End of Year One: July

"Come home with me?"

The vibration of his voice in his chest startling a nodding off Tala. Her head had been rested on him, legs tangled together under a corn blue flat sheet in his apartment. Streetlights trickling in through the curtains just barely lit the room and the buzz of the air conditioning wall unit was causing her to already begin to drift again.

"I'm already here." She mumbled into his skin.

Cai was shirtless, but still clothed in gym shorts while she found herself in a crop top and shorts.

"Montana." He corrected. "When I go next week."

That woke her up. Her eyes flew all the way open and she couldn't prevent her body from tensing. His arms wrapped around her shoulders and squeezed once.

"Forget I mentioned it."

"I can't." She told him. "Work. And—"

"I know." He agreed. "Forget I said it."

They fell into silence again, but now Tala was restless and finding it difficult to lay still. She couldn't read minds, but she could sense his discomfort. Cai hadn't kept it a secret that he found her unwillingness to share their arrangement frustrating. He had already told his parents, she had since met them during their visits. Surely, the Marrok would know by now as well.

And that fact alone bothered her.

"It's important to you." She found herself tracing imaginary patterns against his abdomen with her fingertips.

He shivered in a ticklish sort of way and his voice made it obvious he was trying not to laugh.

"I wish you would tell your parents."

"Dad is overprotective." She had heard horror stories from her sister that she was sure were partially dramatized for effect, but she wasn't one to take chances. "He's overprotective and…"

"I'm half Fae?"

"No—"

"I'm a Cornick?" He pressed.

"Cai, it's not—"

"Then wh—"

"It's me!" She sat up. "I'm scared. I spent years trying to escape from whatever political bullshit your family and mine has between each other. I was a kid and I felt like a fucking pawn and I don't want to be there again. And you—"

"You'd be trapped again. By being with me." He snapped. "So why are you even here, then?"

She wasn't going to cry, goddamn it. She had already gone too far and exposed too much of herself for her liking.

"I love you."

And, thinking about it after the fact. Maybe it had been to soon. Maybe she hadn't really known yet what she wanted from the world, let alone from a partner. She barely understood herself or her own function in the universe. But, no matter, she seemed to feel suitably where she needed to be when they were curled up together with Cai doing a reading for his summer session on his iPad while she typed up rough drafts of essays on her phone.

In the moment she had said it, she closed her eyes. He had suggested it first, months ago, but she didn't want to see his reaction when the sentiment left her own lips.

The silence between them was deafening and, worse, it gave opportunity for them to instead listen to her pounding heart. It did nothing to calm her anxiety while she waited for him to say absolutely anything or to kick her out like he had seemed ready to do.

He let out a breath, meanwhile, that he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Really?"

She kept her eyes shut.

"Tala, look at me please?" She felt his fingertips brush her upper arm. "I'm sorry that I upset you. I know you don't want to tell your parents. I need to stop pushing, but I didn't mean to push you to say…you know…if you didn't mean it."

"I meant it." She just barely whispered, childishly looking away as she opened her eyes. Everything in her body was screaming at her to run but she felt frozen.

"I love you, too." He breathed. "Fuck. I'm sorry. I fucked up. That was—I really should have just shut my mouth. I've never done this before and I know that's not an excuse but—Please look at me. I need to see you."

She slowly turned to look at him. Cai seemed to take her in for a moment before pulling her in for a death-grip of a hug. That, more than anything, surprised her.

"When you say stuff like that, I just need to know it's you." He admitted into her shoulder. "I know that's stupid, I know our wolves are more base than that. I just have this—"

"Fear that it controls everything." She finished for him.

The conversation took her back to the last time, well before college, that they'd seen each other. They'd taken to stupidly hiding under tables and hiding away hoarded of sodas while no one was looking. Somewhere during their time together, the conversation had turned into a series of childish confessions of fear and professions of their future plans.

"Yeah." He agreed, seeming to remember the same once-upon-a-time.

"Me too." She whispered, finally leaning her head against his.

The silence that followed was far more comfortable than it should have been given the circumstances. They didn't typically argue, not like that. Mostly, Tala suspected, Cai avoided conversations about family or pack altogether unless it deliberately related to his parents being in town.

"When do you leave?" She asked finally.

"Tuesday. I'll be back Sunday night." He pulled away from their embrace to lean their foreheads together. "I got you something, but please don't tell me I'm stupid before I explain."

This time, when he pulled away, he got up off the bed altogether and left the room. She heard the sound of metal shifting against metal—the apartment wasn't exactly large enough for him to get far enough away that she couldn't hear—and then his footsteps returned.

Whatever he was holding in his hand, she didn't have time to process before it was tossed at her.

"A key?" She held it up. It wasn't even on a key ring.

Men. She thought to herself, moderately amused.

"In case I need you to check in while I'm gone." He agreed. "Or in case you—"

"Want to ambush you upon your return." She nodded solemnly. "I'll have my weapons at the ready, then."

He grinned.

"I'll prepare myself."

He hopped back onto the bed and made himself comfortable. It was obvious, to Tala at least, that he was okay leaving it there for the night. Their conversation had settled him a bit, whether it had been his own confession or her apology she couldn't be sure.

"Cai?" She crawled up to lay herself back down on the pillow she'd been on before, reaching back to drop the key on the desk that had been shoved into the corner by the side of the bed she had claimed for herself.

He bummed.

"I'll go. If it's important to you, I'll do it." The idea terrified her.

"It's ok." He rolled onto his side to look at her. "You've done a lot just by going to dinner with my parents when they come to town. I didn't think about that. And you've invited me into your space plenty of times. I just…I forget your relationship is different. You're a lot more independent than I am, Tala. And I'm…I'm jealous of it, but mostly I'm in awe of it. You make it look easy."

It wasn't easy, but he knew that.

"Cai, I want to." She told him, biting back any hint of fear. "I want to go with you."

He shifted closer to her and kissed her forehead.

"We'll talk in the morning."

Year Two, Pre Semester: Montana

"I know he's frustrating, but just don't respond if my grandfather says something to you. I'll handle—"

"Cai, I'm not Meghan Markle meeting the British royal family for the first time." Tala had to laugh. "I was born into this, too."

She had gone through the effort of taking time off of her measly summer job working in the campus' admissions department as a combo tour guide, social media person, and secretary. It wasn't exactly a whopping hit to take five days, especially when she technically only worked three.

"Don't say it like that," He groaned, glancing at her before his eyes returned to the road. "It makes it sound like I'm dating my cousin."

"Maybe that's why they call us the royal family." She pointed out, grinning as he started to laugh. "We're all intermingling."

"I think it's just us, actually." He was still smiling.

Tala felt her anxiety start to spike as he turned down a familiar county road. The last time she had been here, she was maybe thirteen. She didn't visit frequently even growing up, only for important meetings when her dad didn't want to leave her behind. Then a handful of times when she was younger to help with managing the whole "born a wolf" thing.

None of the times brought exceptionally stellar memories with them.

"I guess not, if you count—"

"Don't go there." She warned him, snapping back into the conversation. "I don't want to address our parents."

"And they were roommates." He knew full well what would make her laugh again, and laugh she did.

"Let's never bring this up again, please for the love of everything, Cai—"

"That," He was picking up speed and she wasn't sure if it was intentional, "Is absolutely fine by me, Princess."

"If we're going by royal family standard, I think my mom is the Princess." She corrected.

He waved her off.

They had a ways to go yet, and Tala knew that. It did nothing to calm the growing unease in her stomach, however. They had flown in together, Can grabbing an extra ticket at the last minute when she had committed herself to traveling with him. If they had attempted the drive, she might have made him drop her off halfway through.

Flying eliminated the opportunity.

"Thank you," He had said it maybe a million timed by now. "It means a lot."

"I know."

"And you don't need to," Cai paused and seemed to think his words out more carefully. She appreciated his attempt to not start an argument, especially as she grew more on-edge. "I want you to come with me tonight, for dinner. I also want you to know that you don't have to. You don't have to leave the house at all. Having you here means a lot."

Tala processed the statement for a moment, slowly sliding her upturned hand to the center console in a way she had seen her parents do maybe thousands of times growing up. There was something comforting in the action, especially when Cai realized she had offered her hand and took it with a gentle squeeze.

"He's going to want to talk to me." She reminded.

"He doesn't have to." Cai disagreed. "You're—oh I don't know where that came from."

He had cut himself off suddenly and let go of her hand.

"What?"

"Sorry." He shook his head as if to clear it for a moment. "Just weird."

He reached for her hand again and she let him squeeze it a second time, but kept a closer eye on him. He didn't seem any different visually. His scent hadn't changed dramatically, but that's maybe what seemed the most odd.

"You can conceal your scent." She accused finally and he tensed. "How often do you do that?"

"Not usually." The guilt in Cai's voice confirmed it even if his words didn't. "You cannot tell my grandfather, I don't know that he's aware."

He was, Tala was convinced the Marrok knew most things and just chose when was most convenient for himself to reveal it.

"What else can you hide?" She demanded immediately.

"I do it so I don't scare you," He groaned. She felt the car speed up again and wondered if he was anxiously becoming more desperate for the car ride to end. "He really…my wolf likes you. A lot. And I don't love the idea of subjecting you to every single time he comes out—"

"Your eyes." She accused. "Every time your fucking eyes—"

"I don't know what I look like when I do it or what I smell like. I'm not exactly keeping track." He snapped. "Unless you want something trying to jump you every five seconds or you want to hear 'your mine' force it's way out of my subconscious—"

"That's what you were going to say? That's tame."

"Trust me, I know."

They were hitting civilization again, if you could call it that. Aspen Creek was populated in a way that was relative to Montana. It certainly had nothing on the cities, but it did it's job for the wolves it housed. They were passing homes more frequently now.

"I just try to keep it from being so obvious with you." Cai confessed finally. "Forgive me for wanting a bit of normalcy, I guess. I want it to be you and me and I don't want other parties involved."

"Forgiven."

Tala's dark eyes were fixated on the window now as houses zoomed past rhythmically. She was trying to place families she vaguely remembered in them to the best of her ability. They hadn't reached the part of town yet that she was most familiar with. That was deeper, but also further outside. Hidden, almost, from the vast majority of inhabitants.

But, they were coming up on it. She recognized the turn Cai took onto a less beaten road. It looked the same year round, even covered in snow. The only thing she didn't recognize, and they traveled further down, was the house that Cai chose to turn into the makeshift driveway of.

"It's mine." He answered before the words even left her mouth.

"You have a house?"

"Yeah." The door had opened and he had already hopped out while Tala was left processing in the passenger's seat.

A whole house.

He had a whole house to himself. That's what he'd meant when he had said Tala could stay behind. He literally meant she didn't have to interact with anyone while she was here.

Her heartbeat slowed just a tad.

"You'll want to come in before someone sees you." He reminded. "Heaven forbid the peasants see the Princess and all that."

That startled her from her thoughts and she, too, opened her door and hopped down. Cai was already gathering backs on the dusty parking path and she grabbed two of her own—a backpack and a duffel since she packed light—and headed to the door.

"It's not much. I only lived here a week before school started, but—" Cai pushed the door opeen with his foot after fumbling with the lock. "You can put your stuff in my room?"

"Yeah," She agreed, kissing him quickly on the cheek. "That's fine."

The home was on the small side, but comfortable. Tala walked down the short hall to the bedrooms, glancing at the photos someone had hung up as she did so. They were all of Cai's family, photos of him growing up.

His bedroom looked mostly like something from a magazine and smelled like the linens had been freshly changed. His mom, she figured, because she didn't smell wolf. Her memory for his mother's specific scent wasn't there, but this was definitely the lingering trace of Fae magic just generally.

On his bedside table, something he lacked in his apartment, she caught sight of a more familiar photo. It was one they had taken back in October while in the dining hall. Riley's bright hair had been dulled in the now black and white image.

She put her bags down and walked over to it, running her fingers over the familiar faces.

"You have everything?" Cai asked, dropping his own bags on the floor.

She turned to him, setting the photo down and pulling her hair behind her ear.

"Oh. Yeah I printed that during winter break. I missed you all."

Figures. He was the type to be sentimental.

"Do you want to shower first?" He asked, walking over to sit beside her on the bed. "Or should I? I hate the feeling of airplane on my skin."

She agreed with him there. The recycled air felt gross and sticky when it lingered. She had been waiting to wash up for the entire car ride here.

"You first." She nodded towards the bathroom door. "You want to go see everyone. I'll stay back and shower."

Cai only hummed in response, wrapping his arms around her. Tala relaxed into the embrace. If she closed her eyes, she might be able to pretend they were back in Seattle and not hiding out in the lion's den.

She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but they eventually must have laid down because she found herself waking up as Cai was pulling on a pair of jeans that had been left in one of his drawers. His hair was wet and there was still steam visibly dissipating from the bathroom.

It was a blessing, apparently, that Cai had never purchased any sort of mirror for his apartment. Tala figured it just wasn't a man's first priority, so it made sense that he didn't have one. This house, however, was clearly decorated by his mother or another woman because a long mirror one might purchase at Homegoods or Macy's was hanging. Not once had it ever occurred to her that the lack of mirror meant Cai wasn't necessarily aware of her staring.

So, when his eyes met hers in the mirror, her nose wrinkled in frustration with being caught as she felt her face get hot.

"You stare at me like that often?" He looked so serious that she couldn't gauge his reaction for certain, though she was pretty sure he was making fun of her.

"Like what?"

"Like you're going to eat me for dinner." There was the grin.

"You're gross." Tala reached behind her to pitch her pillow at him as he laughed.

It wasn't long after that Cai was pulling on his shoes. Tala's anxiety began creeping back up on her as she watched him double check his pocket for his wallet. His keys were in the hall where he had left them, but she didn't walk him to the door. Instead, her nerves got the best of her and she gave him a quick peck good-bye in the doorway to his room. He seemed to hesitate, but Tala waved him off.

"If you're this scared, I don't want to leave you alone—"

"I'm just going to take a shower and hang out. You said your mom stocked the fridge?"

Cai nodded, eyes searching hers for just a moment before he finally listened to her and left. She listened to the rental car rumble to life and leave the driveway finally.

Food first, shower after.

Cai pulled up at his parents' house down the road some mere minutes later. There was already a familiar car in the driveway, his aunt and uncle, but no evidence that his grandfather had arrived. He expected his grandfather's mate wouldn't be attending, she didn't often leave the home for family functions, but he didn't find that anyone gave her much reason to. No one except himself and his Aunt Anna had much in terms of good experiences with her and "good" would be pushing it in some instances.

"There's the big college boy," Aunt Anna laughed. Her reddish brown hair seemed more red, but it was always like that in the summer. No doubt she was spending whatever free time she had out with her horse.

She approached him first, enveloping him in a hug before he even had time to process the others in the room. He did, however, process the subtle tension that entered her normally warm embrace after only a moment.

"You smell like Mercy," He didn't think she meant it as an insult, the two of them got along as far as he knew, but she looked confused as she pulled away anyways.

This was something Cai hadn't expected. His parents knew, or maybe they didn't. He had assumed they would have put it together by now, they took her along with them every time they went to dinner when they visited. He had thought his father would have mentioned something to someone in passing. His mom, maybe not. She was the reason they traveled so much, even as he grew up, because she didn't like wolves. Aspen Creek could be a lot for her, the same way he was realizing it was a lot for Tala.

"It's not Mercy, it's her daughter." His father's voice caught his attention and snapped him out of his stunned silence.

Samuel Cornick, in Cai's mind, didn't resemble his son at all. Cai felt he bore a closer likeness to his grandfather than he did to his father. It suited him fine, Cai felt he fit a slightly more conventionally attractive appearance than his dad.

Certainly helped his confidence at the least.

What didn't help his confidence was the look of utter disappointment on his mother's face upon his father's statement. He could hear her now, what she'd throw at him the moment their guests were gone and out of earshot. "How could you make that young woman come here after everything?"

He was in trouble.

"Tala?" Anna glanced behind him at the door and then back to his father.

"She's not here." Cai muttered, "She just saw me off was all."

"From where?" His mother's eyes narrowed.

The guilt settled in the pit of his stomach.

"The house."

"Tala's here?" Anna repeated, not quite believing the words. "In Aspen Creek?"

It occurred to him, belatedly, that his aunt and uncle wouldn't have seen her since her time abroad. She had come home, locked herself down, and shipped herself off to college. Every decision Tala had the power to make had kept her away from Aspen Creek and its inhabitants.

"She's my girlfriend." He admitted. "I asked her to come."

His mother made a noise of disapproval in the back of her throat that no one else seemed to notice.

"Tala's staying at the house and she's not looking for visitors right now, but I'll let her know you said 'hi.'" His hand came up to scratch at the back of his neck nervously and his aunt seemed to back off with an expression that told him his interrogation wasn't over. His uncle was mostly unreadable, like always, but he thought he might have seen a hint of amusement twitch at the corner of his lips.

A familiar car rolled into the driveway signaling to the home that Cai's grandfather had arrived. He barely had a moment to turn around before the door was open again.

"Granddad." Cai greeted, pushing the previous conversation to the back of his mind in an attempt to reset his emotions. He had never had anything more than a healthy dose of fear for his grandfather, but today was different.

"My granddaughter didn't travel with you?"

Cai would swear he heard his da try and disguise a laugh.

"She wasn't feeling up to dinner."

And that was the end of the conversation. Whatever explosion Cai had come to anticipate, it didn't happen. Dinner was, otherwise, uneventful. Most of the questions revolved around his school career, things like how his summer semester had gone and when he thought he'd start studying for the LSAT.

"When did you and Tala become…close?" Anna asked, finally addressing the elephant in the room.

"December or so." Cai forced himself to steady his breathing.

It was just family and they were just questions. He didn't know why he'd get so defensive, they hadn't said one negative thing since he'd arrived.

"She seems lovely." His mother saved him. "We've been able to have her for dinner with us on several occasions."

"Most would say 'lovely' is a stretch for a daughter of Mercedes Hauptman." His grandfather chuckled, but there was something in his lightheartedness that put Cai right back on edge. "Strong, certainly, and smart."

"She can be all three." Cai told him, trying to keep from childishly stabbing the little cake that his mother had placed in front of him. "She's made Dean's List both semesters already—"

"You don't have to prove her worth to me," He was cut off abruptly.

"You didn't even try to get her back." Cai accused. "And now you ask Angus for monthly updates? You went zero-contact for years."

The room suddenly felt several degrees colder.

"I want you to keep something in mind." His grandfather told him, looking not the least bit phased by his outburst. "If I thought it more beneficial to take her back, I would have gone to the ends of the earth to make sure she came back and stayed here. It was better for her and that is the extent to which I'll speak on the matter of Tala's study abroad. Do you have any other concerns that you wish to voice?"

"Stay away from her."

He flinched and dropped his grandfather's gaze not a moment after the words left his mouth.

"Interesting." The only way to describe the tone of his voice was to liken it to a tv detective finding a strange sort of clue. "Noted."

The atmosphere relaxed again almost immediately. It was something that any patriarch, Marrok or no, had the ability to do—ruin a family dinner. Cai counted his blessings that he hadn't been thrown out on the street as his family members left, but realized he was missing one person as he reached for his keys.

His mother handed him an insulated bag full of leftovers.

"Bring her something to eat. The poor girl, I taught you better than this."

"She wanted to come." He assured her again. "She just got overwhelmed by being back. It's been a long time. She thought she was ready, that's all."

She seemed to accept his words, even if she didn't appear to fully believe him, and sent him on his way with an "I love you" and a kiss on the cheek.

Tala was asleep in bed when he arrived home. Only the outdoor light was on, not that it matters when your night vision is werewolf level. He was mildly surprised to find the door unlocked—doors didn't do much to stop werewolves and Aspen Creek residents weren't typically in the habit of locking out their neighbors. He remembered idly that she hadn't been raised here and that she also wasn't exactly comfortable in the place he considered his hometown.

He turned the key in the lock and stepped inside the silent home, stopping in the kitchen to drop off the food before continuing to his room.

Tala was so peaceful in bed. He dark hair fanned out on the pillow because she didn't like the way it tickled her face if she slept on it. Riley had tried to get her in the habit of keeping her hair in a silk cap while she slept, but it only lasted two or three days before Tala was sleeping with her hair all over again.

He quietly shed his clothes and slid into bed on the other side.

Immediately, he realized two things.

One, her hair was thick and she showered late enough that it was still damp and actively making his pillows wet.

Two, she smelled like him.

And that second thing made him bury his face into his pillow with a quiet and frustrated groan. It was in the most innocent sense. She had showered with his things, having forgone packing her own. His mother hadn't shopped on her behalf and stocked the shower with things she used.

"You ok?" She mumbled, stirring ever so slightly.

"Didn't mean to wake you." He hushed. "Just got back."

"Everything ok?" She repeated as she now began to shift and roll so she should see him.

"I'm going to be honest." Cai told her, closing his eyes, "And then we're going to go to sleep and we'll talk about it in the morning, ok?"

"Mhmm?" She curled up closer to him and his breath caught in his chest.

"You smell like me in an indirect sort of way, and it just really caught me off-guard for a moment. I'm fine."

She didn't move away, but she didn't say anything either and he thought she had maybe fallen back to sleep making his confession the perfect timing since he didn't have to address it at all.

"Oh, the shampoo." She sighed. "It's ok. I like it."

And that just about took any capacity his lungs had anymore away.