Relax, Drantos thought at her.

I’m trying.

Velder came up to them first. It was his way of letting the clan know he approved of his son’s mate. Drantos had given her a run-through of things to expect. She bowed her head to show the clan leader respect.

He reached out and brushed her shoulder with his fingertips. “I’m glad you both could make it.” He touched Drantos’s shoulder next, then stepped back. “Let them come to you,” he suggested, his voice barely above a whisper.

“I’ve got this,” Drantos muttered.

Velder spun away, retreating back to the men he’d been speaking to when they had arrived. Dusti glanced around, looking for Crayla. Where’s your mom?

She’s with the women. They prepare the food and the cooking hasn’t started yet.

Dusti nodded. Peva strode toward them with a tall, handsome man at her side. She guessed that was the woman’s mate. They stopped and Drantos did the talking.

“Hello, Peva. It’s a nice evening.”

“It is. Dusti, this is Maku. My mate,” Peva confirmed.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Dusti smiled.

He had seriously dark eyes and his nostrils flared. “You smell totally human.”

Peva elbowed him. “I told you that.”

“No offense.” Maku glanced at Drantos. “Are you certain she carries any bloodline?”

“Yes. She’s part VampLycan. Her mother was one of us.”

He looked her up and down. “I see.”

Peva elbowed him again. “Knock it off.” She winked at Dusti. “Forgive him. He’s over two hundred years old and gets a bit grumpy when it comes to humans. He remembers when they used to chase him with sharp sticks as a youngster. He liked to roam into their territory.”

The big guy grumbled under his breath. “It’s not funny.”

Peva laughed. “He also should appreciate someone finding their mate since he had to wait so long to find me. He watched generations being born and grown before I was brought into this world.”

Dusti tried to keep her mouth from falling open.

“I had to chase him.” Peva turned into her mate, hugging his waist. “He thought he should give me a few more years to mature since he was so much older. I knew he was mine when I hit sixteen but we waited to mate until I was the age of consent.”

“That’s eighteen, right?”

“Yes. Some knucklehead made that law.” Peva rolled her eyes. “Tell that to a horny teenager when she has the hots for a guy and knows he’s hers. He’d leave our village when I went into heat because I’d go to his house and climb into his bed. I told him if he touched someone else while he was in heat that I’d hunt them both down and kill them, since I was more than willing to break the law to be with him. My Maku isn’t one to break rules.”

“I’m an enforcer. How would that look?”

Peva rolled her eyes and sighed. “It was two years of hell.” She suddenly grinned again. “Just before midnight on the last day of my seventeenth year, I grabbed my packed bags and ran to his house. I got there about a minute after I hit eighteen. He knew me so well. He had the door open and was waiting on his porch.”

Her mate chuckled. “You had warned me that’s what you’d do.”

“As if you weren’t happy about that.”

“I was. It was hell for me too. Especially when I’d come home after you’d been in heat to find your scent all over my house—and you’d always leave your vibrator on my nightstand. You left it there for me to find on purpose. You’d send me into heat. I never touched another woman though, after I knew you were mine. I had to suffer through it alone.”

“Payback is a bitch.” Peva hugged him tighter and focused her attention on Dusti. “I know it’s going to be difficult for you to adjust to life here but remember that we’re people. Don’t let anyone intimidate you. That’s the plus side of being mated to an enforcer. No one will dare touch you or be overly unkind. They know your mate will make them regret it. Maku was one of our fighting instructors when I was a teen. There was a boy who wanted to nail me, so he’d planned to come after me when I was in heat, thinking I might accept him since Maku avoided me.”

Maku growled deep.

Peva nodded. “You made him rethink that, didn’t you?”

“Damn pup thought he could take what was mine while you were vulnerable.”

Drantos chuckled. “I remember. You took him with you when she went into heat and tied him up in a cave. To this day he hates small enclosed spaces. He’s a damn good fighter though since you really tore into him during training.”

“I enjoyed my work especially well with that one.” Maku’s eyes brightened in color, glowing a bit. “He never looked at her again.”

“He wouldn’t even talk to me and still changes directions when we cross paths.” Peva snickered. “He’s terrified of my Maku.”

“He wanted you. I’m never going to forget that.”

Peva rose up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I’m all yours. Don’t go beating him up for old times’ sake. You have that glint in your eye.” She looked at Dusti. “Just be who you are. Our clan is curious about you. Just show them you accept us and they will do the same.”

Maku nodded. “They’re all worried that you’ll scream or burst into tears. Don’t do that.” He peered at Drantos. “You should teach her how to fight. It would make them respect her faster if she at least tried to learn our ways. Let me know if you need help. It will be difficult for you to be the one to train her. I always took it easy on Peva, since it’s impossible to hurt the one who’s yours. I had to allow another trainer to work with her and walk away during their sessions. Otherwise my instincts made me want to attack him to protect her.”

“Thank you.” Drantos reached out and touched the male’s shoulder. “I appreciate that and might take you up on it.”

“Come find us when we eat.” Peva waved. “That will help too. It will let the clan know we’ve accepted her.”

Maku inclined his head. “See you soon.” The couple drifted off to talk to others.

“They’re really nice.” Dusti squeezed Drantos’s hand.