His Hybrid Archer

11 - Dinner at the Castle

Lance Kyle 

    It was amusing to watch Snow's reaction to different things.  Sometimes, her eyes would light up with happiness or excitement.  Other times, she would scrunch up her nose a little bit, but she didn't necessarily say anything negative when she did that.  

    Sometimes, her lips would curve up to form the cutest smile.  Other times, a satisfied smirk would appear on that pretty face of hers.

    After I gave my mate a tour of my family's living quarters, we sat down together on the loveseat in my bedroom and talked until my mum called us to the dining table.  Right away, I stood up and extended my hand out to Snow.

    When she accepted my hand, I beamed a smile in her direction, as I helped Snow to her feet.  We walked hand in hand to the dining table, and there was no erasing the wide smile that was making my cheeks ache.  I had not smiled that much in a really long time.

    As soon as we sat down at the table, we passed the food around and filled our plates up with the lemon tilapia, white rice, and sweet peas that my parents prepared.  As always, the food looked and smelled phenomenal.

    Snow and I had both just taken our first bite of food when my dad curiously asked, "When are you going to move in this gorgeous mate of yours?"

    I nearly choked on my food, whereas, Snow's body instantly tensed up.  I quickly swallowed the food, then I sheepishly mumbled, "I would love for Snow to move in, but I want her to do so when she is ready."

    My dad looked directly at Snow and point blank asked, "What are your thoughts on the matter?"

    Right away, she glanced at me with a pleading look on her face.  I reached under the table and grabbed ahold of her hand, as I comfortingly murmured, "You don't have to talk about this right now, if you don't want to."

    She flashed me a timid smile, then she looked down at her plate and shyly mumbled, "I need time to think about everything."

    "What's there to think about?  You are my son's mate and the future Queen of the werecats.  You belong here where my warriors can keep you safe," he adamantly stated.

    "Dad, don't make my mate feel pressured to do something she is not ready for," I stated in her defense.

    "Either way, we need to assign a personal bodyguard for Snow," he insisted in all seriousness.

    "Fine, but I expect whoever gets that honor to respect Snow's boundaries and not hover," I stated in a way that left no room for discussion.

    "Agreed," my dad replied with a pleased smile, then he put his attention on the plate of food in front of him.

    Throughout the rest of dinner, my brother and sisters took turns asking Snow questions.  The more she talked to them, the more her body visibly relaxed.  Most of their questions she had no problem answering.

    However, when my sister Alana asked what type of werecat she was, Snow immediately glanced at me with a look of worry on her face.  I took that as my cue to speak up and quickly replied, "Snow is not a werecat."

    All of my siblings eyes went wide with surprise, but my parents kept the same calm demeanor.  Of course, Alana didn't hesitate to ask, "If she's not a werecat, does that mean she's a human?"

    At that point, my mum intervened and nonchalantly stated, "Snow is a witch.  I couldn't feel her witch aura at first, but now it's more than obvious."

    Snow immediately tensed back up at my mom's words, then she glanced at me and worriedly mumbled, "I need to go home."

    "Why?  You haven't been here very long," I responded in confusion.

    "I forgot something important," she quickly replied.

    "I'm sure whatever it is we can find one here," I assured her with a smile.

    Instantly, she frowned before she adamantly stated, "No, it's not possible."

    Now, I was really confused and there was no hiding it.  I furrowed my eyebrows at her and asked, "What is so important that you feel the need to rush back home right away."

    She glanced down at her plate again and timidly mumbled, "I forgot to bring more of my elixir with me.  I need that elixir to mask my witch aura and scent."

    My mum was quick to respond, "There is no reason to mask your aura and scent around here.  Nobody will have a problem with you being a witch."

    I watched the corner of my mate's lip twitch a few times before a small smile appeared on her pretty face.  A second later, she nervously asked, "Are you sure?  I was always taught to hide the fact that I was a witch from others."

    "I am absolutely positive.  In fact, there is a special place on our territory that I would like you to see," my mum informed Snow with a twinkle in her eyes.  I knew exactly what place she was referring to, and I had already planned to take Snow there.  

    My mum and Snow smiled at each other, as Snow sheepishly replied, "I would like that if Lance can join us."

    "Of course I will be joining.  No way am I letting you out of my sight anytime soon," I assured her with nothing but honesty.

    Snow directed that pretty smile in my direction, then she cheekily remarked, "I like you, Lance."

    I chuckled at my cute mate and replied, "I like you, too, Snow."

    After that, we all finished our food, then I led Snow back to my bedroom.  I could tell she was getting tired, so once we were in there, I curiously asked, "Would you like to lie down with me and take a nap?"

    She nervously scratched the back of her neck, as she warily replied, "I am feeling quite tired, and your bed looks super comfy."

    Right away, I grabbed Snow's hand and pulled her over the bed with me, as I happily chirped, "It is very comfortable.  You are going to sleep like a baby."

    As soon as Snow climbed onto the bed, there was no mistaking the pleased expression on her face, as she cheerfully remarked, "This bed is amazing."

    I climbed onto the bed beside her.  After that, I draped my arm over her belly and pulled her closer to me, as I affectionately mumbled, "I'm so glad I finally found you."

    "Me, too," she drowsily murmured and snuggled against me.  

    There was no stopping my lips from curving up to form an ear to ear smile.  Snuggling with my beautiful mate brought me a tremendous amount of joy, and I hoped to experience lots of wonderful moments with her.