Chase raised his brows. “I was complimenting them. Besides, you still haven’t had a mating ceremony, so technically she’s not your mate yet.”
Faye moved between Grant and Chase. “None of that matters right now.” She lowered her voice. “Just know that it’s about to get a lot worse. Prepare yourself.”
Gillian’s voice was soft as she asked, “How much worse?”
Faye shrugged. “Let’s just say that from now on, you might want to bring an extra set of clothes with you to dinner.”
Lorna’s voice boomed from the dining room. “Stop exaggerating, Faye Cleopatra. You of all people shouldn’t want the food to get cold.”
Faye motioned toward the door with her head. “That’s our cue. If you want to leave, just wink at me twice and I’ll find a way to extract you.”
“Extract?” Grant echoed. “You make it sound like a secret operation.”
“It can feel like it at times, you’ll see.” Faye motioned toward the dining room. “Let’s go.”
; As they all made their way to the door, Faye wasn’t sure if she wanted a calm, peaceful dinner or a regular one.
Her dragon huffed. Just hurry up and eat. I’m hungry.
Good to see your priorities, dragon.
Faye’s stomach rumbled and her dragon sat in smug silence.
Without another word, they all joined her family. She only hoped they didn’t send Gillian and Chase running for the hills.
~~~
Grant glanced once more at his mother and resisted the urge to pull her against his side to protect her.
His dragon spoke up. She will be fine. Mum needs to find her footing with the MacKenzies.
Only because she asked me on the phone earlier to let her find her way will I do it.
Good. She’s trying to be stronger. Let her try. Lorna won’t push her too far. She might be strong-willed, but she’s also kind.
Aye, I know. I still worry.
They entered the dining room. Out of habit, Grant surveyed the scene.
Everyone sat around a long table. To his surprise, the food lay untouched down the middle.
Then he noticed Lorna standing at the head of the table with Ross at her side and he understood. No one wanted to upset Lorna when it came to her cooking. At her fierce eyes, not even Grant would dare to defy her in this moment.
Faye guided them all to the remaining empty seats. Grant had expected to sit near Lorna and Ross since his mum had some rapport with Lorna. However, they were at the end with Faye’s brothers and their mates. Fraser looked at him innocently and then yelped. Fergus whispered, “Behave, Fraser, or I’ll do more than stomp on your foot next time.”
“Violence is also against the rules, brother. I say that makes us even,” Fraser stated.
Fergus growled. “Stop making our guests uncomfortable with your behavior.”
Lorna cleared her throat and Fraser shut his mouth.
Grant sat down with Faye on one side and his mother on the other. The second they were all sitting, Lorna said, “Tonight is a special night as we welcome yet another family into our fold. Faye and Grant have fought their destiny for quite a while, but it’s good to see they finally had some sense and gave in to it.”
“We weren’t fighting it,” Faye murmured. “We were merely growing up.”
“Aye, you were. But sometimes, it just takes the right timing for it all to work out. Still, let’s welcome the McFarlands to many years of breaking bread at this table.”