Strung along - The Dragon shifter's human mate

Disappointment

Jordan

Silas didn’t raise his voice. He never actually does. But he enunciates every word so slowly and clearly I’m afraid some spit might come my way. My brother stiffens when Valentina squeezes his arm. He looks over at her, and the fear and anguish in his eyes, just the helplessness he must feel watching her go through all this for a second time, has me sick to my stomach.

“I’m so sorry.”, I whisper. Both Silas and Greer look up at me. I doubt they have ever seen me more vulnerable. I just feel like a piece of sh*t. Sure, it’s not up to me to control the paparazzi. But the girls asking for a picture, taking an interest in who I was meeting up with? I could have seen that coming. ESPECIALLY when it is a woman they see me with. Selling the hottest shot of the month was a no-brainer to them.

My head was somewhere else, and I didn’t pay attention. Everything I usually do to avoid private things I don’t want someone finding out about didn’t cross my mind. I was excited to see Noe and Wren, distracted by thoughts of my mate and coming off a night with barely any sleep. Which are not supposed to be excuses. I’ve had more extensive media training than any of my siblings.

So usually, it’s me fixing their sh*t. Like with Greer’s botched fake ID when I had to get him from jail… Please don’t ask me what he wanted to buy with that thing. Would be too hard to explain. It wasn’t alcohol that much, I can tell you.

Or like with Luca a little over two years ago. My hand goes to my bicep, and I see Silas mimic the motion a little later, so does Greer. I told my parents eventually, but it was the only secret we ever kept from Jade. She does know most of the story, but I acted before Mom and Dad could interfere, and I regret it every day. They put me through even more media training after that than when I said I wanted to pursue music publicly. Cece talked me through the impact something like what I did could have… and I still let last week happen. That’s what it feels like.

It’s why the general buzz in the room is ‘disappointment.’ Or so it seems. ‘Disappointment’ seeping out of their every pore. ‘Disappointment’ written in their eyes. ‘Disappointment’ visible in my Dad’s sternly furrowed brow. He’s easy to smile, never without a way to tease you up his sleeve, but when he rubs his hand over his face now, he looks exhausted for a second.

“You can’t blame Jordan for this, boys.” His voice is eerily quiet. Seeing Mom and Greer nod doesn’t relieve the pressure in my stomach. “This is a risk all of us take going out in public and sadly comes with our position. No one could have foreseen the nasty stuff that followed that relatively innocent picture. Você não deve se culpar por isso, filho.(You shouldn’t blame yourself for that, son.).” Dad’s gaze searches for mine, and I feel a little warmer the moment it meets it. Because in his eyes, I don’t see the disappointment I dreaded. He just looks tired. Tired and sad. “We were hoping we could keep more of that away from all of you, but I feel like the older you get, the higher the cost of something like this false narrative spreading.”

Honesty, integrity, and transparency have been values my parents have always pushed for. Not only in our family life but also in their time in office. They were open with us about how they started out and the backlash they got when they shared the story of how they first met with the public. Not all of the supernatural community loves them. And this now is another reminder of that.

Noemi is next to speak up. “Neither of us was supposed to be there… hell, even I heard something, but I jugged it down to a security camera clicking.” Her purple eyes regard me sympathetically, and I want to give her the biggest hug ever… and throw up the bagel I ate three days ago for breakfast. ‘She’s too good.’

“The store was packed. There was no way of seeing who had a phone out to take a photo. Benedict stood right outside the window and watched us the whole time, and he didn’t see either. He’s even in some of the shots.”

Oh, poor Benedict. He offered to resign after those photos came out, but my parents, Noemi and Greer, refused. This is not on him. Me, on the other hand… I take a steeling breath. Here we go.

“It’s nice of you to say that, Noemi.” I give her a soft smile across the table, surprised at how firm my voice sounds. “But it was an oversight on my part. I SHOULD have known better. I have been followed for nearly five years now and should not have been so careless. I was excited to see you and Wren, and I didn’t think about the teenagers who tried to get in my pants a little earlier. I… my head was somewhere else. And that’s no excuse for what happened. I will do anything necessary to fix this.” I let my gaze meet every family member around the table, finishing with my Dad.

“Great, because I’ll need the lot of you to present a united front.” Cece claps her hands and picks a folder from her tote, sitting at her feet. Distributing papers around the table, she continues.

“I think it’s best we meet this head-on. They want to invade your privacy? Show them more.” Silas stiffens, and Valentina looks at her skeptically. While Noemi’s eyes get as big as Saucers, and she clutches her small daughter harder, Wren stirring in her sleep.

But our cousin doesn’t let that deter her. “I mapped out a plan we could follow. My college friend hosts this podcast, and I want you four to go on it. I’ve known Avery my whole life, and she excels at what she does. Knows how to walk the fine line between asking critical questions and being sensitive about it anyway. She took over from this old guy… Harvey… Harry—-

“Harry Atkins. Yeah, we know him.”, Mom scoffs. Right, if I remember correctly, they blackmailed my parents into giving them a tell-all with that slimy dude back when they first got together.

“Right… so ‘all things Alpha’ was a sh*t show. The worst possible thing you can imagine image-wise. But Avery turned it around and has amassed a huge following across all social media platforms and influences her fellow journalists at other papers with the topics and guests she picks for her podcast. They respect her work and her opinion.”

Valentina furrows her brows, skimming the page in front of her. “Cece… this looks like you already talked to her at length about what we would be contributing. Take over the ‘all things alpha’ accounts for a day each? I don’t think showing them that much of our… private life will change people’s minds.”

“It could be an added risk, especially at Blood Forest. We keep recruits’ identities under wraps for a reason.” Silas’ concern is valid. And I doubt that Zeke and Elodie would be all for it.

“I already talked to our grumpy uncle, and he agreed under the condition that you don’t record inside any building that is shared use and conceal landmarks that would hint to their location. All the photos you take will have the geotags removed before they’re posted to any platform.”

Damn. I knew my cousin came prepared, but I tend to forget whom I’m talking to, given that we have all grown up together. However, Cece had to grow up a little faster than the rest of us. Having a baby at 17 does that. No matter how much the family supports you or the Dad swears, he will be there. Most of that responsibility falls onto the mother’s shoulders. Even if it’s ‘just’ the worrying constantly, the always feeling like you are judged, not doing enough. Cece called me a lot during that time. Whenever Henry (that absolute f*ck face) was useless, she would vent to me for an hour and a half while Clementine stuck to her chest in a baby wrap. I have seen more of that girl’s head than anyone else.

“Y-you think this will work?” Noemi’s voice is quiet, and she runs a hand up Wren’s tiny arm.

“I’m sure it will.” Right about now, I want a Grand Canyon-sized piece of Cece’s confidence.

“They will get to see what I see… what all of us do. And they will never be able to take your story from you again.” She fixes her gaze on Noe and Valentina.

“Don’t let them.”

I see Noemi turn to her friend and Val giving her one of those smiles that could very well work as steroids for pro athletes— pumping her up before she turns to our cousin and nods. Noemi does as well.

“Good.” Not waiting for my brothers or me to confirm, Cece moves on to the next point on her itinerary. We all know it was never anyone else’s decision to make but theirs. This has always been about Noemi and Valentina. And the quiet way I see Val lean into Silas now, him kissing her forehead and rubbing his cheek against her head, while Greer puts an arm around his little family, only solidifies that. They will do what’s necessary. I straighten a little in my seat— Time for me to fall in line.

“We have to talk about whether we need to get Jade and Killian on board, though. I want to get ahead of any story they could put out there, and you coming forward but not saying a word about them would come off as half-a**ed and insincere.” My cousin bites her lip a little, looking up at my parents. Must be so weird for her talking to family members like she does to her clients.

“It would mean us building up trust and tearing it down with our own a** as soon as we turn around.” Mom nods.

“I don’t think Killian will agree. Jade’s face is out there already, and Blue Ridge pack members and staff here know what Killian looks like and that he’s her mate. Even if his Dad agreed to a truce, it would be thoughtless to give him an opportunity to target them, though.”

None of us would want to test how firmly Vik Artesian stands by his word. Not after taking his youngest sons from him and successfully hiding them so far.

“I will talk to Avery about that and tell her what our terms are.”

Progress. This is going to be okay, I tell myself. I didn’t see it before coming in here, but now it looks like we can actually fix this.

I let my eyes roam the paper and see that I’m supposed to join my brothers and their mates on the episode of the podcast they will be recording. Ok…. my brows furrow when I get to the talking points Cece wrote down.

‘Talk about how much you enjoy your single life and how settling down isn’t for you.’ ‘Plug your music.’ ’S*xjokes (?)’ ‘Drive home the image of the bachelor still on the prowl; Rockstar image.’

“What is this?” I ask, pointing toward that section on the page. My cousin looks at me as if I lost all my marbles.

“Talking points.” She says in a tone you use on stubborn children. “We have to position you as the single guy against all those lovey-dovey couples you’re surrounded by and that you don’t want anything to do with.” Pushing some hair behind her ear, Cece points to the line on the sheet of paper in front of her. “We can talk about adding a cute story about you and Wren, but in general, I’d say we want you to come off as still available and nowhere near done with your single life.”

She smirks at me over the top of the page. “You’re our little rockstar. That sh*t’s not for you.”

When she says that, my fires roar to life, and I feel like my eyes are burning. But no one seems to notice.

“You f**ked your way through half of this year’s starting class when you visited, Jo.” Valentina chimes in, and a snicker goes through my family members. “I guess it’s safe to say that’s the only way this can go. Welcome to the team, fun uncle.” She raises her hand for a high five, and it takes everything in me to meet it.

I want to shout at them. I HAVE A MATE. It’s not like I can produce her right now, though. Still, hearing them talk about me like I’m incapable of having a partner or being good at… long-term relationships… Hell, even me wanting one seems soooo far out of what they can imagine! And it sucks a**. It has for the last few years.

I blow out a breath and lean back in my chair, willing my eyes to change back. Greer, being the most sensitive guy I’ve met, notices, though.

“Jo, we’re your family, and we love you. But you’re not the ‘settle down’ type of guy.” His silver eyes regard me for a long time. “I have no doubt that when you find your mate, you will be great together. If you’re uncomfortable with the talking points, let’s see how we can make them something you would agree with.” Looking at the rest of them, patiently waiting, he shoots me a quick smile.

“Sure. I’ll… I’ll see how I can… tone it down a little.” Cece looks at me for a long moment but then goes on to discuss fitting wardrobe choices with Val and Noemi.

I bite my tongue. Now is not the time. If I blurt out that I found my mate now, they will never take me seriously again. It would make me sound like a petulant child trying to make this about me when it should be about the couples and setting myself up as no threat to their happy, mated bliss. F*ck me for wanting that too. There is a first for everything. Even for hurt, that must give you a stomach ulcer if you swallow it for longer.