Connor and the Wolves - 37. Stalemate

“You bought him wolfsbane to apologise?!”
If looks could kill, Connor would be a smoking pile of ash. Unfortunately, Khurtschono wasn’t a mage who could fry people with a look.
“Of all the moronic things you could have done-” Her hands clawed the air, rage wafting off her. “Gods bless it, why are you two so stupid?!”
“I made a mista-”
“I fucking told you not to talk about money around him! The one bit of advice I give, and you fucking blow it! What the fuck is wrong with you?!”
If Catherine saw her right now, she’d be so grounded. But it was so freeing to just let loose like this.
“He’s your fucking mate! All you had to do was treat him with some common decency and he’d be putty in your hands! How the fuck could you fuck up this bad?!”
With every snarl, Connor shrank in on himself. He stared at the ground, not daring to look up lest he meet the werewolf’s eyes. Khurtschono’s rage diminished the human, but she wasn’t done.
…maybe she was done. Her throat hurt, and her ears were ringing. But she was still seeing red.
“I tried to apologise,” Connor protested weakly. “He won’t listen to me.”
“With fucking WOLFSBANE!” Khurtschono roared. So much for her throat. But why the fuck couldn’t Connor get this through his thick skull?
“I didn’t know-”
“How could you not know? It’s literally plastered in the medicine aisle of every fucking store in the city!”
“I’m trying, okay?!” Connor snapped. “I’ve been miserable since he left my apartment. I just… I just want him to feel better.”
Holy gods… was he actually crying? Connor didn’t cry. The idea of an unhappy Connor just didn’t register in her mind.
“Blessed rivers, do I have to do everything myself?” Khurtschono grabbed the human, pointing toward the river. She was not going to let Connor cry his way out of this. “Go down there. Catch him a fucking fish. Cook it yourself, and bring it to him. Prove to him that he’s worth any effort, and that you won’t just throw money at him to solve all his problems.”
The front door opened. Khurtschono released Connor, taking a deep breath. Tareth help her get through dinner without murdering anyone….
“Ready,” Soren muttered, stalking past them.
She heard Connor sniff, sucking in a deep breath. He wiped at his eyes before turning back around.
“So, what kind of dinner does your family make, Khurtschono?” he chirped.
Fucking idiot…. At least have the decency to act remorseful in front of Soren.
“How the fuck are you two so bad at this?” She took a deep breath. Let it go. With any luck, one of them would crack during dinner. Ignoring the two scowls aimed her way, Khurtschono stormed ahead of Connor and Soren. “Nevermind. Let’s go.”

It was always interesting watching people meet her parents. Khurtschono could tell a lot from their initial reactions. Soren had been confused when he met Khenbish and Catherine. Connor just beamed, taking everything in stride. If she wasn’t so pissed at him, Khurtschono would have found it amusing.
“Aaruul?” Catherine held out a small platter of cheese curds to their guests.
Connor took one politely, while Soren shook his head. It was a little disrespectful to refuse Catherine’s hospitality, but Soren couldn’t know that. Khurtschono brushed it off, as did Catherine. At least her father wasn’t in the room to see it.
Catherine turned away with a smile, carrying the tray back to the kitchen. Soren leaned toward Connor.
“Don’t drink the tea,” he muttered.
“Hey!” Khurtschono glared at Soren. “First of all, how dare you? Tsai is amazing! Second-”
An orange blur interrupted her.
“Hey Soren!” Altanchono grinned up at the man. “Ma says you’re eating dinner with us. Who’s this?”
Khurtschono sucked in a breath. If Connor was Soren’s mate, he was Altanchono’s mate too. They weren’t supposed to meet until dinner, when there were plenty of people to keep the situation under control. This could get ugly real fast.
“Altanmuur, my guy,” Connor grinned. “Been a while since I heard you.”
“CatDog?” Altanchono cocked his head, staring at Connor. “What are you doing here?”
He wasn’t foaming at the mouth, which was a good start. Even with Soren, Altanchono seemed more restrained than usual. Or maybe Khurtschono was projecting her hopes.
“I’m Soren’s mate,” Connor said. Beside him, Soren tensed up. Their hands touched, and Soren shoved his hand in his pocket.
Altanchono stared at Connor, a frown tugging the corner of his lips.
“Altanaa, go set the table,” Khurtschono said, shooing her brother toward the dining room. Altanchono paused at the doorway, staring back at Connor. A glare from his sister got him moving again, and Khurtschono whirled on Connor and Soren. “Look, can’t you two at least pretend everything’s okay between you for one meal?”
“What do you mean?” Connor said. “That’s exactly what I’m doing. Having my heart stomped on by Ice King here and grinning through it the whole time!”
Soren glowered at Connor. His eyes flickered to Connor’s wrist, where a bangle of acorns sat securely. Khurtschono swore she saw a hint of emotion there. Other than anger.
It was a mask. Soren was hurting just as much as Connor, but he was suppressing that with anger. But why? Was he forcing himself to deny the mate claim? That made no sense, not after claiming Connor in the first place.
Now was so not the time to get into this. Khurtschono could hear footsteps — probably her father’s. If Khenbish thought the two were unhappy, he’d bend over backwards to try to change that. And he wouldn’t be able to fix it, not this.
“Just hold it together for one dinner!” She hissed, glaring at Soren.
He stared back, not budging an inch. She’d seen stallions break easier than him. Before Khurtschono could push further, Khenbish appeared in the doorway leading to the dining room
He studied Soren for a brief moment, as though the man confused him. Khurtschono frowned — was everyone losing their minds? Khenbish had met Soren before, several times even. They often passed when Khenbish came home from work in the morning.
A tiny shake cleared the elder neko’s expression.
“Dinner is ready,”

Platters of fried food covered the table with rich aromas. Khurtschono’s stomach roared at the smells — they hadn’t had Niwo food in ages! She’d have to drag Soren over a lot more often if this was the result.
“I hope everything is to your liking.” Catherine was in her full Niwo charm tonight. Tonight, for once, Khenbish stepped down, and let his wife host the party. “I know Ythin food can be a bit of an… extreme experience.”
“I enjoyed the food last time,” Soren smiled at the Niwo. “I’m sure I’ll enjoy this just as much.”
“Khurtschono, you’ve been holding out on me,” Connor grinned, gazing across the plates filled with food. “I thought you just ate pigeon all the time.”
She was going to strangle him.
“Actually…” Catherine’s smile grew wan. “...traditional Niwo food doesn’t use pigeon at all. That was a myth started when soldiers saw starving Niwo eat their homing pigeons during the war.”
“But enough history,” Khenbish smiled tightly. “Let’s eat.”
Silence fell around the table, broken only by the occasional clink of silverware on plates. Khurtschono shoved down the urge to load her plate — she always took too much. She could get more.
“So Connor,” Khenbish started. “How did you meet Soren?”
Khurtschono fought back a wince, staring at the fried okra on her plate. Not five minutes in and this was already a disaster.
“Wow, it’s like meeting the parents,” Connor chuckled.
“Well, my wife does view Soren as a sort of… estranged son,” Khenbish smiled.
“Khenbish!” Catherine swatted his arm as Soren ducked his head in embarrassment.
“It’s actually a bit of a funny story,” Connor said. “I was talking to Khurtschono about proper running form after a race, and out of nowhere, this giant werewolf grabs me and kisses me. I realised after he spoke that we actually knew each other through the video game Khurtschono introduced him to.”
There really wasn’t anything funny about it. But Khurtschono held back her opinion. She’d blasted Soren about it enough. Now she was on to new business.
Like, why the fuck was he resisting the claim now?
“It’s all good though. In hindsight, it was actually kind of… romantic,” Connor said delicately. “He put his entire career as a runner on the line for love.”
Wow. That was… actually really smooth. Did Connor have practice introducing himself to parents? Khurtschono shook that thought away, digging into her food.
“Are you a runner too, then? We were really surprised when Khurtschono said she wanted to join the track team,” Catherine said. “Usually she keeps to her viola. Not that we’re upset,” she added quickly, glancing at Khurtschono.
“Oh yeah. I took second place in Mydara last year,” Connor said, reaching for a plate. “The hundred metre dash. Helped Quarian Academy take first in the four by four relays, but really, that was more Brienne than me. She’s a great middle distance runner.”
“Um, Connor, that dish is really hot,” Catherine warned. “We usually leave it for Altanchono, to be honest. It’s his favourite.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Connor smiled as he scooped rice onto his plate.
“She means it,” Khurtschono said, staring at the human. “There’s a legend that says the peppers in it once killed a king.”
“It’s a good thing I’m not a king then.” Connor smirked.
“Sure you are,” Khurtschono muttered as Connor took the first bite. “King of the Morons.”
“It tastes great-”
Connor’s face screwed up, tears forming in his eyes. Beside him, Soren sighed. The werewolf poured a glass of milk and pushed it into Connor’s hand. Connor gulped the entire glass down and sucked in a deep breath.
“Told you so.” Khurtschono tried to keep the smirk off her face.
Connor blew out in a rush.
“That is amazing! No wonder you love it, Altanchono.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Catherine smiled. “I can get you the recipe. It’s nothing fancy.”
“I’d love that!”
Soren cleared his throat beside Connor.
“I’m sorry to hear about John,” he said. “How is he doing?”
“He’s fine. The doctors say they’re keeping him one more night for observation,” Khenbish said. “Skylar’s with him so he doesn’t get lonely.”
“He has his books for that,” Khurtschono grumbled.
“Books cannot replace family,” Catherine scolded.
“Either way, he’ll be back at school by Urdyal,” Khenbish said. “We try to avoid missing days as much as possible.”
“I’m sure he had the best care imaginable with this family,” Soren added.
A small smile lifted the corner of Khenbish’s mouth. Khurtschono blew out a sigh of relief. Somehow the night was actually going well. Even Altanchono was acting well-behaved, though he kept staring at Connor. Khurtschono supposed that was to be expected; Connor was Altanchono’s mate, even if there was no chance they’d ever get together. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be the disaster she’d expected.
But Soren still refused to talk to Connor.

She turned her sights on Soren.
Connor was trying; Khurtschono had to give him that. His attempts were moronic at best, but at least he was trying to make amends. Soren just refused to entertain them.
“What is your problem?” she hissed.
They were alone in the music room, under the pretence of Khurtschono playing for Soren. Connor was busy with her parents and Altanchono, giving them a brief moment to be alone.
“I don’t have a problem-”
“Horseshit! Out there is a man trying to apologise, to do whatever he can to make up for his mistake. And you are hurting. Both of you are hurting!” Khurtschono took a deep breath. She couldn’t afford another yelling round, especially not where Catherine might hear her. “Just tell me why. Why are you so against giving him another chance? Before yesterday, did Connor do anything to make you feel bad?”
“No,” Soren admitted.
“Do you think he would actively try to hurt your feelings?”
“No….”
“Then what is going on?” Khurtschono demanded. “From where I am, it just looks like you’re being childish.”
“I-” Soren gulped visibly, and Khurtschono backed away slightly, giving him space. “I just… I don’t want to be with him….”
“He is your mate, Soren. Unless you’re planning on hooking up with Altanchono — and believe me, I will happily neuter you if you even try that — he’s the only shot you’re going to get at fated love. You’re just going to throw that away?”
“I have to!” Soren let out a shuddering breath. “Look, I’ve been happier with him than I’ve been my entire life. I want nothing more than to be his mate again. But if we stay together, something will happen that will destroy any chance of happiness I have. I can’t handle that, Kurt.”
“Listen to yourself. You’re going to abandon him now to avoid the possibility you might lose him in the future. Does that make any sense to you? Because it sure as fuck makes no sense to me.”
“What am I supposed to do?” Soren snapped. “Just accept my fate?”
“Enjoy each other while you have each other! Don’t spit on the blessing the gods gave you!” Khurtschono turned toward the door. Her parents would get suspicious if the two didn’t come back downstairs soon. “Or at the very least, be friendly with him. You don’t have to fuck each other to be cordial.”
“Kurt, wait.” Soren set his hand on the door, stopping the neko. “You have a mate too. Why aren’t you with them?”
Khurtschono sucked in a breath. Fine. Turnabout's fair play. At least she had a good reason.
“It’s Coach Miles.”
She pushed out of the practice room, leaving a stunned Soren in her wake.

Connor stood up from the couch as Khurtschono and Soren entered the living room. A wide grin was plastered on his face, but Khurtschono could still see the uncertainty in his eyes.
“Hey, there’s my two favourite wolves. I just got a message from my dad, so I should really get going,” he said.
Something told Khurtschono he wasn’t being entirely honest, but it was nearly ten-thirty. And on a school night too. All things considered, it was a somewhat graceful way to bow out.
“I need to head home too,” Soren said.
“Oh, I can give you two a ride.” Catherine stood up.
“There… uh… there isn’t really a road heading to my place,” Soren said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “But thanks for the offer.”
“I’ll happily take that offer,” Connor grinned. “I honestly got lost on the way here.” He stepped up to Khurtschono, drawing her into a light hug. “I’ll see you on Varyal. Keep up that pacing work.”
“Will do.” Khurtschono smiled tightly as Connor released her.
“Soren?” Connor asked, holding out his arms.
Soren hesitated for a moment, before allowing himself to be pulled into an embrace. He lifted Connor’s chin gently, and pressed a kiss to Connor’s lips.
Connor froze in the werewolf’s arms. Khurtschono could see his arms tightening around Soren, like he’d never let the wolf go.
“You better go,” Soren muttered. “Don’t want you to be grounded.”
“Bit late for that,” Connor chuckled. But he released his hold, stepping back. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” Soren said.
“Just go already,” Khurtschono grinned, pushing the two toward the door. “Altanchono won’t go to bed if he thinks the party’s still going.”
Shaking his head, Connor led the way outside, Catherine trailing behind Soren. Khurtschono let out a relieved breath as the door closed behind them. Who knew getting a couple back together would be such hard work?
Behind her, Khenbish cleared his throat.
“Khurtschono, I need to have a talk with you about Soren.”