Rhett
"If you say so," Slater said, but he was smiling a little. "We're here if you need us."
"I know. Thanks for coming."
My mother had approached during our conversation, hovering a few feet away, as if she wasn't sure if she was welcome. I turned to her.
"Ele–mom," I said, testing out the word. It felt strange on my tongue. "These are my friends. This is Slater, and this is Charis."
My mother smiled warmly at them both. "It's nice to meet you. Any friends of Rhett's are automatically my friends. Thank you for being here for him."
"Of course," Slater said politely. "Rhett's like a brother to us."
"We're mates," Charis inserted, glaring at Slater before turning to my mother to flash her a smile. "Slater, Rhett and Kael, who is not here yet, are my mates."
My mom's eyes widened as she turned to me as if she wanted further explanation, but I could only shrug.
"Oh," she turned back to Charis. "That's unexpected, but I'm happy for you, dear and yeah."
