Chapter 91: Leona

POV: Carly

Sensing how badly her body had started shaking, Niko's hand found hers behind her back, holding it steady.

She let out a slow breath. "I thought you were going to text me when you got here."

"And ruin the surprise? Darling, you know how much I love an entrance." Leona grinned, leaning in to kiss both her cheeks. "I wanted to see this," a small wave of her hand between Carly and Niko, "thing, in its most authentic form. Which I now have."

Carly swallowed hard, squeezing Niko's hand tighter.

He extended his free hand. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss McPherson."

"Leona, please. I must say, Niko, you clean up well." She said, looking him over.

Now it was his turn to squeeze back.

This was, without question, the most uncomfortable moment of the night so far.

"Apologies. Thank you. How have you been?" He asked.

"Better, honestly." Leona said. "Parking was a disaster despite reserving ahead, and apparently there's no open bar tonight. What exactly are we all paying this school for?"

Could this be any more exhausting.

"Although it's lovely seeing all these familiar booster faces again. Feels like years, even if some of that distance was on purpose." A poor attempt at humor.

Carly resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"I'm glad I came this year. Carly's senior year and all." Leona continued. "Though I expected people to gossip about her coven leadership, not her romantic entanglements." She gave them both a slow, judging once-over.

They both swallowed at the same time.

"Last I checked, you two were classroom partners. And now this." She gestured vaguely between them. "A scandal for the ages, apparently. Dating a werewolf wasn't rebellious enough for you, dear?"

The judgment in her voice was impossible to miss, and Niko's blood was already starting to boil.

"Mom—"

Leona waved a hand. "It's fine. I'm genuinely fine with it. I just thought I'd hear about something this significant from my own daughter, rather than the women at book club. That's all."

Carly's heart rate spiked, her palms sweating enough that she had to let go of Niko's hand entirely, already missing the steadiness of it. She hadn't expected her mother to fully approve. But this complete lack of any genuine reaction at all scared her more.

Leona's attention flicked between them like she had another comment loaded and ready. That familiar sinister glint Carly knew far too well stayed lit in her eyes.

This felt like an out-of-body experience. She stayed quiet and still while Niko tried steering the conversation elsewhere, watched her mother's hand land on his arm with that fake, brittle laugh that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. She hated that laugh. She hated that her mother could still trigger this kind of fear in her without even trying. All the happiness she'd carried into the night two minutes ago was already starting to evaporate.

"Going public with our relationship wasn't exactly fun for either of us." She overheard Niko say.

Leona nodded. "I imagine someone storming into a cafeteria full of my colleagues' children and declaring undying feelings, ending in a brawl, would be quite the dull afternoon."

Both their eyes went wide.

How does she know everything!

They traded a quick glance, Carly looking away first.

"It was memorable, certainly." Niko said carefully, shaking off the suspicion creeping up his spine.

"Hm." Leona hummed. "Will your parents be attending tonight?"

His brow furrowed. "My parents?"

"Despite the animosity, I'd assume they'd still want to witness such a defining moment for you. The way I'm here for Carly."

His confusion only deepened as he glanced at Carly, who looked just as caught off guard.

"Mom, stop." She said.

Leona blinked innocently. "Did I say something wrong? I was simply wondering if Isabel would be here. It's been ages."

His jaw tightened, fighting to hold his composure. "I'm not sure."

She nodded slowly. "Well, I'm sure our paths will cross eventually. Niko, I have to ask. What exactly are your intentions with my daughter? What can she possibly offer that a vampire can't, or is this some kind of bucket list situation for you?"

"Mom! Seriously, stop!"

Carly had never felt more embarrassed, looking up at Niko whose patience was hanging on by a single thread. She'd expected pushback, but not this level of bluntness.

He took a long breath. "This isn't a bucket list, or some calculated plan. The war between species has never mattered to me. I treat people the way they treat me, regardless of what they are." He began. "What drew me to your daughter wasn't her species. It was the person underneath."

Her heart dropped.

"There's plenty of bad blood between witches and vampires, and clearly you don't trust me. But Carly does. As do I, her." He continued. "My intentions are genuine. Believe it or whatever you'd like. I care deeply for your daughter, and that's all the justification I owe."

Leona's eyebrows lifted with amusement, glancing between a stunned Carly and the very composed vampire beside her.

He'd never spoken about her like that in front of anyone before, let alone someone as intimidating as Leona. That familiar warmth crept right back into her chest.

She looked like she wanted to say something but settled instead on a small, private smile.

"Trust. Interesting choice of words." Leona smirked, making Carly subtly shake her head in warning.

The smirk widened even further before she turned back to Niko.

"How could I possibly oppose my eighteen-year-old dating an ancient vampire, when he's this much of a charmer?" She applauded sarcastically.

"I was just surprised, that's all. But you two seem quite compatible." Leona said. "Though it is a bit disheartening, as her mother, to learn something this significant got left out of our daily chats."

Niko's eyebrows pulled together as he glanced toward Carly.

"Mom, can we talk? Alone?" Carly interrupted, voice shaking.

Leona's laughter faded into a softer smirk as her attention shifted fully to her daughter.

"Oh, sweetheart, we'll have all night to catch up." She winked. "I was just getting to know your, hm, boyfriend. I understand the appeal."

Carly gave a tight smile, desperate to separate them.

"Mom—"

"Oh, I think that's Libby Lancaster. We have plenty to discuss as well. Excuse me." Leona breezed off into another conversation entirely.

They both exhaled at once, releasing breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding for twenty straight minutes.

"That could've gone worse." Carly offered, trying to lighten things.

Niko nodded, looking down at his feet.

"What?" She asked, sensing he had more.

"I thought you said you and your mother weren't close."

She hesitated. "We're — we're not."

"Then how does she know that much detail about the cafeteria? Or about my family troubles? You're the only person who knows I haven't lived with them, that we have problems. How does she know?"

"Niko—"

"She mentioned you two talk regularly. And you lied to me the other day about being on the phone with her."

"I'm not lying about this." Carly defended. "I already told you why I didn't mention that call, so don't throw it back in my face."

He still looked unconvinced.

"I've been with you basically every second of every day for weeks. Have you ever once seen me on the phone with anyone when we're together?" She pressed. "This is a small town. People talk. It's not exactly shocking she heard about the cafeteria from someone other than me. As for your parents, maybe she's just guessing, since nobody's seen them with you in years. You know how people around here love their assumptions. And no, I haven't completely cut my mom off. Do I still talk to her sometimes? Yes. She's still my mom, no matter how exhausting she can be."

He studied her for a long beat, his anger slowly draining out of his shoulders. Trust had never been something Niko handed out easily, and he couldn't remember the last person he'd trusted before her. This was all still new enough that even the smallest hint of dishonesty set him on edge.

Carly took both his hands, lifting them to press a kiss against each set of knuckles, eyes locked on his. A faint, uncharacteristic blush spread across his face.

"You're getting good at that." He said.

"At what?" She smirked.

"Distracting me."

"Learned from the best." She grinned.

"Touché." His dimples deepened.

She kissed his knuckles again. "I really liked the way you talked about me. Us. Especially in front of my mother, of all people. That meant a lot."

"It's easy when it's all true."

She smiled. "Seriously, Niko, I hate when we fight. The night's going so well. My mom's only been here an hour and she's already trying to drive a wedge between us. It's like her full-time job is ruining whatever happiness I find. But it's our job not to let her win that."

He looked at her, glowing despite everything. Leona McPherson clearly had a talent for getting under people's skin once she identified their weak spots. The worst kind of cruelty, the kind you never saw coming until it had already landed.

Of course she'd reacted this way to discovering her perfect daughter was involved with a vampire. Two encounters with that woman had already been two too many. There was a coldness to her that her daughter simply didn't possess, something that made his skin crawl.

But looking down at the girl in front of him, eyes glowing with adoration meant only for him —

"I'm all in." He said.

Her face lit up as she leaned in for one more kiss.