Only her focus on studying a dragon-shifter up close for the first time back in the ballroom of that hotel had kept her cool and mostly calm in that crowd.
But as Jose's mother pointed out one relative after another, and most of them waved to her, none of the usual symptoms showed up. Maybe it was because they were dragon-shifters and not humans?
Or, it could just be how most everyone smiled at her and gave some sort of knowing, almost wistful look she couldn't define.
Maria finally pushed her into a large, connected kitchen and dining room. While the actual cooking area wasn't that big, there was a huge table just beyond it, in the dining section. On top of the long, wooden table, card tables were placed along the wall, laden with more food than she'd seen in one place for quite a while.
It was almost like some sort of buffet restaurant.
There was everything from pizza to tamales to plates of fruit, and her stomach rumbled loud enough to be heard above the music.
Maria clicked her tongue. "Let's hurry up and feed you and the baby, Tori. I'll never hear the end of it if the others hear that stomach of yours."
She took a plate, looked at the array of choices, and tried to decide what to eat. After a few seconds, Maria asked, "Don't you like anything here?"
Victoria glanced at Maria. "No, no, that's not it. I just take my time."
She grinned. "Do that here, and you might never eat again."
An older man that looked a lot like Jose, but with threads of silver in his black hair, walked up to Maria and put an arm around her shoulders. A dragon tattoo peeked out from under his short-sleeved shirt. "Some of us have manners, unlike your family, Maria."
Rolling her eyes, she motioned toward the man. "This is my mate and Jose's dad, Jorge."
Jorge nodded at her. "Although my mate isn't completely wrong about if you take too long, you won't get anything. Dragon-shifters tend to eat a lot—you burn a ton of calories when flying—and there never seems to be enough food. Everyone will hold back for now, but as soon as you're not pregnant anymore, then all bets are off."
Both of Jose's parents kept mentioning her pregnancy so casually, despite the fact it hadn't even completely sunk in for her.
For the first time, she wondered if she wasn't already pregnant, would Jose's family have accepted her so readily?
The music suddenly switched to some 90s rock and a woman yelled somewhere, "This is war, Gaby!"
"And the girls are at it again," Jorge muttered. "You think that after they hit twenty, they'd have grown up a little."
That's right—dragon-shifters hit full maturity at twenty. Which, of course, brought up more questions. Needing a distraction from the talk of babies, she blurted, "So if a dragon isn't considered a full adult until twenty, how does that work exactly? Do human laws not cover them off the clan's lands?"
"They do. We have no choice but to follow them, no matter how stupid they are," Jorge bit out.
Maria sighed. "Don't get him started. There isn't much difference at that age, to be honest, when it comes to human and dragon laws. The only main difference is that clans don't allow our matings—the equivalent of marriages—before twenty, just in case a true mate is nearby. Some do mate without finding them, but no one wants to risk the younger ones regretting a rash decision to mate at eighteen or nineteen."
She barely knew Jose's parents, yet she couldn’t help but ask, "Do any dragons from PineRock visit the surrounding human cities to look for their mates?"
Jorge shook his head. "Not in recent history, although I suspect Wes wants to change that." Jorge paused as the song turned upbeat, and he smiled. "But this conversation is kind of heavy for a family dinner. Grab some food, Tori, or else my son will start lashing out, wondering why we didn't take care of you."
As she loaded her plate, she warred with that idea. On the one hand, part of her liked the fact Jose wanted to take care of her so badly. On the other, she wondered if it meant she'd never have true freedom again.
Or at least as much freedom as a human mated to a dragon-shifter could have.
"Tori."
Looking up, she met Jose's gaze and everything else faded away. The warmth and pure joy at seeing him made her heart skip a beat.
As soon as he was at her side and touched her lower back, a sense of peace came over her.
Hm, maybe that's what happened between true mates—everything just came easier.
In the next second, Gaby dashed past, out the back door, and another woman about the same age ran after her. Jose snorted. "Most of my family is behaving. Those two give you a glimpse of what it's like when everyone's not on their best behavior."
She glanced up at Jose. "I look forward to the day when everyone isn't on their best behavior."