“We must feed you. I cannot have you withering away from a lack of sustenance. I have use for you later.”
“We’ll eat with my family, then I’ll feast on you later. But for now, I need a taste.” Unable to stop himself, he leaned down and took her mouth in a sweet, gentle kiss. A few seconds later, his wings shot out of his back again.
“Son of a…”
He tried to ignore his family’s laughter as his wings wrapped around them, shielding them from view.
Lyrica laughed softly. “You are getting good at that.”
“Don’t get too excited. I didn’t do it on purpose. It just sort of happens. But I don’t mind since I like having you all to myself.” He rested his forehead against hers and groaned when an excited shout filled the air.
“Holy nova! You have wings! And the rumors are true, you are fucking huge!”
“Vaughn, language.”
“Sorry, dad. But seriously, look at him! What in hellfire happened? Did he fall into a vat of chemicals or something?”
Gabriel sighed. “That would be my little brother.”
“You’re going to have to let us out of this cocoon so I can meet him. And why does he think you were poisoned by chemicals?”
“That’s something that happens in old comic books and vids.”
“Ah, those stories about imaginary characters. I enjoyed the one you showed me yesterday.”
“We’ll have to watch it again since you distracted me halfway through it.”
“That was entirely your fault, mate.”
“And you enjoyed every minute of it.”
She flashed a grin at him. “Very true.”
“Gabe and Harris are both mated to Xenon?” Vaughn suddenly shouted. “That’s totally frosty! Hey, Gabe! Come on out. I want to meet my new sister!”
When Lyrica pinched him, Gabriel sighed again. “Fine, I will let you out once I figure out how. But I have to warn you, Vaughn was born without a filter.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“It means this is going to be a long night.”
Chapter Seven
Lyrica had enjoyed spending the day with the Titan family, but after Gabriel’s warning, she’d been slightly uneasy about speaking to his youngest brother. However, once introductions were made and they sat down at the table, she quickly realized there was nothing to worry about.
While Gabriel and Poppy had inherited their father’s temperament, Vaughn was more of a free spirit like their mother. He was a cheerful, curious teenager, and he had a pure heart like the rest of his family. Vaughn had arrived with his best friend, Ivan, who attended the Academy with him. Ivan was a big male who remained quiet during most of the meal, while Vaughn hadn’t stopped asking questions.
Instead of being annoyed, Lyrica was pleased by his interest in her and the Xenon. Perhaps she felt a fondness for the youngling because of her own inquisitive nature and thirst for knowledge, or she could have been influenced by the deep love Gabriel had for his family. Either way, she was pleased that she had gotten to spend time getting to know all of them. His family was obviously important to her mate, which made them important to her.
She and Alden took turns answering questions about their home world and their journey to Earth while they enjoyed the fabulous meal that had been prepared by Dorian and Dima. Alden was a little less enthusiastic about the task, but he’d spent years being bombarded by her questions, so he was used to it. Gabriel and Harris also answered a few, though it was difficult for them to talk much since they both spent most of the meal shoving food in their mouths.
“Is it true you went streaking naked through the courtyard?” Vaughn asked.
“No,” Gabriel answered curtly.
“Sort of,” Harris corrected with a wide grin. “He had Lyrica’s cloak wrapped around his waist since he had busted out of his own clothes.”
Vaughn snickered. “Stars, I wish I got that on vid.”
“I’m sure someone did,” Harris said slyly, trying to look innocent. Then, he mouthed, “I’ll send it to you.”
“Gabriel used to love running around the garden naked.” Hazel’s dark eyes sparkled with amusement. “Every time we turned on the sprinkler he would just jump right in and—”
“I was a toddler, mom.”
“Change the subject before she gets started on the more embarrassing stories. It won’t end well for you,” Poppy promised with a laugh. “Remember what she did to me that first night I brought Dorian and Dima over for dinner? I’m surprised they didn’t run for the hills.”
“We’d never run from you, mate,” Dorian swore, stroking her hair.
Dima nodded. “And we love hearing stories about your childhood.”
Lyrica blinked her eyes up at Gabriel, and she sent him a sweet smile. “I’d like to hear more about you naked in the garden.”
“There is nothing more romantic than dancing naked in the garden with your mate,” Hazel said, blowing a kiss at Koric, who smiled back at her.
“That does sound romantic,” Lyrica murmured.
“Don’t encourage them, or they’ll never stop,” Gabriel ordered, making everyone at the table laugh.
Vaughn shoved some food into his mouth, then quickly chewed as if he couldn’t wait to start his next line of inquiry. “Are you going to be claiming her name, or is she becoming a Titan?”
Gabriel shrugged. “Don’t know. We haven’t discussed that subject yet.”
“We are fluid about name claims in this family.” Koric shared a smile with Hazel and took hold of her hand before saying, “I claimed my keeper’s last name since I never really had family connections of my own.”
“I was really close to my parents, and I also had the business legacy to uphold, so it made sense for us to keep the Titan name,” Hazel explained.
“Same for us. Dorian and Dima agreed to become Titans so we can carry on the
