[Carmen]It had been a month since Gray and Cam started working with us. The guys really liked them and they fit in well with the crew. It was sad when Gray told us about the human we met at his house dying, but I was glad she was alive in a sense. Every week, he gave us an update on how Billie was doing as a vampire. Apparently, she had retained some of her memories and others were trying to come through. Victor said he had never seen anything like it, but it was possible that was because vampires tended to turn those who were under thirty. In fact, Billie was the only vampire to have been changed after thirty since they started keeping records. She was surprising the whole of the vampire world with how quickly she was picking up on the lessons in self-control and how to feed safely and politely. I was happy for her. It seemed Master Marius had been right. She would make a good vampire. According to Echo, he was proudly telling people he had seen her promise even when she was human. As for the charm we asked the seer for, it didn’t come in time for my heat. Rock and I decided to give it a shot at home but found a flaw in that. Though Rock could resist me, most of the time, he needed to leave for work before I woke up in the morning, or I would make him very late. We were hopeful for a charm to come before November’s heat, but we were also trying to figure out how to deal with it if it didn’t. Neither of us liked having this unsettled. It just wasn’t time for us to have a baby. -It was Halloween now, and the nights were growing longer while the days were getting colder. We’d had a weak snow a few days ago, but then it was seventy degrees the next day, burning off the remains of the snowy mess. October was always full of weather ups and downs. Our last barbecue had been on the last fully pleasant weekend of the month. Rock said we wouldn’t host another one until May. It would be nice to have our weekends to ourselves. My mother was still hosting a family dinner, but Rock and I were only attending every other week. All of the little kids were getting used to him. Some of the smallest would even climb on him when he was sitting. My cousins, aside from Aunt Cathy’s kids who were no longer attending, were growing to like him as well. Even my mother’s parents had stopped smelling afraid when he took off his glamour. The doctors confirmed three pups for my brother and Beth. The whole family was buzzing about the new additions. So far, one of the two boys was the biggest and everyone was assuming he would be the first one born and would be a Beta. Everyone except for Beth and Mike. They were just focused on the health of the babies. I understood. They didn’t want to get excited about a baby Beta only to find out that the goddess stripped our family of the title. I was praying every day for her to see how much better my brother was as Beta for the pack than my father and even my grandfather. “Almost ready?” Rock asked me as he came into the bedroom. “Nearly there, I was just picking out some jewelry,” I told him. He chuckled. “You look amazing, my little wolf. I want to call and say we can’t attend so I can spend the evening getting you out of that dress.” I laughed. “You’ll do no such thing, sir. I’ve been looking forward to this all month. I’ve never been to a fae Halloween party.” Rock wrapped his arms around me from behind. I stopped what I was doing to let him hold me. “I like it when you call me ‘sir’ but I prefer it when you’re screaming ‘Alpha’,” Rock purred. “You’re going to make us late,” I chided. “Mmm, I know. I’m still hoping to convince you to stay home with me. Though, I know you’re eager to see my mother and the rest of the family again.” He sighed. Rock’s mother was throwing this party. Apparently, trolls hosted feasts on Halloween. It was a throwback to when they would collect errant humans and children to feast on. Only this time would be animals instead of humans. Eru invited her other sons and their families. I would meet Rock’s nieces and nephews for the first time. She also invited all of her friends and their children. Rock told me her house was huge and built for accommodating parties this size. I was eager to meet Forrest, Elbio, Mica, and Jett’s moms. Rock did warn me that Shayle and her family would probably be there, too. Ever since the incident in the fae market, Shayle had been in the troll village in the fae realm. Rock said she was hiding from the mockery. Losing to a half-troll was enough to make full trolls become the butt of many jokes. Shayle was no different. I heard people laughing about her in the office and whenever I went out among other trolls. It didn’t matter that Shayle had never learned to fight and Pyla had been trained as a warrior. Werewolves would have teased the loser about starting a fight with someone who was obviously better trained. Not about the loss itself, though. There was nothing I could say, either. Shayle picked a fight with the wrong person, thinking that she was stronger by the sheer fact that she was a full troll. I always hated when people thought they were better than someone else because the other person was ‘lacking’ in some way. It was what it was, though. Shayle made her choice and she had to live with the consequences of her actions. Not that she would accept anything from me. I knew she disliked me just for not being a troll and for being friends with Forrest. Once I was ready, Rock and I headed to his mother’s home. It was a few blocks away, but Rock said it wasn’t safe to walk on Halloween in the fae lands. We drove to her house instead. Halloween was a fae and witch holiday. Both had their rituals and traditions. Trick or treating was one for the fae, but with a very serious consequence if they didn’t get the treats they were after. Rock told me bands of fae were wandering the neighborhood and many would head into the human town to raise chaos. He led me up to his mother’s door after we got out of the truck. I was a little excited but also worried. This was my first real troll party since Rock and I had marked each other. When the door opened, I could hear a murmur of voices inside the party. It reminded me of the party for Rock’s coming-of-age. I was a little nervous back then, as well, but I had a goal. My only goal here was to make it to the end without angering anyone too much. “Rock! You made it. Come in, come in. Let me take Carmen,” Eru said as we entered. “Where are you taking her?” he asked. “To meet my friends. I’ll take care of her. Or do you not trust your own mother with your mate’s safety?” He grumbled, but let go of my hand. Eru’s hand was smooth but harder than Rock’s. She pulled me along to wherever her friends were. I could hear people talking and moving aside for us. I tried to keep up with her long strides as I kept track of our movements, but I was lost by the time we came to a stop. She seemed to have taken me all around the party until she stopped. The scent of several other trolls filled the room. I could tell they were related to all of Rock’s friends. Another familiar scent was in the room. I smiled. It was Pyla. “This is Rock’s mate. We’re being nice,” Eru told them. “She’s so small. Isn’t Rock worried about losing her down a sidewalk crack?” A woman with a bold voice asked. “At least Pyla here won’t slip down a sewer grate.” “Or get lost under the bed. She’s short. Aren’t you worried about her getting hurt because someone doesn’t see her, Eru?” “Look at how symmetrical her face is. It’s hard to look at. At least her eyes are nice. Like a sky blue topaz. At least your grandchild might have something resembling troll eyes,” another woman said. “I think Carmen’s pretty,” Pyla told them. “I think you’re pretty, too, Pyla,” I replied. “Well, neither of them has a troll’s concept of beauty, I guess that means that Rock is lucky and Forrest managed to find a female who wanted him for something other than his body,” the first woman laughed. “That’s Stilla Montblanc, Forrest’s mother,” Eru told me. “She can’t see, so she’s just going to have to try guessing who we are by our voices,” the second woman scoffed. “I’m very good with voices,” I replied. “That’s Carmella Sanderman. Your names are similar, that’s fun,” Eru offered. “I’m Jett’s mother, Zaltana Blackstone. It’s nice to meet you,” another woman said from a distance. “You, too.” The third woman who spoke about me earlier introduced herself as Samara Massifson, Mica’s mother. It seemed Shayle’s mother wasn’t there, or wasn’t there yet. I was pulled along and pushed onto a couch next to Pyla. I listened as the group of women compared us to each other. I could smell Pyla getting angry, but she calmed when I reached for her hand. It was best for both of us if we just let them do what they were going to do. They were all as close as the boys were. I could imagine that their not liking us would make our relationships harder. “It’s hard to believe something so small took out Shayle. If she’d had even a little training, like we told her mother, she would have done a lot better,” Carmella said. Pyla scoffed. “She would have tried and failed, just like she did last month.” I laughed. “I never wanted to see so much in my life. I can only imagine how stunned Shayle was when she lost.” “She certainly seemed surprised to be meeting the ground as quickly as she did.”“Never underestimate a lizard woman fighting for her man,” I replied. Pyla tensed a little, then chuckled. She’d become more relaxed about her relationship with Forrest. He told us about all the weekend outings they’d been on and how close they were becoming. More than that, Forrest was fairly certain he was feeling a bond with her. “Wait until Elbio gets here with his girlfriend. I think he found the one. That means I win. He’s still got just under a year to go and already found his mate,” Carmella preened. “My Rock found his even though she was a different species. If anyone won, it’s me.” “Technically, I found him. If I hadn’t approached Rock in the club, he might never have found me,” I corrected. “Still counts,” Eru scoffed. “Well, Forrest found his several months ahead of time and she’s a different species. At least half. Plus, she not only fought for him, but she gave him a rock snake’s eye and I know for a fact how expensive that is,” Stilla replied. They started bickering among themselves and I couldn’t help but smile. They had such a great friendship, just like their sons. Rock told me what Elbio told him about thinking Pyla was perfect for Forrest and how he pretended to fight for her, just so he could get Forrest to claim her. I hoped all of our children would be as close as them. Turning to Pyla, I smiled at her and pushed my magic out so I could see her. I really did think she was pretty. Her lizard features made her look so different from other trolls I knew. I loved that Forrest’s mother had accepted her. “How are you doing? It’s been a while since we last had a chance to talk,” I said. “My mother is bothersome. She keeps encouraging me to spend nights with Forrest. She doesn’t even care that we aren’t like that. I can’t imagine having to be with another man after having given myself to him. So I want to be sure it’s him. What was it like when you were in the room with Rock?” she asked. “He was doing his best to entice me as if I were a troll. I’m sure if he knew who I was, he would have changed tactics. It was only a few minutes before he calmed down and started talking to me as himself. Rock bared his soul to me and I still felt our connection. I think the hardest thing for you will be not feeling the same connection I felt with Rock.“You won’t feel the same things I did, because I was already of age to find my mate and you won’t be. Just… give him five to ten minutes. There’s something feral about them when they’re in their troll brain. You’ll be able to sense the change if it happens. Don’t trust him until you sense that change,” I told her. She nodded. “I’ll take your advice. I’m sure I’ll know if it’s really him. I’m getting so nervous. In three months, Forrest will have his birthday. I feel so attached to him. If it’s not me, I’ll try to be happy for him, but… oh.” I looked over and saw a very large troll woman near us. It smelled like Forrest’s mother. She was massive and towered over us. “When I was at Forrest's father’s coming-of-age, he wasn’t a very smooth talker. He was a warrior and always focused on that above bedding any woman who came near. Not that he didn’t, he just didn’t need to convince them. Forrest is as handsome as his father and never really needed words to capture a woman’s attention.”“He had Rock for that,” Eru laughed. “What I was saying, before Eru had to butt in, was that Forrest didn’t learn to be charming in the way that Rock had to. He may say things that upset you, but if you’re the first woman in there, he may try to say all the things he knows you want to hear. The best advice anyone can give you is not to move until you’re certain. “Also, leave your mother to me. She shouldn’t be trying to push you once you’ve made a decision to be faithful only to your true mate. Something about my son has changed since he met you and made this decision. I think, for the first time, we might be seeing the Forrest that he was hiding. Maybe my son is softer than yours, Eru…” Stilla said softly. “Only in the good ways. Maybe it’s okay for there to be a little more softness in the world of trolls,” I suggested. “Perhaps the goddess is helping to pave the way for trolls to thrive as the world grows and maybe it starts with more physical and emotional softness.” “You’re not as simple as you look. Rock could have done worse,” Stilla told me. “Well, he certainly couldn’t have done better,” Pyla whispered to me and squeezed my hand. The rest of the evening was entertaining. Some people were rude, but only in the trollish sense. Shayle actually didn’t show up, but her parents did and they were a lot more pleasant than their daughter. Our food was amazing and I was seated next to Ilana, so we got to catch up on things. It seemed like the troll world, or this part of it at least, had accepted me. I was happy about that. Rock seemed to be happy about it, too.