced their mating, so I didn’t get to start it in time. But I did get to ask what her favorite colors were and get yarn to match.”

“It’s really pretty,” Emberly said.

“What are your favorite colors?”

“Well, I like gray, actually. And peach.”

“I’m sure I can find yarn in those colors. I’ll make you a blanket when I’m done with this one. If you’d like.”

“I’d love that, thank you.”

“You probably need help moving? Your Uncle Teddy’s truck is in the shop right now, but I’m sure someone else could lend a hand,” Marlene said.

“Moving?” Emberly asked.

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