“It’s lovely to meet you properly. I see you’ve managed to tame my brothers.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
Arabella laughed lightly. “I’m not sure, I haven’t seen Cyprus this relaxed in years. He couldn’t stop talking about you the other day.”
A blush rose on Aledwen’s cheeks. She knew exactly what that compliment meant. Especially as Brandon had told her Arabella was the only person Cyprus had actually talked to. Before her anyway. The thought of which just filled her with pride.
The other woman began to lead her down the hall, past a photo of what must have been the Reed parents.
“Arabella...”
“Hmm? Call me Ari,” she corrected her. “Everyone else does, it’s just easier.”
“Ari, do your parents know about our...situation?” She grasped at words, not quite knowing how to describe what she had with her men. They really should make a term for it. Then again, maybe they had in fiction.
“I don’t think so. They know Cyprus is bringing someone, but I don’t think they’ve ever twigged that he and Brandon have done the sharing thing.”
“So they’ve done it before?” Aledwen’s curiosity was piqued, and she longed to know more. Though this was probably something she should be hearing from the twins and not their sister. Maybe.
“Yes, though it went a little wrong, hence why Cyprus is...well, Cyprus.”
“I’m sure they’ll tell me one day,” Aledwen said diplomatically, hoping it would convey to Ari that she wasn’t going to pry until the men were ready for her to.
“Oh they definitely will. But there’ll be a lot for you to learn now. They told me one of your other mates is a dragon? That’s going to be a lot of new skills.”
“What do you mean?” She was slightly alarmed. What new skills could the other woman possibly be talking about.
“Shifting?”
“I’m not a shifter.”
“Not yet, no.” Ari laughed a little, but not unkindly. More in a couldn’t-believe-no-one-had-said-anything way. “If you’re mated to three shifters, then you’ll gain shifting powers. And I must say, I’m fascinated to see how that one turns out. Will you just be a fox or just a dragon? Or some weird dragon-fox hybrid? Oh the possibilities!”
“A dragox?” Aledwen asked, bewildered.
“If that’s what you’re going to turn out to be, we’re definitely coming up with a better name for it,” Ari said, giggling slightly, and infecting Aledwen with the same joyousness.
“Oh definitely, that’s a rubbish name. But it sounds better than fogan.”
“You’re right, I’ll have to give you that one.”
The two women entered the dining room, still both giggling away.
“Mum, Dad, this is Aledwen. Aledwen, this is my Mum, Diana, and my Dad, George.”
Aledwen thought it was a little odd that it was Ari introducing the her to them, and not one of the twins, but she went with it. Maybe this was their way of easing them all into the multiple mates thing.
Dinner went surprisingly well, unless she counted the surreptitious touches the twins kept giving her under the table. Whoever had decided to seat them on either side of her, hadn’t taken into account that the two of them would do just about anything they weren’t supposed to.
Even so, it was making her smile. That, and the fact her men were right. She and Ari really did get on well. She was impressed by the female shifter’s intelligence, and the fact she held such a high position politically.
“Have you ever thought of trying for a position on the High Council?” Aledwen asked before taking a bite of the delicious dessert Diana Reed had made.
“Yes, but I don’t think it’s for
me. A lot of shifters still need me, and I don’t think I could abandon them.”
“Not yet, anyway,” her mate, Bjorn, added with a smile. “Just wait another few years and she’ll have changed her mind.”