Jesse

10

"Why did you hit on the one man that would help us?" I called through the pool room while Imogene relaxed in the steaming jacuzzi.

"I'm not even sure. I saw him walking towards me and he looked at me, I saw the interest, and then he saw Eli. And then he looked worried that we could have been together or something so I made a move." She told me and I moved closer to her in the room and sat on the stool.

"Drawn to him then?" I asked her and she nodded slowly. "Like a wolf would be drawn to his mate?" She froze and I smiled softly. "Want that divorce now?" I asked her and she moved quickly out of the hot water to stand in front of me.

"I will never want a divorce from you. I love you Jesse. Maybe not the usual way a wife loves her husband... but we have two sons, we have a history and I don't want that to go away." She seemed like she was begging me and I just shushed her and grabbed her face so she would look at me.

"I asked if you wanted one. I don't care either way. You'll always be my only wife." I told her and she sank to sit near my foot and leaned her head on me.

"Am I jaded Jesse?" She asked me in a soft whisper and I worked my jaw and tried to think of how to answer that.

"You are the least jaded vampire I know Immie. But you know what.... if you let that man get away because he has high morals I don't think you would ever not regret it. I think... he's your mate. And he knows it too. He reacted that way because you're a mother with a husband he didn't know anything about. Give him another chance. Stop being so stubborn." I told her and gave her a slight nudge.

"He's already rejected me once." She told me and I smiled down at her when her huge green watery eyes made eye contact and made me feel like I had to do something.

"Then I will encourage him to do something about it. But no more of what you did before. Actually listen to the apology and maybe accept his advances in a timely manner. He's old school. Like we were raised to be." I told her and she laughed lightly.

"We weren't taught how to be courted Jess. We have been together our whole lives." She told me and leaned back on my knee and I sighed but nodded.

The doorbell rang loudly through the house and she looked up at me. "I invited Aaron and Greyson and the kids. Thought it would defuse the situation to have more people." I told her and she sighed.

"Other people... your people Jess. The people who chose to be around always did seem like family after a few minutes. I didn't have that after you left. I was duped time after time and I missed how you would just choose the right person for us to be around." She told me and I just smiled.

That was the nice way of saying I was picky about who I let into my circle. Family was always in it, the cult we had joined because of one of my lovers didn't really sit well with me. But it did with my wife and oldest.

For now I had an entire wolf pack in my circle that I trusted and loved and will protect. Not to mention a few hybrids and a few witches.

I felt Immie get up and she moved to the back staircase. "I'll see you up there for dinner." She told me and I nodded and moved to get up as well.

"Be nice." I told her and she just sent me a smile and a nod as I moved back to the set of stairs that would lead back to the kitchen.

"Dad the Titans are here!" I heard Eli shout down the stairs as I walked up them.

"I guessed, your mother went up the back way so she will be down in a bit. Is the table set?" I asked him as I got closer and he nodded. "Good. Have everyone take a seat. I will cut the beef Wellington and move to serve as soon as your mother is down." I told him and he nodded.

He walked into the living room and told everyone to take a seat wherever they would like in the dining room and I sharpened my knife as they all finished sitting down.

"Need help serving?" I looked over to Jr as he came in and looked around.

"Sure. Your mother wanted a light salad so she had it set up in the fridge. Take that out there with a couple dressings." I told him and he nodded and made quick work of what I asked.

He came back after giving everyone a plateful and I saw him waiting for more orders. "You can take a seat. Ill serve the meat." I told him and he nodded and turned.

Before he sat he moved around the table and I saw Immie sitting right next to Greyson. He smiled at her and she struck up a conversation.

I looked to Mr. McCoy and saw him glaring at Greyson when she pushed on his shoulder and laughed. I moved quick and grabbed tongs so I could dish the food. I dished everyone two slices and then moved to give myself the left overs.

"It looked delicious as always Jesse." Immie told me and I sent her a smile as I took my place at the head of the table.

"You keep surprising me Jesse. I didn't even know you knew how to cook this well." Aaron narrowed her eyes on me as she took what seemed to be her third for fourth bite.

"I've never been asked to host. And I did make you something in college Air. You said it was disgusting and never asked me to make you anything so you took on the charge of cooking for the rest of the time we loved together."  I reminded her and she seems to think back to our sophomore year when we moved in to an apartment, that I had owned and rent out to other wolves and witches if they ever applied.

"You're not gay?" Mr. McCoy asked me and I looked back to him.

"I am gay. I'm sure my sons have repeated that to you. I'm gay. I love men. Well not men. I am atttracted to men. But Aaron is my best friend. I had gone back to school for another degree and she went to the same college. We've been friends since she was 17." I told him and he looked from me to Aaron and then Greyson.

"And the mate let her sleep in the same area as a vampire?" I knew he meant no disrespect but I looked to Eli quickly.

"The mates name is Greyson, and I didn't know Aaron was my mate when she was in college. Didn't know until we were finally back here. We both grew up here and she left before she turned 18." Greyson watched our guest and I could see he was sizing him up just as a method of making him watch his words.

"But you're both from here." He said it slow as he looked at then like he was wondering if he heard right.

"She left before she was 18. Wolves mate at 18. They get their wolves at 16. We didn't really know each other when we were in school, and before she left we would have never known." Greyson tried to explain and I knew that he was trying to give him as much detail as well as keep saying what they had already told him.

"So... you're not the same age?"

"We are." Aaron told him and moved to dish food for Lukas.

The entire table went from questions to just scraping forks and plates.

I sent a smirk to Greyson when we made eye contact and he glared. I just went along eating my food and I heard Immie and Lina talking about what she wanted to do with her life and I heard minimal conversation between Eli and Mr. McCoy.

Jr was eating with his head down and had sat on my right hand side, which I realized that was something he did when he was a child. He would be on my right, Eli on my left, and Immie across from me at our small table.

I ate just a bit slower as memories of their endless child chatter filtered through my mind, and I smiled at the idea that maybe I would have grandchildren to talk to me like that one day. And if I knew Lina like I thought I did, she would want just a couple. She loved babysitting, but I also knew that her upbringing before Aaron and Greyson wasn't easy, and she does have a bit of trauma in that department I am sure she never truly got over... but she would want kids. 

I looked to Immie and watched her giggle now at something Lukas said to her and then he used some carrots to make himself look goofy and she started to cackle and I laughed lightly as the rest of the table joined in. I saw Ryan watch her, his eyes lightly glowing and his eyes wandered her face as she threw her head back and laughed a bit harder.

Eli was doing the exact same thing to his new mate, and if I had any doubts that Ryan McCoy and Imogene might be mates, it disappeared with a very short stolen glance they shared and both darted away from.

I smiled and looked back down to my plate and tried not to think about what was to come in the fallowing days, but rather, what was to come in the next couple years.

Hell... maybe I will find my own mate. Vampire or werewolf I don't think I would care.