Alistair usually allowed his mother to natter for a bit as he let it roll off him. But not this time. "How do you know any of this? And how do you know what I want?"
"I'm your mother, so of course I know what you want. I suppose there are mothers out there who don't pay attention to their children or some such thing, but I am most assuredly not one of them."
His dragon broke his silence to snort.
Alistair's mum didn't even draw a breath before adding, "You won't tell me why your personality and entire demeanor changed a few years back. I always ask, and you avoid it. Maybe it's because you need time to overcome what happened—I suspect something extreme and unpleasant took place—but I've come to terms with that. Well, mostly. But denying your dragon for years is selfish, Alistair, and you know it. Maybe humans can take a vow of celibacy, or what have you, but not dragon-shifters. He'll go mad before much longer."
Damn, his mother had brought up one of the we-never-talk-about-it topics. "I'm not talking about my sex life with you, Mum."
She shru
gged. "You don't have to. I know everyone in the clan, even the newer humans, and have a fairly good idea of who is shagging who, when, and how many times."
Holy fuck, was his mother really telling him she had a clan-wide sex timetable?
No, no, no. He didn't want to know that.
His mum came even closer, poking his chest with her forefinger. "It's been more than three years. Any longer, and you could turn rogue, if the right set of circumstances cropped up. I've decided a mate may not be in your future if you continue on your own path. So I've fixed a new course for you."
Since his mother crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow, it was the cue that he could talk for a minute or so.
Sometimes he envied other dragon-shifters with mothers who didn't pry into every detail of their lives. Truth be told, only the MacKenzies had a mother similar to his, so most of the clan was fortunate.
Pouncing on his chance, he replied, "Arranged matings haven't happened in over a century, Mum. And Finn won't force it. Besides, Hamish and Graham are mated with children. Isn't that enough? What I do with my life should be my problem."
His dragon finally chimed in. And what about me? Are you going to brush me off, too?
Of course not. But you know I made a vow, and I won't break it. No sex until I find answers and/or a solution.
His mother huffed. "Stop being so stubborn. Your father was like that, too."
He sighed. "Using father to guilt-trip me won't work, Mum. He always encouraged us to find our own path, and having a mate and children isn't mine."
"Why? That's the one question I can never get an answer for. Why, Alistair? You used to talk about how much you wanted a family someday, and then suddenly, you never do. It's related to what happened three years ago, isn't it?"
"Aye, maybe. But I'm not ready to talk about that."
"And how long will it take? If it were only you, then aye, you could take all the time in the world. But don't neglect your dragon."
Alistair usually could hold his temper in check with his mother, but this evening she kept pushing. His patience snapped. "There are more important things than finding some female to woo into bed and shag. I have something important I have to do, Mum. Something that I need to solve, to keep the promise I made to someone on their deathbed. Can't you just leave it alone?"
At that moment, Kiyana stepped from the adjacent dining room into the kitchen. "Just drop it, Meg. He's hurting, and shouldn't be pushed."
He frowned. "What the bloody hell is going on? Why is Kiyana here?" He pierced his mother with a glare. "Start talking, Mum, or I swear I won't come over for dinner again until I'm forced."
Once his anger cleared, Alistair would realize he couldn't follow through with his threat. But for now, it made the most sense. It might also help his case.
And so, as he looked between Kiyana and Meg, he waited for some fucking answers.
~~~
Kiyana hadn't meant to eavesdrop. Meg had asked her to wait in the small office they'd been inside earlier, one that was apparently soundproofed.
But as she stared at the walls with exactly three pictures and tried her best not to look at the time every three seconds, she'd grown anxious.
After all, she was someone who, once they made a decision, tried their hardest to make it a reality as soon as possible.
Waiting wasn't her style.