“Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t call you before. I had to work some things out.”

Finley had called his parents to discuss them coming to Seattle to meet Zara. His mother, although happy, still owed him a ration of shit for telling her later than his brothers.

“That’s what you all say! You act like we are going to come storming in with balloons and a welcome cake. By the way what flavor does she like?”

“You’re a laugh riot. I got her to agree to meet you and the family. Let’s not scare her off, please?”

“Scare her off! How dare you. I’ll have you know that I was an absolute angel to Cassie and to Quinn. Neither of them would give me a bad mother-in-law review.”

“Oh, do you have your own Yelp page now?”

“Smartass. Anyway, is Cash bringing the kids?”

“Yes, I told him he might as well since she knows about them. It might help my case a little.”

“You and your brother using those poor babies as chick bait. You should be ashamed of yourself. My darling grandbabies being used so you can get some tail.”

“Mom! Seriously? Tail?”

“Oh, like I don’t know. Fine, no balloons, but I can’t promise I won’t bring cake. The babies love cake.”

“You mean Cassie loves cake and you are always trying to fatten her up.”

“To no avail. That girl is like a human dumpster. She should weigh four hundred pounds instead of her whopping one hundred. Okay, what time and where?”

Finley gave his mother the address. He’d rented a place called Beecher’s Loft in the Pike Place Market that was set up like a condo. You could rent it for the night and he planned on having a private event, catered for the family. Then he and Zara could spend the night. It seemed like a perfect plan.

The problem with her parents wasn’t so easy. He didn’t want to step on her toes. It was her family and he had no place interfering. The other side was that the current situation with her parents was causing her stress and he didn’t like that.

He had a few options all of them seemed fraught with problems. Fin could invite them for brunch on Sunday morning at the loft. But then they would know they spent the night together. Which of course they would, but didn’t help his cause. Second, he could show up at her house with flowers for her mother and introduce himself. That might not go as well either, but at least the introductions would be over with.

Third, he could wait for her to sort it out and introduce him to her family. Obviously the smartest option, but potentially the slowest too. Fin wanted to start his life now. Being with his mate had woken something in him that was downright feral. She was his; he wanted her on their scheduled life path, not someone else’s. He wanted to be able to see her when he wanted, sleep with her when he wanted, and keep her safe under his watch.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her parents. They had kept her alive this long, but now it was his responsibility to secure her future. He wanted that job and he needed to do it.

His family was easy. They would love her because he loved her. Humans were much more complicated. True, he might not seem like catch on paper, but then he had other admirable qualities. Mostly that he loved their daughter.

His bear had also been reminding him that as long as she lived at home, it would be an issue with their bonding. When she agreed to be his forever and had all the facts that went with that, he wouldn’t be able to stand her sleeping apart from him. It was a huge obstacle and he needed to figure out a solution.

It might be time for him to find a place to live on his own, out of the dorms. Possibly something close enough to campus so that Zara could commute easily. Someplace he could wrap her up in a cocoon of his own making.

If he couldn’t drag her away to his den, maybe he could drag her away to his condo.

Calling his mom back, he made his request short and sweet.

“What now? I didn’t order balloons I swear, just some flower arrangements that will be delivered to the loft on Saturday.”

“Fine, that’s nice. Thanks, Mom. Actually, I have another task for you.”

“You know I want to help you, honey.”

“Can you find me a place to live?”

“A place to live? Besides the dorms and home?”

“Yes, I need two bedrooms so we can use one as an office, close to campus.”

“Honey, did she already agree to move in with you?”

“No, but I’m going to make it look as appealing as possible. She lives at home with her parents and that is not going to work out well for me.”

“You know I love buying real estate!”

“Not buy, just lease. I don’t know where we’ll end up for her residency.”

“Oh, pish, like we won’t have more kids going through school. If I find something I like I’m buying it.”

“Mom, use my trust fund, please. Just lease.”

“Can’t make promises. If I can’t find something I’d buy, I’ll use your money to lease.”

“Thank you, I appreciate your help.”

“Of course, Finley. I’ll get your sister to decorate. She’s got an eye for it lately.”

“I thought she was on a boat in Alaska?”

“She’s back. I’ll tell you all about it later. Go, find your mate and tell her we are excited to meet her.”

“Will do.”

Finley hung up and felt the satisfaction of his bear. He liked the idea of making a home for them. Even if she didn’t want to move in right away, it would be a better place for them to enjoy their mate than a noisy dorm.