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Jeremy toyed with the heart on his plate, biting his lip. He’d gone to visit his dad’s for dinner, just to visit. Just a night of feasting at the Heere household. His father sat across from him at the four-seated short table. They shared glances, and once in a while one of them would reach for a napkin to wipe away blood from their lips.
Paul, his father Mr. Heere, noticed his hesitation. “Jeremy.. is something uh.. bothering you, son? Is it.. the heart? I know it’s not your favorite, but I couldn’t find any chickens-“
“N-no,” Jeremy cut him off, prodding the heart with a finger. “It’s n-not the h-h-heart,” He claimed, sniffling. “I..”
Paul waited quietly, patiently, and he bit into his food, taking a bite. He chewed and listened. He learned that Jeremy needed time sometimes, to think. To speak.
It took a few minutes and a few more bites of the heart Mr. Heere ate before Jeremy spoke once more. “I… I did s-s-something.”
Jeremy hadn’t come around much for a while, but Paul had been able to tell something was different with his pheromones. His werewolf pheromones. Part of him hoped he’d found someone to love. Hopefully Michael. Or if he was even luckier, another werewolf. But he had barely smelled Michael on him recently. And Jeremy being over was rare, too.
“I.. I m-marked s-s-someone,” Jeremy whispered so softly that a normal human ear would never have heard it. But Paul did. He was almost joyed, but a question struck him. Multiple.
“You did?” Paul asked, needing a confirmation from his son. If this was true… well, how come he didn’t smell anyone on Jeremy? It couldn’t have been an accident. Accidental markings were nearly impossible. He was worried, and he knew Jeremy could smell his worry, as his son started fidgeting with his fingers.
“..I marked M-M-Michael. We f-fucked. I-I m-made a mistake. I… I’m… I’m n-n-not good enough f-f-for him.”
Paul listened and he had to refrain from sighing. This was… news. Not good, not bad. Just… news. Paul knew that you could only mark one person in your whole life. Oh his bad nights, he’d regret marking Jeremy’s mother. Other nights, he cried himself to sleep.
He took in the information his son provided. Something had gone wrong. Michael was technically Jeremy’s mate. But… did Jeremy think he wasn’t good enough? Or did Michael say that? He didn’t think Michael was the kind of person to say that…
“…do Mariposa and Vivian know about this?”
Jeremy slowly looked up and he shrugged. “I d-d-don’t think s-so.”
Mr. Heere nodded slowly, taking in this information. He didn’t know what to think at first. He should discuss this with Michael’s mothers. They should all discuss this. He felt like there was something he wasn’t being told here. Some other variable. But he trusted Jeremy to tell him everything.
Paul sighed and accepted the words. “We should… talk to them. And Michael. Tomorrow night. Over dinner. Is.. is that alright?”
Jeremy knew about Ulysses, the vampire Michael was dating. Would he be there too? He didn’t know. He was scared, almost. He hoped his dad couldn’t smell it. What if he ruined their relationship? Michael and JD’s? Would JD come after him?
The two went quiet and finished their dinner.