The Fox’s Tale

Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair were waiting for us in the foyer of their home when Ellery and I came downstairs the next morning. I’d changed my mind about what to wear three times before Ellery had taken control and selected something for me. As we walked towards them I wished she had picked a sweater instead of a button down shirt. The collar felt tight.

“Xander!” Mr. Sinclair’s voice boomed through the room. “It is such a pleasure to meet you son. Welcome to House Sinclair.” He shook my hand and then thumped me on the shoulder.

“I’m sure Ellery has told you that we’ve had our eye on you for a while so we’re all thrilled to have you with us at last. You’ll have to take extra good care of our girl.”

“Papa,” Ellery chided, embarrassed.

“Don’t worry sir, I plan to,” I managed. Mrs. Sinclair chose that moment to hug me which caused me to make an oophing sound in response.

“I can’t tell you how relieved we are now that you and Ellery have claimed each other. I hope you found everything in your apartment to be to your liking. If not, just tell the house and it will get fixed.”

“Right, okay.” I took a deep breath to steady myself. After another look at Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair I realized that all the boys most closely resembled their dad, with Ethan being almost a carbon copy. I wondered what Ellery’s mother’s family looked like to combat such a strong genetic influence.

“That reminds me Xander; your car is currently in the shop getting outfitted with some extra defensive precautions. It will be ready by Monday,” explained Mr. Sinclair.

“Okay, thanks. Um, what shall I call you both?” I resisted the urge to rub my palms against my pants.

“Call me Liz. We aren’t into formalities, especially not at home.”

“Trey is fine. The only time we use our fancy titles is during court functions. This is family. Speaking of which,” he paused and the doorbell rang. “I believe that will be your parents.”

He strode to the door and threw it open. “Max! Good to see you.” He pumped my dad’s hand in a vigorous handshake. “Katya, you look lovely as always.” He kissed her cheek and then stepped aside to let my parents in.

My mom broke into a grin the moment she spotted me. She scurried across the foyer and grabbed me into a hug. “Oh, she’s just a friend, Mom. Ha! I knew it! I knew it!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I hugged her back. “You were right, Mom.” Ellery hung back, unsure of what to do or say. I reached a hand out for hers. “This is Ellery. Ellery, this is my mother, Ekaterina Vos.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Vos,” Ellery began and then Mom had her in a hug, cutting off whatever else Ellery was going to say.

“Please call me Katya.” Mom let Ellery go and beamed at her. “My word, but you’re gorgeous.” She squeaked in excitement. “Oh Max, just imagine the babies!”

“Mom!”

“Katya!” Dad looked almost as embarrassed as I felt.

Ellery turned pink. “Babies are still off in the future. I’m a year behind Alexander in school.”

My mom linked her arm with Ellery’s. “Of course, of course, but he’s my only child so I’m terribly excited for the future.”

I shot Dad a panicked look and he just shook his head in sympathy. He patted me on the arm. “At least you’ll have a readymade babysitter when the time does come.”

I rubbed the back of my head hoping that my mother wouldn’t embarrass the snot out of me. She could talk circles around anyone and her excitement over the mate situation was affecting her judgment of propriety.

I studied her appearance closely as she chatted with Ellery, but I didn’t see anything that looked like a bite mark on her neck or clavicle. She was wearing a pink sweater dress with a strand of pearls and her skin looked pristine. I stole a look at my father who caught my eye.

“What’s got you looking at your mother so intently?” he asked.

I didn’t respond right away; instead I stepped closer to him and scrutinized his neck. “Did you and mom…” I trailed off and made a biting motion.

Dad stifled a laugh. “Oh. That.” He reached up and pulled the collar of his yellow sweater down. A crescent shaped scar at the point where his neck met his shoulder peeked out.

“Wild,” I muttered. “Did it hurt?”

Dad shrugged as he let go of the neckline and his sweater returned to its proper position. “Like a bitch at first, but then it felt amazing.” I must have looked concerned because he hastened to add “don’t worry, the Fae don’t bite to make their marks.”

“Yeah, Ellery told me that, but I don’t want to hurt her, and apparently I have to bite her in front of a bunch of people.” I looked back at my mother’s unblemished neck. “Hey Dad, where-”

He cut me off with a chuckle. “You don’t want to know, son.”

“Oh gods.” I felt my face turning red as all sorts of thoughts I didn’t want to think raced through my mind.

“What are my two guys talking about?” My mother’s timing was impeccable as always.

“Mating marks.”

Mom’s mouth fell open in surprise. “Max! I’m surprised at you.” She snuggled into my father’s shoulder. “You said you would never tell anyone where you marked me.”

“And I haven’t. A promise is a promise.” He bent to kiss her and I bolted for the safety of Ellery’s side.

“Are we going to be served anything alcoholic? Because I need something to help erase the conversation I just had with my parents.”

“I think it’s sweet how affectionate they are with one another.” Ellery laced the fingers of her right hand through those on my left. I looked back at my parents. My mother had her arms around Dad’s neck and was looking at him like he was Superman. I shook my head.

“That’s because they aren’t your parents. You’d feel differently if your parents were acting like teenagers in front of you.”

Ellery’s face fell and she pulled her hand away. I immediately felt like an ass. “Fuck, Ellery, that came out wrong.”

She shook her head and flattened her lips together. “It’s okay.”

“No, baby, it’s not. I wasn’t thinking.” I pulled her close and spoke into her hair. “I’m sorry.”

She sighed and after a beat, relaxed into my embrace.

“I know. It’s hard you know, hearing people complain about their parents, when I wasn’t given a chance to have that. Since I’ve always known the truth, and Jojo has always been involved in my life, I haven’t really developed a full parent child relationship with Papa, Mumsy, or him.” Her voice was low; too low for anyone’s ears but my own.

“I’m an ass.”

She laughed and I felt her melancholy lift.

“Yes, you are, at times.” She snuck a hand around and pinched my butt. “But I love you anyway.”

Ethan and Coach Murphy came into the foyer, and Coach looked way sharper than I had ever seen him dressed before. He winked at me and took Ethan’s hand in his. They were followed shortly by Elliott and Mary. Elliott looked me over and whispered something in Mary’s ear. She pulled a face and swatted him on the arm.

Emerson showed up next with a woman I assumed was his Other, Aurelia. She was approximately Ellery’s height with black hair. She hung back while Emerson came over to give Ellery a hug.

“Did you enjoy your time in the Suite, Alexander?” he asked, before chuckling and walking away. Ellery rolled her eyes.

“Ignore him,” she whispered. Fitz came in and headed our way.

“Brace yourselves. Jones and Sabrina are about to arrive,” he whispered as he walked by. I stiffened and Ellery squeezed my hand.

“It will be okay,” she assured me. I didn’t fully believe her and when Jones came into the hall I felt my stomach plummet. Blond, 6’5”, and muscular, Jones was imposing already, but the stony expression he wore made him intimidating. I swallowed hard. Ellery moved closer to me and wrapped my arm around her waist.

She stared back at her biological father who, after what felt like two lifetimes, cracked a smile. Sabrina smiled at us both encouragingly, and tugged on Jones’s hand to pull him away from staring me down. I breathed a sigh of relief and made a mental note to thank her for that small kindness.

“Brunch is ready.”

A butler opened the doors to the formal dining room ending all conversation. Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair led the way, followed by my parents, then Jones and Sabrina, a willowy brunette who was about 5’11”, Ethan and Coach Murphy, Emerson and Aurelia, and then Elliott and Mary. Fitz paused before walking in ahead of us.

“I don’t know why I have to be here,” he whined.

“You didn’t have to come. You could have hung out with James and Allison,” Ellery pointed out.

“Oh, let me think. Be a third wheel or the only unmarried person at a family brunch? That’s a no brainer. It still sucks.”

“Would you have felt better to not be invited?” I asked.

Fitz didn’t give a real answer. Instead he grunted and walked through the doors.

“Are you ready?” asked Ellery.

“No. But I am hungry, so let’s go.” We walked through the doors with my arm around her.