Lyle wasn't one for subtlety.

When we walked into the lobby of the hotel my sister and everyone else was staying in, I took his hand and tried to quickly pull him to the nearest stairwell. If I knew Penny's schedule – and I did – she would be at breakfast right now, which was in a room just off the lobby. If we didn't move quickly, she would find us.

Lyle ignored my tugging and shot me a smirk over his shoulder as he moved toward the elevators on the back wall with unhurried steps.

"They're going to see us!" I hissed, though I stopped trying to pull him off-course. My tugging had started to attract attention, which was counter-productive to my efforts to go unnoticed.

Lyle, infuriatingly, stopped walking and turned to face me. His eyes bore into mine relentlessly and I couldn't look away. "So? Jasper, we aren't going to start our relationship off by acting ashamed of it. I won't hide you and you aren't going to get away with trying to hide me. I understand you'd like to take a shower and change before we see everyone, but if they see us on the way to your room, they see us. Okay?"

I didn't bother responding since Lyle wasn't really asking if this was okay with me. He had decided how things would be and that, as far as he was concerned, was that. It wasn't a habit I wanted to encourage, but I could see his point this time, so I didn't argue. Lyle started walking again and I joined him at his side. He smiled down at me with twinkling eyes and held his hand out between us. I rolled my eyes, but threaded my fingers through his anyway.

We made it to the elevators without issue. As the doors opened and Lyle stepped through, I glanced over my shoulder only to meet Serena's comically wide eyes through the doorway to the dining room. Panic shot through me, but she quickly smoothed her expression and looked away. I worried for a minute that she would tell everyone she'd seen me and I knew she had to suspect I was mated – what other explanation was there for my sudden disappearance and my moving out of the hotel room? – but I reminded myself that Serena knew when to mind her business. She wouldn't blab.

"You're distracted," Lyle observed.

"Just thinking," I answered. It wasn't really a lie. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. At least now I knew not to worry about Serena being in the hotel room. That could have been awkward.

I was relieved too soon. When I opened the hotel room and caught the strong scent of female werewolf, then saw her things spread across one of the beds, I cringed and shot a worried glance at Lyle. Lyle looked around, nostrils flaring, but his expression remained calm and he merely walked over to the bed that had my bag on it and sat down.

"My friend Serena and I were rooming together," I explained.

Lyle's lips quirked upward. "I see."

He seemed completely unbothered and uncurious and I resolved not to give him any more details that he didn't ask for. In fact, it occurred to me that he wasn't one for asking questions at all. He liked to state a fact, then see if I would elaborate. I, nervous wreck that I was, played right into his hands.

I was overthinking things again.

I grabbed a change of clothes from the bag along with my toiletry kit and said, "I'll just be a few minutes." I didn't wait for a response before I shut myself in the bathroom.

While I showered, I thought. I always had an idea in my head for who I was. I never thought I was a push-over, but Lyle seemed to be able to get his way with me with very little effort on his part. Why was that? And was it wrong for me to give into him so much? Was it setting a bad precedent?

I didn't really have any answers, but I felt better just having posed the questions. I wasn't losing myself, wasn't totally ceding control, as long as I stayed aware of the situation.

Right?

All too soon, I was clean and dressed. I even took a couple of extra minutes to shave off the scruff I had grown overnight. I'd always preferred a clean-shaven look. Besides, now I knew first-hand how stubble could scrape at your skin while kissing and I didn't want to do that to Lyle. After I gave my teeth a good scrub, there was no more stalling left to do.

I found Lyle laying on my bed. He had one of my sweatshirts under his head as a pillow – as though there weren't pillows literally right above his head he could have used – and his breathing was deep and even. He was asleep.

Was it a feline thing, the easy napping?

I approached him and reached to shake his shoulder, but my hand paused in mid-air as I really took him in. He was beautiful, and the way he clutched at my sweatshirt was adorable. There was a soft smile on his face instead of that smirk. He looked more vulnerable than I had ever seen him. I eased myself onto the bed and lay down facing him, gently pressing my forehead against his.

Lyle shifted a little and nuzzled his cheek against mine. He sighed and his eyes opened. "Hi," I whispered.

Lyle kissed me softly on the lips. "Hi."

"We should probably get downstairs," I said.

"Probably," Lyle replied. His eyes sparked with mischief and he reached out to grab my hips and tug me against him. "It does seem like a waste of a perfectly good bed, though."

I laughed until Lyle leaned in and kissed his way down my neck. I clutched him closer and let him have his way. My worries in the shower seemed stupid now. It wasn't bad to give Lyle what he wanted, not when the things he wanted were so good.

A loud knock sounded on the door before Serena shouted, "One-minute warning! And you guys had better not be stinking up my hotel room."

I jerked away and found myself sprawled on the floor with Lyle looking down at me. His eyes were wide and startled before they crinkled with mirth and he laughed.

"Oh, sure. Go on and laugh." He wouldn't be laughing later, I promised myself. I'd find a way to turn the tables.

Serena pounded on the door again and said, "Seriously, I have a room key and I will use it."

I sighed and stood up. I straightened my clothes while Lyle sat up and did the same. I was about to call for Serena to come in when I looked back at him. He looked too good, still rumpled despite his straightening. I ran my hands through is hair to smooth it and smiled to myself. Other people didn't need to see that side of him. Lyle shut his eyes and leaned into my touch, so I took my time rearranging his locks back to order.

The door opened and Serena walked in. She sat on her bed and stared at us shamelessly before she smiled brightly. "I'm Serena," she said to Lyle, reaching a hand out between the beds for him to shake.

"Lyle," he replied.

"You're Jasper's mate," Serena stated.

"Yes."

They studied each other for a long moment before Serena looked to me and said, "I like him."

And that, it seemed, was that.

"Everyone is waiting for you, by the way. Penny's getting worried since breakfast is ending soon. You guys had better get down there."

I stood up before I could overthink things. The sooner we got downstairs, the sooner we got a hard conversation out of the way. Lyle stood too and even held open the door for me and Serena on the way out of the hotel room. Serena grabbed my arm and pulled me in close enough that she could whisper, "He's hot!"

I pulled away from her, thoroughly mortified even if she was absolutely correct. "Hey, did you know that werecats hear way better than we do?" I said with a pointed glare.

"Interesting," Serena said. She turned to look at Lyle, who walked just behind us, and said, "You're hot." Then she looked to me again and said, "My first rule is to never say behind someone's back what I'm not willing to say to their face. I just wanted to see you blush."

Lyle laughed, and the sound was unexpectedly captivating. Had I ever heard him laugh so freely before? I didn't think so. It was a beautiful sound. I tripped over my own feet and didn't even mind the extra embarrassment since it prolonged his laughter. Lyle's hands grabbed my waist from behind and he pulled me to his side.

"It seems I need to keep a closer watch over you. I don't want my family to see bruises on you and think I can't take care of my mate."

What? "What do you mean? I thought your family was traveling."

"They are. Right now, they're traveling here. I called my parents and my brother while you were in the shower and they're eager to meet you."

I darted a look up at Lyle to see whether he was joking, but of course he looked completely serious. I didn't know Lyle very well yet, but I had a good idea of his sense of humor, and telling me lies just so he could laugh at my reaction didn't play into it. "When will they be here?" I asked.

"We'll have dinner with my parents tonight and my brother will be in tomorrow. We're picking him up from the airport at ten in the morning."

We arrived at the lobby and my nerves flared higher. At least worrying over the hoard of werecats descending on me had kept worries about Penny's reaction far from my mind.

I caught sight of Char and Simon through the glass, along with Aunt Ellie and Uncle Soren. I hadn't realized they were at breakfast too and I sagged a little in relief. Char was the one person I felt completely comfortable telling anything to. We had never been confidants, but something in me trusted her implicitly. She didn't let her emotions lead – instead, she followed her compassion and logic. This was just the kind of news that would shock other people into big reactions (the last thing I wanted right now), while I expected Char to sit back and process it quietly. Heck, maybe I would get really lucky and she would help rein in the others.

Sensing my hesitation, Serena hooked her arm through my right arm – my left side was unavailable as it was pressed against Lyle. "Come on, standing here isn't going to make you feel any better," Serena said as she started hauling me forward.

I paused just for a second. "Are you ready for this?" How could he be, I thought in despair. I hadn't even explained who he could expect to be meeting.

Lyle was unfazed, though. "Lead the way," he said with a crooked smile. I think he meant to put me at ease, and his calm did make me feel better.

We walked into the dining room and followed Serena to the table. There were three open seats, I noticed, two of which were next to each other. Serena winked at me and I knew it was her doing.

Serena sat down and looked up at us with expectant eyes. I glanced around the table and saw that everyone's eyes were focused on me and Lyle with expressions that ranged from mild curiosity (Owen's friends) to warm welcome (Char, Simon, and her parents) to wide-eyed shock (Penny) to an awkward smile (Owen).

"This is Lyle, my mate," I said. It was like ripping off a band-aid. Time crawled as I waited for someone to do something. It really didn't take very long at all before Char stood up and came around the table to embrace first me, then Lyle. She took in a deep pull of his scent before giving him a warm smile.

"Welcome to the family. I'm Charlotte, Jasper's cousin. This is my mate, Simon," she said, pulling Simon over to us.

Penny darted out of her seat and pushed Char out of the way.

"Penny!" Char complained.

"I need to meet my new brother-in-law!" Penny said. She stood before Lyle with wide eyes for about two seconds before she flung herself at him in a big hug. She pulled away to study his face, then hugged him again and grinned at me over his shoulder.

I watched, goggle-eyed, as Lyle seemed to struggle for the first time since I met him. He didn't know how to handle Penny and the look of overwhelmed bafflement was adorable. I laughed a little, then a lot when he glared at me even as he awkwardly patted my sister's back. Char and Simon moved back to their seats to make room for my aunt and uncle. Aunt Ellie pulled Penny off of my mate. "Penny, you need to learn to share. And not to overwhelm people who aren't used to your exuberance."

"Aunt Ellie," Penny said complainingly. She let Owen lead her back to her seat, though.

We carried through the rest of the introductions easily enough and Lyle and I left to fill a couple of plates with food. When we returned, I focused for the first time on the room instead of the people. We were a big group and we sat at three different tables pushed together, two square and one round. It made for a couple of awkwardly-placed seats, but no one seemed to mind.

I hardly had a chance to take a bite before my phone vibrated. I almost ignored it, but I glanced at the screen anyway to find that it was my parents calling. Since we had just chatted this morning, they probably actually needed something or they wouldn't be calling me again so soon. "Hello?" I answered.

"Jasper Allen, you switch me to video right now or so help me..." my mom threatened.

I blinked in surprise. She didn't really sound angry, but she did sound serious. "What?"

"I could handle Ellie meeting Owen first, but now she's met Lyle too? Just put him on video, would you?"

My mother, I thought with exasperation. I loved her dearly, but she did have a bit of a control problem... okay, a lot of a control problem. And when she got an idea in her head, it was almost impossible to change her mind. I knew better than to fight her on this. I glanced at Lyle and winced in apology. "My mom wants me to put you on a video call with her."

Aunt Ellie laughed in delight from across the table and even Uncle Soren cracked a small smile.

"Go on, I would be delighted to meet your mother," Lyle said.

I lifted a brow but didn't argue with him. I switched the call to video and waited until I saw my mom's face. I rolled my eyes dramatically – I might know better than to mouth off to her, but eye rolling was always on the table. She just grinned at me and said, "Jasper, honey, I love you but please put your mate on."

I nervously handed Lyle the phone. He put on a charming smile and said, "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. I see Jasper got his eyes from you."

I rolled my eyes at him and turned to Penny. "Did she make you do this with Owen?"

"Oh, they talked for an hour," Penny said with a wide smile. She looked up at Owen adoringly and for a second I worried about whether I looked at Lyle like that before I shook it off. No way. I might have strange reactions to him I couldn't explain and he might be able to get me to do anything he wanted with that smirk and a few well-chosen words, but I hadn't changed into a different person overnight. No way would I ever look so sappy.

I looked back to Lyle, who was passing the phone off to Aunt Ellie.

Lyle leaned in close and whispered in my ear, "I never thought I'd see a family like this up close."

I pulled away enough to look up at him. "Does it bother you?"

His eyes were warm on mine and he smiled softly. "No. It's fascinating."

My heart warmed and I couldn't help smiling back. If this crazy breakfast wasn't scaring him off, maybe living in Montana really would be okay.

I remembered the quick Google search I'd done earlier, confirming that there are wild cougars in Montana. He would be able to roam freely in his shifted form as long as he was careful of hunters. Somehow, even though I had picked an outrageous mate for myself, I was starting to believe that this really would work out well.

Penny reached across the table with her phone out, showing me the picture she had just snapped. "You guys are adorable!" she said. "I want to know all about how you met."

I took her phone from her and looked at the photo. She'd caught Lyle smiling down at me while I looked up at him with an expression sappy enough to rival the way she looked at Owen. It was definitely odd seeing myself that way, but I quickly forwarded the picture to myself anyway. I liked seeing Lyle looking that way, looking so happy with me. I even kind of liked seeing the way we were together.

Even better, I thought, would be how things were when we actually knew each other. For now, we were held together by a bond and strong compatibility. This photo was like looking into the future, a future where we knew and loved each other. I was excited for when that was our reality.