Rain was over the moon. His mate had agreed to meet his family, and more importantly, she said that she loved him. There was only one thing left and that was to bond himself with her forever. She took the news of the aging thing pretty well. In fact, her level of calm was a little strange. He really needed to thank Cassie for whatever she had said to make his mate so accepting.

They made their way back to the house and Quinn decided to play outside with the cubs for a while. Cassie ran whooping to her bedroom to take a bubble bath.

Rain used the time to text Fin and let him know that plans had changed. Once he got the thumbs up from his brother, he turned off his phone. The minute his parents found out, they’d start calling.

Luckily for him, they would start on Cash when they couldn’t get a hold of him, and Cash would remind his mother that smothering wouldn’t be helpful. Cash would also remind his mother that the whole clan didn’t need to be included for this first meeting.

Standing at a window overlooking the yard, Rain watched Quinn catch one of the cubs as it fell from the top of the swing set. She didn’t even look scared; she just laughed at the little one and put him back on the top. It was like she was a natural with shifter children.

Quinn didn’t put any human rules on the twins. It would have been a natural response to seeing toddlers climbing so high. Instead, she knew they could climb, and were pretty good at it already. She was born to be a shifter mother. It seemed that the Fates had picked a woman that would fit seamlessly into his world.

He knew he was so close to claiming her. It was a small step to a bigger future. She was doing so well, he almost was afraid that something was going to happen to change it all. His trust in the Fates had to win out. She’d already stood up to her friends, her mother, and was still with him. The last hurdle wasn’t his family; it was her trust in herself.

* * *

Quinn felt a strange sense of calm as they walked to the Rochon house. It was much like Cash and Cassie’s house, but it wasn’t just the outside that was similar; it was the glow emanating from within. It had a warmth, a welcome that called out to visitors and family alike. Quinn’s hand was clasped tight inside Rain’s.

On the outside, she was calm, but inside, the butterflies were fluttering in her stomach. She wanted his family to like her; it meant so much to Rain. He seemed so confident and she wished that she felt the same. The tension in him was for the opposite reason she felt. He was worried she would be scared off by his family, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Cash and Cassie had welcomed her like they had known her all her life. It felt amazing to have a sense of togetherness. Quinn hadn’t realized how alone she had been. Rain had filled some of those cracks made by struggle and suffering. His family just might make her stronger.

Rain stopped at the door. “Ready?”

“Just your parents, right?”

“No promises. I can at least promise not the whole clan. There would be more cars if that were the case.”

Rain pushed open the door and Quinn half expected to see a crowd of people huddled together staring at her. There wasn’t. Just a nice appointed entryway with a row of coat hooks along one wall and a table against the wall with a mirror above.

There was a decent pile of keys laying there, obviously the prescribed landing spot when you came in. Quinn took off her coat and Rain hung it up on an open hook. She’d dressed like herself, although she had taken the time to add some curls to her hair making it bouncy and not so scary looking. She had also put on one of her flowered headbands and was sporting a long sleeved brown shirt that didn’t have an obnoxious saying on it. She’d picked an ankle-length gray skirt to go with it. None of her clothes matched, so she went with subdued.

Rain looked handsome, as always. He walked out of a high-end store having been dressed by one those people that pick your clothes for you. She never understood that, letting someone else dress you. He was oddly matching her with a brown shirt and jeans. She wasn’t sure if he had done it on purpose or if they were already one of those couples that dressed alike.

Quinn slid her hand back into his and he started walking her towards the sounds that were coming from the other side of the house. They walked down a hallway that led to a large room that was long and had a number of chairs and couches. It looked like a place many people would use to sit and talk.

The long room connected to a kitchen that had the biggest center island Quinn had ever seen. Around it were a number of people. As they walked in, they all stopped talking and turned towards them. Quinn tried to resist the urge to hide. It wasn’t very brave of her, but faced with so many inquisitive faces, she faltered and gripped Rain’s hand tighter.

“Everyone, this is Quinn Sutton.”

There was a volley of hi’s and hand waves.

Rain walked her up to an attractive older couple. “Mom, dad, this is Quinn. Quinn, this is my mom Ruth and my dad Jeffrey.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Rochon,” Quinn said, holding her hand out.

The woman grabbed her hand and held it to her chest. “Oh please, sweetie. Call me mom and Jeffrey never like his name anyway. Just call him dad.”

The woman had dark hair that looked like it had been dyed, expertly by the looks of it. She had kind eyes and her smile was sweet. Rain’s dad was smiling, but he had tears in his eyes. Quinn didn’t know if they were happy tears or if he was upset by her.

“My sweet girl, welcome home,” Jeffrey said, pulling her into his arms.

“Oh, uh, thank you?” Quinn replied, having no choice but to give herself over to the large man’s embrace.

“Okay guys, let’s lay off on the hugging. She just met you,” Rain said trying to lighten the mood.

“Hey, I’m getting a new daughter, I’m allowed to be happy,” his dad said, but let Quinn go and she stepped back until she was up against Rain again.

“What am I chopped liver?” This came from a woman standing around the island.

“Princess Allison,” Rain said giving a sweeping bow. Quinn stepped aside just in time for the woman with curly dark hair to jump into Rain’s arms and squeeze him.

“You are a terrible brother. I barely get a text from you,” she accused as Rain dropped her back to her feet.

“It’s not my fault you only like to talk to fishes,” he replied.

“It’s just fish and you know it. I can’t help if the spawning cycles of salmon are more interesting to me.”

“How are those salmon? Mom said you were out on the ocean. How do you chase down salmon in the ocean?”

“GPS trackers, like the one I stuck on your car.”

“Haha, you’re a riot. Quinn, this is my sister Allison, the baby of the family.”

“Hardly, I’m actually older than Rain and Fin, I’m just smaller so they think they can boss me around.”

“You’re still the baby because you’re spoiled by the rest of us,” Rain explained.

“That’s very true,” she said with a smile. “It’s very nice to meet you, Quinn. Don’t let this lot scare you away. We really are fairly normal and only slightly overbearing.”

Quinn shook her hand. “Nice to meet you too.”

Rain started pointing out the rest of the room. “Finley you know.” Fin gave her a salute and a smile. “This is my aunt and uncle, Connie and Edward.”

“Our family wanted to come over but they wanted to stick us with the grandkids, so we got here first. You can meet them all later,” Connie said.

“Cashy is behind us, they had some kind of diaper slash poop tragedy,” Rain announced.

“Don’t call him that, it just makes your brother cranky,” Ruth said, slapping at her younger son.

Taking Quinn’s arms and tugging her away from Rain she said, “Come with me, dear. You look like you could use a drink. We have everything. Not that we’re lushes or anything, just well, this lot can lead you to drink.”

Quinn could use a drink and took a glass of wine that was offered.

“Oh, you’ll love this. We know the owners of the winery. It’s ever so good.”

“Mom, they’re family, of course we know them,” Rain laughed.

“Still doesn’t make it taste any better,” Jeffrey commented, taking a swig from a bottle of beer.

“You just have the palate of a fisherman. Too many years smelling stinky fish, it ruined your taste buds,” his mother said with a sniff.

The ladies took their drinks into the living room and sat down. Quinn nervously took a sip of her wine. It was good, not that she was any kind of expert.

“Now, I’m not going to ask you about your life. Nobody likes being interrogated so we will just chat about other things,” Ruth said, patting her hand.

Quinn let out a sigh; she wasn’t ready to spill her life’s story over a glass of wine in front of strangers. Instead, the women started talking about babies, work, and who was working where. The names were rattled off with lightning speed.

“Don’t worry, there will never be a test on names. Our clan is way too big. A snap of the fingers and a “hey you” usually suffices,” Allison said laughing.

“I’m terrible with names. I guess I figure if I can’t remember your name, I can always meet you again,” Quinn said with a chuckle.

“This family grows at an astonishing rate, so we are all learning new names. What’s your middle name?”

“Oh lordy, here we go,” Allison laughed.

“Actually, I don’t have one. My first name is Quinnlynn. Not exactly my favorite, but it kept me from getting a middle name I didn’t like, I guess,” Quinn admitted.

“Hah, see mom, nobody likes their middle names,” Rain called out.

“Hush, your name is meaningful, like all of my children’s names.”

“So, what’s your middle name?” Quinn asked Allison.

“After mom’s bright idea with poor Cash and the Queets thing, I got saddled with Denali. Mom and Dad were visiting another clan in Alaska and couldn’t keep it in their pants. Not as bad as Fin’s anyway,” Allison called out.

“Hey, don’t start telling lies!” Fin was moving towards them from the kitchen. The men had been pretending to talk, but were obviously keeping tabs on the conversation in the living room.

“It’s not a lie. It’s on your birth certificate, genius,” Rain taunted.

“Mom and dad needed to start acting like normal parents and only doing that stuff at home,” Fin growled.

“Why, so we could all have the same middle name?” Allison mocked.

“Finley Moclips Rochon, you need to take pride in your name. It’s a strong proud name,” his mother chided.

“Mom, I hardly think the Kelpers Parade is a worthy enough reason to name your child after a beach,” Fin said in a slightly whiny voice.

“I certainly had fun,” his father said from the kitchen.

The group burst out laughing at poor Finley’s expense. “Don’t worry Fin-Mo, we still love you,” Allison called out.

“Fin-Mo?”

“You’re family now, Quinn, you can call him that when he gets out of line,” Rain said to her.

“Kinda like Nemo, just less scary.” This came from Cash as he was walking through the door with a baby in his arms.

The family all got up and passed around babies and hugs. Cassie was hidden behind Cash and handed off Jett as soon as she made it past the wall of giants. The whole family was on the tall side compared to Quinn and Cassie.

Quinn found herself being dogpiled by babies since she was the new shiny one to play with. After a little while, she found herself relaxing. The family had wrapped her in a web of love and acceptance that was so light that she barely felt it, but strong enough to lean on if she needed it. The Rochons did this like it was second nature. She couldn’t help but ask Cassie why they weren’t giving her the third degree like any family would about a new girlfriend.

“You’re not a girlfriend. You’re a mate. They would never question or doubt what the Fates were thinking when they picked you. Whoever you are, you are the perfect match for Rain. It doesn’t make sense to us, because we know that too many people out there suck ass and are horrible. The bears? They believe that the Fates have nothing but their best interests at heart.

It’s why Rain would never doubt that you are the one for him. And trust me, as I say this from experience, whatever you think about yourself that is bad or opposite of Rain, you are exactly what he needs. And believe it or not, what he is will make you a better person. You are perfect for him the way you are and he for you. Being mates means you get to grow together, building off of one another.”

Cassie was looking at her so seriously, that Quinn started to feel uncomfortable. Mostly because what she was saying was making sense, and what she was saying mimicked what Quinn was feeling.

“Shit, I’m sorry, that was deep. It’s the damn bears, they are always so earnest and forthright that it squashes some of my natural sarcasm,” Cassie said, shaking herself like there was something on her skin.

“It’s okay. I’ve found myself pondering life a hell of a lot more since I met Rain.”

“One other piece of advice and I’ll let you figure the rest out yourself,” Cassie started quietly. The rest of the family had moved off, giving them some privacy.

“You will never regret bonding with Rain. Forget the bite, it’s totally fucking hot, believe me. It may sound creepy, but it’s not. The connection you get with him after, damn, it’s like body snatchers. Sometimes I swear that I can feel what Cash is feeling, and let me tell you, that man loves me something deep.

If you get that with Rain, you will never doubt for a second that he is devoted to you and thinks you are the sexiest woman alive and that he would die for you. It’s not bad for the confidence, let me tell you.”

Quinn looked over her shoulder. Rain was in the kitchen laughing with his brother, his face was so relaxed. Being in the middle of his family was where he seemed to fit in the best. She could see now that college was a means to an end for him. He belonged here.

Quinn felt a light bulb go off in her mind. She wanted to belong here too. To have family surrounding her every day. To have people she could count on no matter what was going on, someone to always have her back. It was like being handed the keys to the kingdom and all she had to do, was accept a man that said he loved her and wanted no one but her for the rest of his life.

Only a sucker would turn that kind of deal down.