Page 31 of Immortal Bonds

It never had been.

Many times in his life, Thalric had jumped ahead. He'd gone the opposite way of which he needed to, because he simply didn't have the capability of doing less, of shifting his emotions and perspective.

His role as brother to the queen, as brother-in-law to the king, put him in a place where he had to make important decisions at times. His horde required a lot from him.

Was it any wonder that he struggled now, seeing his mate for the first time, to get himself together? One wrong move and he could lose his forever.

Dinner dragged on. Thalric listened and joined the conversation, but he would barely remember a thing later. He simply went through the motions, doing what needed to be done, focusing on getting his mate fed and entertaining his family, before getting some alone time with his mate again.

At least he hoped for alone time with him.

When the final plate had been retrieved by the staff and everyone thanked them, he watched as Creighton checked the time on his phone. He frowned, and part of Thalric wondered if that was because he was upset he hadn't received a message from his Daddy.

Thalric decided to test the theory. When Eden got Creighton's attention, Thalric turned and typed out a quick message to his boy through the app. He put his phone away and turned back to Creighton, the boy was already looking down at his phone and smiling.

His heart warmed seeing the reaction in real time, but it also burned a bit because his mate had no clue that he was sitting right there. That the person he'd been spending the afternoon with was the same person he'd been bonding with for months, for years.

Creighton responded, and Thalric could feel his phone vibrate in his pocket. Thankfully enough was going on that Creighton didn't notice the connection. He would have to check it later. For now, he wanted to soak up the in-person time he had.

Creighton got Eden's attention and asked, "Where’s my bag? I know I left it in your playroom. Can we go get it before I leave?"

Eden cut his eyes to his uncle for a moment and shrugged. "I mean, yeah, but I thought you were gonna hang out more with Uncle T, so I put all of your stuff in his room."

Creighton frowned for a moment but nodded anyway, as if what Eden said made sense. It didn't. It was a very obvious ploy to get the boy inside Thalric's space. He'd have to thank his nephew later. Spoil him and make sure he got whatever he wanted.

Although, given the two-mate situation, promising his nephew anything he wanted might turn out to be trouble. Thalric would think more on it later. He needed to focus.

"I can take you," he said to Creighton, who had turned back to look at him.

"Okay."

Creighton turned to Mira and Silas. "Thank you for allowing me to stay for dinner," he said respectfully.

Mira smiled, and Silas replied, "You're always welcome here, young man, no matter who you're here to visit."

Thalric scowled at his brother-in-law, who was quite amused. He had no doubt his sister and her husband had to know what was going on.

If Romilly and his mate Archer had been in the room, or even Hadrian or Soren, he might have been called out entirely. Eden was too busy playing matchmaker to care.

"Speaking of which, where is everyone else? I figure the newly mated are in need of privacy, but my nephew and nibling missing is a travesty," Thalric stated, coming out of the haze that being around his mate had caused. Between that and fighting with his dragon, he had to work extra hard to keep himself balanced.

Mira scoffed. "Well, Romilly and Archer are indeed still settling into their mate bond, of course. Those two are just adorable. Soren is pouting in their room after receiving news from the Fae. I figure that is who you meant as nibling. They will love that. And Hadrian is—" she turned to look at her husband.

Silas shook his head. "Hadrian is busy. He will be joining us tomorrow as he had a meeting tonight he could not ignore."

Thalric wondered what the couple wasn't saying. He also wondered why Soren was pouting, but the longer he asked questions, the more time he would spend around these people when all he truly wanted was to be alone with his mate.

"Well, send them my love. Tell them I miss them. You’ll have to tell me how Soren reacts to the nibling name. It only just came to me as I was thinking of their location moments ago." He stood and held his hand out to Creighton. The other man slipped his fingers into Thalric's with ease, like they'd been doing it far longer than just that afternoon.

Mira's eyes homed in on it, and she smiled. "We will share it with them, and Creighton — you will have to come back for another meal. You need to meet the rest of the children and the human mate who is now part of our family. It's only fair."

Creighton tilted his head slightly. "Yes, Your Majesty."

Mira waved her hand quickly. "Oh no, sweetheart, you can call me Mira."

Creighton's eyes widened. "I don't think that will work. That's too informal."

Mira stared at him, clearly gearing up to push her way. Thalric coughed to draw her attention away. She hummed, then said, "We'll figure it out. For now, just skip the 'Your Majesty.'"