That was probably as close to admitting he wasn't fine as Dad would come. Mom put her arm around him. "One of those shots was mine, Dan. And she was going to kill our little girl. We did what we had to."
Dad nodded before his gaze strayed to the bedroom. "You're dating a vampire."
"Um, yeah. Half vampire anyway."
"That can do magic?" He crossed his arms.
"Well, uh, he has these reservoir bracelets that store magic. That's how."
"You could have told me." He furrowed his brow.
"Honey," Mom said. "You would have flipped out."
He opened his mouth, probably to protest, before clicking his teeth shut. "Maybe."
"I can't figure out why George lied to me, though."
"Doc threatened him. There's a reason everyone is afraid of vampires," I admitted. George, Dad's werewolf friend, hadn't been able to figure out exactly what Doc was for a while. When he had figured it out it was because Doc had threatened him into silence.
"You're safe here?" Worry made him sound almost sad.
"Yeah."
"You're sure?"
"Honey, they're all in love with her. None of them would hurt her. Our daughter couldn't be safer, and if you hadn't noticed, she's pretty badass herself. It'll be okay."
"All?" He turned his attention to Mom, who simply grinned.
He dropped the subject. "Let's get dinner started. I may not know a ton about the supernatural community, but I do know werewolves eat a lot and I'm sure they're both going to be very hungry."
Mom and Dad headed to the kitchen. I pulled the comforter over Ed, thinking he would probably change back soon, and went to my room. I wanted a change of clothing and a shower, and if Nikolai happened to still be in the shower when I got there, well, that would just be too bad, wouldn't it?
∞ ∞ ∞
Ash made it home before the roads got impassable without serious magic and Doc gave up his spare room to my parents since it really was better for them to stay instead of risking the drive back down.
They ended up staying up at the cabin for a couple of days while the storm raged and then we waited for roads to clear. During that time, they both relaxed considerably around my pack, and my guys got more comfortable around them.
By the time they got ready to leave, I half expected some other disaster. Nothing happened though, as they headed back down to their bed and breakfast to collect their things and head home. With promises to call or text when they arrived home, they hugged me and everyone else goodbye and headed home.
"Well, that went better than I expected," Doc said after they were gone. He held me in his arms as we all watched the pickup head down the driveway.
It was still a few days until Christmas, but none of us were going anywhere for a while, except maybe the grocery store. My parents had decided to leave a touch early because of another incoming storm, so we had celebrated with them early.
"What now?" Ed asked.
"What do you mean?" I replied.
"Well, the Andersons are really defeated. What will happen next?" Ed glanced around at all of them.
"Um, well, I mean, school?" I shrugged. "Lots of sex?"
Allan laughed and Ed blushed but nodded enthusiastically.
"This is a good plan," Nikolai agreed.
"Adriana did mention wanting our help to face other threats like the Andersons…" I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
Doc nodded. "It's a possibility, for the future."
"Yeah, maybe after we're done with school. By then, we'll be so strong together that no one will be able to stop us." I grinned, but the expression fell from my face when I noticed Ash scuffing his foot on the floor, avoiding the conversation.
"What's wrong, Ash?"
"You're sure you want me?" He hunched his shoulders.
I stepped up the demon and slid my arms around his waist. "Ash, I love you. I don't think I've told you that. You're part of my pack, and we all want you. Can you sense that through our bond?"
He met my gaze with his husky blue eyes and slowly nodded. "I can. I just…I needed to hear it. I love you, Sofia. All of you." He raised his eyes to include the rest of the pack. "Thank you."
"We love you, Ash." Nikolai said for the guys. "We want you with us."
Ash took a deep breath and I brushed a tear off of his cheek before kissing him gently.
"What do you want to do now?" Allan asked.
"Tonight, I want to run."
Ed bounced on his toes in excitement and the others murmured agreement.
"Right now, I want to make up for the time my parents were here." I grinned mischievously. "And then we can see if we've broken the curse."
"Curse?" Nikolai looked around warily.
"Yeah. Whenever we have an amazing time, something bad happens right after."
"Oh." He headed for the door. "Let's hope."
Doc picked me up. I giggled, not protesting.
"Everyone, turn your phones off," Doc ordered.
Nikolai opened the door for him, and we went inside. Doc set me down so I could take off my boots and turn my phone off. I left it on the low coffee table my parents had gotten for us, and everyone else did the same with theirs. This time, if we got interrupted, they were going to have to knock on our door.
With that thought in mind, I sent a quick request to the house to discourage visitors. It pulsed with agreement.
Before I could head toward the master bedroom, Ed scooped me up, sky-blue eyes shining.
"I can walk."
"And we can carry you." Ed kissed me on the forehead.
The others followed us into the bedroom. Ed set me on the bed, and I scooted toward the middle so everyone could pile on.
Nikolai grabbed me first, devouring my lips with his. Warm hands heated trails up my back as Ash pushed my shirt up and I broke away long enough for him to tug my top off. Allan claimed my lips while Nikolai went to work on my pants.
It didn't take long before
