Darcy wiped his sweaty palms on his pants before entering the drawing room.
Both his parents were sitting on the couch, sipping tea with an air of indifference that was fooling absolutely nobody. They were positively vibrating with anticipation and nervousness.
The moment the door clicked open they both whipped their heads around to see their new son-in-law.
Darcy walked in alone, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt as he avoided eye contact.
"Where is he?"
"He's upstairs Mum."
"Honey, greet our son first, we haven't seen him for days, how are you dear?"
"Yes, yes, how are you doing Xiao-Qin, shall we go up?"
His mother impatiently rose to her feet, starting towards the door already. She was yanked back to the couch by her wife. "I think Darcy wants to tell us something."
"Thank you Mumma. So... I found my.. fated mate-" A squeal echoed slightly because of the high ceilings in the room. Darcy smiled faintly, his Mumma had always been a romance enthusiast. "He's.... well he's perfect. But he might not be what you are expecting." He stared at them seriously, clenching his hands together behind his back. "Also he has just been through a divorce, so please don't pester him about marriage or anything. Just... don't be too surprised."
His Mumma nodded immediately, nudging her wife who was squinting at Darcy suspiciously. "Of course honey, before we meet him, do you have the mark?! Can you show us??? Oh, unless it's in an indecent place."
Darcy chuckled, he unbuttoned the first three buttons of his shirt to show the faintly glowing mark over his heart.
"...it's real." His Mum whispered, slightly incredulous.
"I heard that the placement was indicative of the nature of the relationship! So if it's over your heart you two will grow to love each other deeply, beyond carnal desires."
"I think that's a myth Xiao-Mei."
"I think it sounds wonderful, even if it's not true." His mother pouted.
"Um. Would you like to meet him now?"
"Yes!" Was the immediate and simultaneous answer.
They all made their way upstairs, in a rather hurried and undignified manner.
Darcy paused outside the door to his room for a moment, he gave one more cautioning glance to his parents before lightly tapping on the door. "Kelpie?"
Slight laughter drifted from behind the carved wood. "What are you doing? It's your room, come in!"
...
Kand-Lei had been waiting for about ten minutes in Darcy's room which was every bit as extravagant as the rest of the house. In this time he had been served an expensive smelling tea by A-Zhou. Not that he knew what expensive tea looked or tasted like. They could serve him the leaves swept off of a tea factory floor and he wouldn't know the difference. But the way it was presented made him think that it had to be nice.
The tea was accompanied by little biscuits that were small parcels of buttery bliss. They had a nice crunch and snap but practically melted in your mouth all the same.
His head whipped towards the door when he heard a small tapping. When a tentative voice called his name, he couldn't help but laugh a bit. Darcy was knocking on the door to his own room!
"What are you doing? It's your room, come in!"
He sat up straighter and dusted off his hands as the door opened.
The first thing he saw was Darcy, just one glance was enough to ease all the tension in him. As Darcy quickly hurried to his side he saw the two people that had come in behind him.
The first was a tall woman, at least two heads taller than himself, who immediately commanded the room with her presence alone. Her black hair was cut in a short bob that framed her stern face, her skin was a light tanned tone, and she had phoenix eyes that blazed with ice. Every movement was precise and calculated, her sharp beauty was accentuated by the muscle tone that made her even more intimidating. She was obviously an alpha.
The second woman was a head shorter than the first, she looked warm and friendly, her face practically radiating happiness and excitement. Her eyes were a sparkling blue that was closer to Dary's midnight shade than the other woman's. She also shared her son's silvery hair, but her's was darker and only fell to her shoulders, a slight curl adorning the ends. She was all soft contours and foreign features. It was clear, seeing the two side by side, that Darcy had inherited most of his features from this smaller woman, only inheriting a general face shape and body type from the other.
As Kand-Lei was studying and analysing their appearances the two women faltered at the door, catching sight of him on the couch, illuminated by the sunlight streaming in from the ostentatious windows. He was wearing a loose white shirt and tight black pants that accentuated his long legs. His short hair was falling in front of his eyes.
Darcy quickly moved in front of their view, hovering for a moment before sitting next to Kand-Lei.
He quickly turned to his parents again and beckoned them in when he saw them stall.
He gestured to the taller woman, "This is my Mum, Bai Ling Yue." Then he gestured to the smaller woman, "And my Mumma Remi Lezhira Woods."
"Nice to meet you, Mrs Bai, Mrs Woods."
"Oh... just call me Remi dear. And you are..."
"I am Kand-Lei, Darcy's... fated mate."
"Forgive me dear, but are you-" Darcy's beta mother fumbled for the right words to ask her question sensitively.
"You are an omega, no?" Ling Yue just came out and said it directly.
Kand-Lei twitched a little at her tone, his hand clenched on the pillow beside him. "I am." His tone was a bit strained, like he was fighting some inner battle.
Both the women stiffened at that. Remi looked confused and disoriented as she glanced from Darcy to Kand-Lei and back again, her mouth kept opening but no sound came out. Ling Yue stared directly at Kand-Lei, her face going a little pale as it twisted in confusion. She moved to steady herself against Remi.
"Xiao-Mei, maybe we should sit down. Let's sit down."
They shuffled towards the opposite couch. Darcy swallowed dryly and spoke up again.
"I did tell you not to be too shocked."
Remi shook her head. "Yes well, this is... it's unheard of." She looked at Kand-Lei. "I'm sorry dear, we're not being very good hosts are we?" She refilled his cup of tea. "It's nice to meet you Kand-Lei. I'm glad that our son has found such a responsible seeming person."
Kand-Lei smiled faintly, his grip on the pillow loosening a bit at her gentle words. "Thank you, Remi. I assure you this is very confusing for us as well, I've never heard of omega fated pairs but well... here we are."
Ling Yue cut in, her tone clipped, "Are you sure that you two really are... fated?"
Kand-Lei tried his best to control his breathing, his eyes lowered towards the floor, his head tilting so that his fringe fell over his eyes. His presence in the room shrunk a little.
Darcy gently took his hand. "Kelpie, look at me for a moment."
Kand-Lei turned his head slightly, he felt the warmth of Darcy's hand in his, could smell a slight, sunny tomato scent. He felt reassured the moment his eyes met Darcy's.
Darcy patted his hand lightly. "If you're comfortable with it, show them the mark."
Kand-Lei nodded slightly, without breaking eye contact with Darcy he tugged the neckline of his shirt down a bit, exposing the top half of the mark that was undeniably identical to Darcy's.
Both women fell into quiet discussion upon seeing the mark, whispering to each other.
Kand-Lei, now that he was no longer under scrutiny from Ling Yue, leaned into Darcy's side. He was already feeling tired and it wasn't even noon yet.
The discussion slowly came to an end. Neither woman seemed happy with the conclusion the other had come to.
Ling Yue opened her mouth to declare that she was opposed to the relationship until they get officially tested and declared mates.
Then she saw the look in Darcy's eyes.