Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Coming Home

Asher

The day is finally here. A day I hoped would come but never believed would.

I grip Rose’s hand tightly, my smile so wide I couldn’t hide it even if I wanted to. But I don’t want to, and I don’t have to. I can show my happiness and excitement to the world proudly.

I walk down the stone path, the one my father laid out so my mom would have something pretty leading up to our front steps. Before, it was just a dirt driveway with grass growing in random patches.

It’s been a while since I walked this path. When I was younger, I would choose a color stone and only jump on those as I walked up the path. If I slipped or accidentally touched another color, I went back to the beginning. I’d play this with my siblings, too—a silly game to pass the time.

You have to be creative when you live in the middle of nowhere and can’t avoid fancy TVs or gaming devices. Honestly, I’m grateful, though. My fondest memories are coming up with the wildest, random games with my siblings. Would we have developed that had we had all the toys we wanted? Would our imaginations have been fostered as much?

I don’t know. But, even at twenty, I subtly only step on the blue stones as I walk alongside Rose.

“Anxious? Excited?” She asks, squeezing my hand.

“Both,” I answer honestly, tightly gripping the bouquet in my other hand. “Happy to see them, but nervous. What if they’re mad at me? What questions are they going to ask?”

“They won’t be angry with you, Ash,” she soothes. “They’ll be so happy to see you.”

“You nervous?” I ask. “We’ve only been public for a day, and I’m already having you meet the parents.”

She giggles. “It’s a happy nervous. I’ve never met someone’s parents before, but I’m excited to meet them. I feel like I already know them from all the stories you’ve told. They sound wonderful. I hope they accept me.”

I kiss her cheek. “I love you, so they’ll love you. They’ll probably end up preferring you over me, especially when they hear that you love board games, too.”

“Ah!” She squeals happily. “I’m so excited for family game nights!”

Family game nights.

Such a simple thing I took for granted when I was young and groaned over when I was a teen.

Now?

I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I’ll probably cry at the first one.

We step in front of the door, and I take a breath and poise my fist over the wood, but the door flies open.

“Asher Alexander! Do my eyes deceive me?” My mom squeals as she throws her arms around my neck, practically knocking me back. I let go of Rose’s hand to catch my balance and return my mother’s hug.

“They do not,” I reply. “It’s me, mom. I’m home.”

She pulls away, grasping my face as she kisses me all over. Her hair is still blonde and full, but there are new wrinkles around her eyes. Not that they change anything; she’s always been a beautiful woman. Short and strong, her eyes blue and kind. I’ve missed her eyes so much.

“Mom,” I groan, but only jokingly, as I hand her the bouquet, bringing a huge smile to her face.

“Oh, it’s been so long! My eldest boy! We’ve been worried sick! Held up in our house with those awful guards, then they left all of a sudden last night? Wh-What happened? How are you here? We have heard rumors, but-”

She glances at Rose, her eyes widening.

“Oh, Goddess,” she whispers as she brings her fingers to her lips, and I hear more footsteps down the hallway. “So it’s true? This is the vampire who killed Luna Genevieve? She’s really dead?”

“Son?” My father asks, his voice choked as he comes into view. He’s vastly taller than my mom, almost comically so. A mountain of a man with hardened hands from decades of labor. He has black hair and a mustache. He’s not built in a lean way; he lives almost exclusively off of a meat and potatoes diet. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that man eat a vegetable despite my mom’s incessant attempts. But I wouldn’t fuck with him.

“Hey, Dad,” I say, holding my hand out to shake, which has been our routine ever since I turned fifteen.

“Put that shit away,” he chastises as he grabs me and yanks me into a hug, gripping me tightly, his cheeks wet. I smile, patting his back as I squeeze him back. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too, Dad,” I tell him.

“Well, you two need to get inside before you catch a cold!” My mom insists as she ushers Rose and me indoors. “Mara! Twins! Carter! Get your asses to the kitchen!” She hollers down the hallway.

She smiles at me and says, “These are beautiful, Asher.”

“That was all her,” I reply, pointing to Rose. “You know I know nothing about nice flowers. She got a bunch and arranged them all fancy.”

“Oh, that is so sweet…” She trails off, raising her eyebrow.

“Rose,” she answers kindly. “My name is Rose Carver. Dame of the Crimson Night Clan.”

“And,” I start, smiling wide as I wrap my arm around her hip. “My mate.”

My mom’s jaw drops, and even my father shows a surprised expression. She’s about to say something when we hear a rumble down the hall.

“Is that a pile of shit I smell, or is Asher back home?” Marabelle asks as she sprints down the hall, leaping into my arms happily.

I catch her, rolling my eyes as I laugh at her joke. “Always a warm reception when you’re around,” I tease as she ruffles my hair, and I feel more arms fling around me.

“Hey, Cass and Landon,” I greet, kissing Cassiopeia’s temple as I grip Landon’s shoulder tightly. “Missed you two.”

Cass pulls away, wiping the tears streaming down her face as she whimpers, “Wh-When they lashed you, I-I was so scared! A-Are you okay?”

“Yes,” I reply, wiping her tears with my thumbs as Carter, Tobias, and Jaime bound down the hallway, the next to tackle me with hugs, crawling up my body, my own tears flowing now as they cling to me desperately.

“Everything is alright,” I tell my family. “I’m alright.”

“Is it true that Genevieve is dead?” Marabelle asks. “Is that why the guards left this morning?”

“Yes,” I reply. “Rose killed her yesterday. I would’ve visited last night, but there was so much we had to do to get things in order with River Run and other packs after Gen’s attack. Then we had to amend all the legal codes and bylaws to get rid of the barbaric shit she instated. Rose and I pulled an all-nighter to get it all done so we could have the full day with you today.”

“She’s a vampire,” Tobias states, staring at Rose curiously. “I’ve never met a vampire before.”

Rose smiles, waving at everyone sheepishly. “I don’t bite,” she replies, winking at Tobias. “Unless your name is Luna Genevieve.”

“I’m glad that cunt is dead,” Landon exclaims.

“Language!” My father chastises. “But, yes, good riddance.”

“Yeah, we are all thrilled she’s gone,” I say as we sit at the large table.

My mom says, “I’ll grab a chair for Rose.”

“It’s alright, I can stand,” Rose objects.

“Absolutely not! My future daughter-in-law gets a chair!”

“Daughter-in-law?” Cassiopeia exclaims, her eyes wide as she looks at me. “What?”

“Yes,” I reply, giving Rose my seat while I wait for the other chair. “Rose is my mate. That’s why she challenged Gen for the title. We’ve been together for a few months now. We had to keep our relationship a secret, which is why I didn’t say anything to you guys. But my connection with Gen faded a long time ago, and a new bond formed with her. We love each other a lot. She’s the one who helped heal me after the flogging, and she helped overthrow Gen. She’s the reason I’m alive.”

“I’m so happy for you, Asher,” Marabelle says, gripping my hand tightly. “When are you doing her Induction Ceremony?”

I chuckle, blushing furiously. “Well, we only just got to be together in public, so we’re going to enjoy that for a bit. But, soon. Definitely soon.”

“We’re glad to have you in the family, Rose,” My mom says as she enters the room with a chair in tow, handing it to me.

Rose smiles, and I can tell she’s tearing up, her bottom lip trembling slightly.

“You okay, dear?” My mom asks, noticing.

“Y-Yeah,” Rose blubbers. “I’m just happy you guys are so accepting. I was worried that cause I’m a vampire-”

“We don’t give a shit about that,” my dad answers bluntly, which makes me chuckle. He has the dirtiest mouth of us all and is always the one policing cuss words. It’s hilarious. “While we don’t know all that went down with Gen, we knew for a long time that things were bad. Especially since he wasn’t contacting us.”

My stomach churns, and I bite my lip.

I thought I hid it from them? Did they know something was wrong the whole time? Is that why they kept trying and trying to get me to talk to them? All for me to reject them on behalf of Genevieve?

My father continues, “You stopping by and meeting us means a lot. It’s obvious that you love him; I can see it in your eyes. That’s all we care about is that he’s happy.”

“I am,” I reply. “She’s the one who got me to leave Gen. I know I haven’t told you all the details of what happened, and I may never share it. It might be best to let those memories die with her. But, all you need to know is our relationship is nothing like that. I won’t be a stranger anymore, and neither will Rose. She’s actually been talking a lot of smack about how she’s going to demolish all of you at game night.”

“Woah, woah, woah!” Rose objects. “That is not what I said!”

“These are fighting words,” Carter teases.

Marabelle adds, “Winning at game night is a rite of passage in this family.”

Rose giggles, rubbing her hands together devilishly. “Oh, I’m ready. Put me in, coach.”

“You’re on!” My mom challenges giddily. “I’ll go grab some games!”

I drape my arm over Rose’s shoulders as I relax in my seat, watching her as she talks to Cassie about something. I don’t pay attention to the words; too lost in their expressions. Lost in the happiness and love.

I’ve missed this so much. I was deprived of this for so long.

But I can’t hold onto regret or resentment. That won’t get me anywhere.

All I can do is make up for lost time and never take these moments for granted again. And having the luxury of watching Rose so easily fold into my tight-knit family in a way I know is so healing for her makes my heart warm.

And while I’m so excited to see what’s to come, I’m glad to wait for it. I’m happy to let each moment move like molasses so I can feel every emotion and take in the scene with all five of my senses. The comfort, my mother’s candles, the dust on my father’s clothes, making me want to sneeze. Carter’s teenage acne, Cassie and Landon’s never-ending squabbling, Marabelle’s laugh. Tobias’ blue eyes that match my mom’s and Jaime’s eyes locked on my face as if he’s waiting to see if I’ll disappear, locked in this moment just as much as I am.

I know how precious this is. How rare. How lucky I am.

I’ll never take this for granted again.