[Rock]I went with Beth out to the kitchen. She made me sit at the table while she cleaned up and pulled some meat from the freezer. I didn’t know what to do with myself. This wasn’t how I planned to spend our Sunday, but Carmen needed it. Corrine would show us if she truly accepted us or if it was all just the emotions making her say things so she could get what she needed. Carmen had felt the pain of rejection and maybe it was a way for her to bond with her mother. I was shocked when I read that Carmen’s mother would give up her mate for her children. That wasn’t something a troll would do. We grew to love our children, but we never loved them more than we loved our mate. It felt like a trick to me, but I couldn’t see how. “This really does smell tasty,” Beth said, holding the bowl of food we brought. “You can have some, if you like. There’s a blessing for strength and fortitude in it. Small blessings don’t normally have negative sides and they are usually given without cost. It’s something we do when visiting someone who is ill or injured,” I told her. “Ill? I didn’t know fae could get sick. Most other supernaturals can’t. Our immune systems manage to stop bugs before they ever take hold. We don’t have any symptoms of anything.” “There are some things fae can catch, depending on their species. Trolls are prone to invasive mosses and insect activity. It’s not the same as a virus, but does need treatment,” I explained. She served herself some of the food and put the bowl into the refrigerator. Beth came and sat at the table with me. She took a bite of the food and sighed happily. We sat quietly as she ate. I was once again thrown into not knowing what to do with myself. Beth ate with a smile and got up to rinse her dish, then sat with me again. “I suppose this is a time for us to get to know each other. We’re both mated into this family, but I barely know anything about you. All I know is that you work in construction, you have a beautiful house, you are a troll, you are fifty years old, and you love Carmen. Tell me more about you.” She smiled at me. “I don’t really know how to talk about myself with people who aren’t trolls. My father was human. My mom was the leader of the troll village in the fae realm until her mate died in a war. I worked hard to get licensed in different areas of construction and to have things ready for my mate when I found her. When I’m not working, I’m spending time with my mate. We haven’t normalized yet because things keep coming up,” I said. “Oh, I can see how that would be a problem. How are you liking working with your mate every day? I work with Mike every day, but we have big breaks of time when we don’t see each other. You work in the same office, right?”I laughed. “Carmen works in the office, but I will mostly be spending time out in the field with my guys. I like working with my hands. She takes care of the admin stuff, now and I actually prefer it that way. Carmen is really great at her job.” “That’s fantastic. I knew she could do more than the guys let her. I think we all fell short of treating her like an equal. I’m glad she has a mate who sees her. You are doing a great job. I can see how happy she is with you,” Beth said. At least Mike and Beth accepted us. I couldn’t sense any lie in her words. She smiled and talked with me as if I were a friend. We talked about our mates and found some similarities between the siblings. The same way Carmen tried not to cry, Mike worked to control his anger. I realized their father really wasn’t a good Beta as I listened to Beth talk about living under the last set of ranked members. It made sense, he wasn’t meant to be a Beta. Mike seemed a lot better. She talked about how hard he worked to be a good Beta. I knew from what my mother told me when I worried about taking on employees that you needed to want to be good. The drive to create a company that worked while not trampling on my workers was what made me so successful. Some of the other companies only saw their employees as drones who were meant to work. I saw them as a community like the one I lived in. We weren’t all the same, but we needed to respect each other and our differences if we were going to be prosperous. Beth had me help her with some of the preparations for dinner. I stayed at the table because the ceilings were only about seven feet tall. That was only two inches taller than I was and everything was built for shorter people. I’d have to hunch over to use a counter. She made a stew that was full of a bunch of different vegetables and a lot of meat. I watched her as she moved around the kitchen with confidence. It was as if this was her kitchen, too. I could imagine she spent a lot of time cooking here. “Everything is easy to find because they never change anything. Carmen likes cooking and she can’t find things if they aren’t in the same place all the time,” Beth explained. “I know she doesn’t get to cook much at your house, but she told me you were planning to renovate so she could. I’d recommend taking that far corner of the kitchen and building it out with a shorter counter, stove, and a small sink. There’s no reason to remove any of your counter space.” I chuckled. She was trying to talk to me on my level and connect with me. That was already my plan. My kitchen was large and there was plenty of room to add another cooking area complete with cabinets and counters. It wouldn’t be huge, but I didn’t know how much room Carmen really needed. We’d work it out when we made the plans. When the food was ready, I helped Beth get it served up on the kitchen table. Apparently, the dining room was only used on special occasions. The ceiling in the dining room was higher than the rest of the house, but I’d suffer for their comfort if I had to. Beth went to get everyone from the bedroom while I waited in the kitchen. Mike and Carmen sat on either side of their mother at the table. Beth and I sat next to them. Corrine was at the foot of the table and her mate’s seat at the head of the table was conspicuously empty. I stayed in my glamour the whole time. No one needed the reminder that I was different. The meal was quiet. I knew Carmen tended to be chatty, but she didn’t say anything. Corrine kept looking up at me. Every time I moved, her attention was drawn back to me. I made sure not to do anything aggressive and paid attention to Carmen. When she was finished with her bowl, I went to get her some more food. She hadn’t eaten anything all day. I was worried about her not being healthy. “Does anyone else need a refill while I’m up?” I asked when I delivered the bowl back to Carmen. Her mother looked at her empty bowl and back at me. She picked it up and held it out to me. I didn’t think she was actually very hungry, but she probably wanted to show me that she wasn’t afraid. I took it from her and went to get her some more food. “Thank you,” she said when I returned. “You’re welcome, but be careful with your thanks. Trolls aren’t as bad as some older fae, but thanking someone for doing something they felt was an obligation can be considered an insult,” I warned. “I’m sorry. I’m learning about fae, but I was raised to thank people for what they do. I’ll try to remember.” I nodded and went to refill my bowl. Beth gave me a much larger bowl than anyone else. I tried not to eat too much, so there was a second serving for everyone who wanted one. Again, Corrine watched me and how I treated Carmen. It didn’t make me comfortable, but it wasn’t about my comfort. We all kept on eating until the meal was over. Carmen and Mike cleaned up the dishes while we sat at the table with Corrine. She held onto Beth’s hand. They murmured about how Beth was feeling and if the pups were bothering her at all. I watched how gently Beth treated her mother-in-law. “Rock, your family has met Carmen, right?” Beth asked. “What did they think?” Corrine looked at me. She was reserved. I was certain Beth was asking to reassure her that Carmen was cared for. “Only my brothers and their mates. My mother has been out of contact since my birthday. She does that sometimes. My nieces and nephews have their own lives and most of them are older than me. Both of my brothers and their mates like Carmen. Ilana, my brother Haldor’s mate, really loves Carmen. She’s blind as well and likes having a sister-in-law who understands her,” I answered. “You said a lot of fae are blind,” Corrine said. “Do you know a lot of them, or just your friend and sister-in-law?” She remembered what I said earlier. “We went to see the healers. They’re also seers and are all born blind. The women who would have raised Carmen are all blind. I met one of them. The one who made the deal with your father-in-law. They have additional magic that helps them see in other ways. They’re teaching Carmen how to use it.” Her lips quivered. “They told her what we did, didn’t they?” “Yes, but, as Carmen said, we understand. Asking a mother to give up her child to pay someone else’s debt is terrible. If you had, then she would have been raised in a loving household as well, though. I know they would want you to know that. She would have been taught that she was a werewolf and of the sacrifice her family made to repay the debt.“As it stands, we should forget about it. That is the past. In a timeline where you did give her up, I’m sure she has a relationship with your family. Carmen isn’t the type to let people suffer. She would want her birth parents to know she was healthy and happy. For now, we should focus on the future. “You have a lot going on in the near future, Corrine. Grandchildren, a wedding, perhaps another grandchild, and healing. A lot of healing needs to happen. Wounds that were caused before I came into your lives,” I said. “You’re wiser than I thought a troll could be. I think you really are meant for Carmen. She needs outside wisdom sometimes. She gets that from me. Just promise you’ll never lie to her like….” “I’m fae. We don’t lie unless we have to. I would never lie to Carmen.” “Your glamour is like a lie, though. I’ve never seen you without it. Can I see you?” “I noticed that you make yourself look younger when you’re on the pack lands, but in the human city you looked like you were an older man,” Beth said. “If you want to show her your real self, I’ll be right here with her. I’ve seen the real you a couple of times now. I think I prefer it.” I smiled at her. Carmen couldn’t see my glamour, so I had to show it to Blanche. She couldn’t speak, but I could tell that she wasn’t really pleased with it. Carmen came over and put her hand on my shoulder. She squeezed it gently. I put my hand over hers and let go of my glamour. Corrine’s eyes widened and she gasped a little. Carmen leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Isn’t he the most handsome troll ever, Mom?”“H-he’s certainly not as… um… I mean…. I don’t know what to say. He’s a troll. I know you can’t see and you love him, so even if you could, you wouldn’t see what I do. He looks like a monster. It’s as if he’s almost human but really not. I’m sorry,” Corrine replied and covered her eyes. “Trolls like honesty, even if it’s not kind,” Carmen said quietly. “You’ll get used to it,” I assured her. “I’m fine with you thinking that after seeing me. I keep telling Carmen I’m hideous, but your son and daughter-in-law, along with Gemma, don’t really help when they simply accept me.” “I think it was how we were raised more than anything else. The monster that most wolves fear looks like us,” Mike told me. “Plus, I wouldn’t be a good Beta if something like a troll could scare me.”I laughed. If Corrine’s mate wasn’t meant to be a Beta, then she wasn’t meant to be a Beta female. Maybe that was why Beth was fine with me. I was sure Mike was meant to be the Beta of the pack. He was created with the genes to do it. I offered a brief prayer to the goddess that one of their children would be a Beta as well. He would teach his children well and they would accept all sorts of different creatures. Growing up with a troll uncle would help, too. They would learn how capable their blind aunt was and I would teach them all of the intricacies of dealing with the fae. None of them would make a mistake like Carmen’s grandparents did. We spent the rest of the evening at the house. By the time we were getting ready to leave, Carmen had asked her mother if she could stay at the house for her heat next week. She would either have to stay with her family or with Gemma. She didn’t need to ask my permission. We had discussed where would be safe before. Without her father trying to take her away from me, the pack lands were now an option. Her mother accepted and looked very happy. I gently reminded her that Carmen was my marked mate and trying to get her to mate with someone else while she was in heat would piss me off. Mike added that it would end with her being banished if she did. Corrine assured us that she had no intention of taking Carmen away from me. Carmen leaned against me the whole way home. Tomorrow, we would let the crew at work know that Carmen would be gone for most of the week. Gemma would be leaving the week after for her mating conference. By then, we were hoping to have Viola up to speed. Goddess willing, it would all work out.