What the hell are they playing at? I cannot set things on fire. I don't even have matches or a lighter.

"Are you two high? I did no such thing." I grimaced at both of them, annoyance once again creeping in.

Aiden took my hands, turning them so that my palms were exposed. I felt a warm, tingling sensation in one of them, like you do after you have played with a candle flame, but I did not think much of it.

"Riley, you shot a fireball at that lamp and it came from your palm," Aiden explained calmly. "The only people that I have seen do that are either dragon shifters or magic folk."

"Well, the joke is on you then because you must be seeing things, Aiden. I am neither a dragon shifter nor a witch," I laughed incredulously, dismissing his statement.

They were both dead serious though- I could see it in their faces.

Rafe was looking at me intensely like he was trying to figure me out as well. "That fireball came from you, Moreau. And what's more, you moved from the bed with superspeed. The kind that only wolf shifters usually have."

Are they fucking serious? What's next- telling me that I am a wolf-dragon hybrid now? I mocked them in my head, making sure that they didn't hear my thoughts this time.

Aiden was still holding my hands, running his thumb pads along my skin. His touch soothed me as usual and I felt myself relax a bit. "Humour me, Riley. Imagine fire appearing in your hand. A small ball of fire that you want to play with."

I did not really feel like playing this stupid game but the desire to prove them wrong was stronger than me, so I followed his instructions.

"See- nothing," I uttered satisfied as nothing happened.

That was until a small spark suddenly appeared in my palm. In front of my own eyes, it turned into a small orb of flames. Seeing it there, in my hand, was surreal -it came out of nowhere and, what was more, my skin should have been burning by now. But I felt nothing. Nothing but total control over the fire.

"Whaaaatt is happening?

Before I could get an answer though, I heard Rafe shout at me, "Moreau, catch!"

That was all the warning I got before he threw the room key in my face. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the impact as I did not have sufficient time to block his throw but nothing happened.

Slowly, I opened one eye, then the other. The key was right there in my closed palm. My hand had somehow moved to protect me- something that should not have been possible because everything happened in the split of a second and I normally wouldn't have had time to react.

"So, super-speed like a wolf-" Aiden said.

"- and control over fire, like a dragon," Rafe concluded.

"That can't be- I am just a human." My fingers flew to my temples, massaging them as loud thumping was threatening to make my head explode. "Can you two also calm your damn hearts? The sound of your rapid heartbeats is going to give me a headache."

They both looked at each other with a surprise before Rafe spoke again. "I think it is safe to add wolf super-hearing to the list of surprising abilities."

"Love, whatever is going on, it is something extraordinary because I have never heard of anyone being able to pick up the abilities of another shifter, mate or not."

"Thanks, Aiden- that's one hell of a way to reassure me," I hissed, my voice laced with sarcasm.

"I know this is a lot to take in, Riley, but we promise that we will help you get control over these new abilities." He stepped forward to give me a kiss on the cheek and my mind calmed again.

Still, the questions in my head did not go away.

What the hell is going on?

I felt fine- if anything, I felt even better than usual. I had more energy and really felt in top shape but as much as I wanted to reject what the guys were saying, I had just seen myself do all these impossible things. The more I thought about everything, the more I realised that there were only two beings that could tell me what was happening and it was time to finally visit them and give them a piece of my mind.

"I know what I need to do," I told my mates before I took my phone out and sent a text. "Let's go home now."

************

We got back to Scotland as quickly as we had arrived in Pennsylvania, all thanks to Maddox's portal abilities. For a second I wondered why I couldn't get that as my superpower instead, or whatever it was that I had now.

We portalled right into the Blackwood packhouse lounge and I immediately relaxed with the familiar environment around us. It was good to be home.

"Auri, my darling," my mother exclaimed the moment she laid eyes on me.

I rushed to my parents who were standing in the middle of the lounge with my brother and Anna, and I wrapped my arms around them. It had not been that long since I had seen them- well, not since I got to Scotland after I left with Lucien- but I had not realised just how much I had missed them. For a second there I imagined that we were back at their place down in the South and we were about to have our traditional Sunday lunch. Yet, the reality was that we were worlds apart from those times.

"How did you guys get here so quickly? I texted you only an hour ago.".

"We are warlocks, darling- there are plenty of things that we can do." My mum winked at me.

"Sweetheart, we missed you so much," my dad pulled away to have a look at me. "You look lovely, darling- looks like life in Scotland has a good effect on you." He pulled me in for an embrace again, giving me one of those forehead kisses that I had loved since I was a little girl.

"Victor, our girl has always been beautiful but I guess that a bit more fresh air was good for her." My mother tried to steal me away from my dad so that she could have me all for herself.

If only they knew what life up here has been like.

Oh, shit- they still didn't know that I had mates. Maybe if I just close my eyes and pretend that Rafe and Aiden are not here, my parents won't notice them. Very mature, I know.

My plan nearly worked until my dad cleared his throat, obviously requesting my attention. I turned around in the direction that he was staring and I realised that both of my mates were hovering around like some secret service agents.

"And who might your friends be, Auri?" He asked politely, smiling at them.

I bit my lip, thinking about what to answer. It was an awkward moment for me as I spent my whole life avoiding talking to my parents about guys and relationships. It wasn't hard, given that most of my hook-ups were short-lived and never reached the stage of being worth even mentioning them to my mum and my dad. I was even spared the uncomfortable lectures about boys and sex. Introducing the guys to them now suddenly had me feeling like an anxious teenage girl about to introduce her first boyfriend.

"Yes, Auri, mind introducing us to your parents," Rafe piped in, smirking smugly.

Ugh, he was going to regret this once we were alone again. Maybe this time I was going to set him on fire as opposed to a lamp. Dirty thoughts immediately crossed my mind though, threatening to set my body ablaze instead, and I noticed Rafe's face suddenly sport an even cockier grin.

"These are... erm... ugh... Alpha Rafe Macalister of the Windcrest pack and Aiden Hayes from the Fire Dragons clan," I mumbled.

"Delighted to meet you both," my mother squealed as they each kissed her hand.

Suck-ups.

"And, Riley...." Rafe added, evidently trying to throw me under the bus, despite the sharp nudge that Aiden gave him in the ribs.

Fuck it, I guess that my parents were going to find out at some point. This time was as good as any.

"And they are my mates."

"Your what now?" My dad nearly dropped the glass of water that he was taking a sip from.

"Auri, darling, I think I might have misheard you- I thought you said mates," my mum continued, evidently shocked by my words.

Well, this was a great start.

"I did." I tried to sound calm like I knew what I was talking about, but the reality was that I still had not figured out this whole mate business. "Rafe and Aiden are both my mates," I said and instinctively pulled my hair up in a ponytail in a move to try and draw the attention to something else than what I was saying.

Wrong-freaking-move!

"Oh my Goodness, they marked you," an excited shrill reached my ears and I knew that only Anna could get so exhilarated about me and my mates. She was practically jumping in her place, even with that little bump that was now becoming ever more visible.

Way to go, Anna. I loved my sister-in-law but this was not the time to throw additional information that I was probably not going to disclose. Sure, my brother was probably aware of this the moment we stepped through the portal but my parents were no shifters and I could only assume that they had no way of knowing where exactly my relationships with the guys stood.

"So let me get this straight. You have mates, two of them in fact, and they have marked you- your mother and I know enough about the shifter world to know what this means- and we only get to find out about all of this now?" Yeah, my dad was not happy about the whole story.

"In my defence, dad- this is all pretty recent and the appearance of Markolf kept us kind of busy up to now."

"Markolf? Aurelie Boswell, did I not tell you to stay far away from that cambion?" I winced as my father scolded me. I was a grown-up, independent woman but these were my parents and no matter my age, getting scolded never felt good.

"We definitely agree on that then," Rafe huffed.

"Oh, for goodness sake, Rafe- will you please shut up?" I had enough on my plate right now without him adding more fuel to the fire.

Calmness suddenly took over me and I realised that it was Aiden who was pushing that through our bond. My calm, he truly was that.

"Listen, how about we leave Riley and her parents alone for a while? Rafe and I need to speak with Lucien about the mission anyway and I think that they can use some time to catch up on their own."

Everyone nodded and headed out of the lounge, but not before I mouthed Thank You to my dragon mate. I looked back at my parents who were both clearly expecting answers.

"Sooooooooo...how have you two been? I had missed you so much."

"Really, Auri? Do you honestly think you can distract us so easily?"My dad raised his eyebrows at me.

"This comes from the man who kissed mum to steal her slice of chocolate cake."

"I..." my dad was struggling to find the right words to continue. He took a deep breath before he spoke again. "This is different, Auri. You will always be our little girl- we only want what's best for you and...well, two mates was not something that ever crossed our minds," he sighed as he sat down on the sofa, my mum joining him.

"But she does look great, doesn't she Victor? It's what love does to you, remember?" She smiled at him with so much love and adoration that I couldn't help but smile. At least until I realised what she was implying.

"Love? What...no, it's not like that. I mean...it's weird. And complicated. And it's not really love. I mean, we only just slept with each other." I wanted to kick myself for revealing too much because of my own stupidity. I just wanted to deny what my mum was suggesting, not tell her everything that we had been up to you.

"You what?" My dad nearly choked in shock.

"I mean..."

"Oh come on, Victor. Auri is a big girl." My mum stepped in to save the day as usual, while I prayed for the earth to swallow me.

Remember why you ask them to come, Riley. I had to keep on repeating that to myself to get through the awkwardness of the moment.

"Look, Mum, dad- I need your help."

In an instant, their expressions changed. They both looked worried, ready to jump in and defend me with their lives if they needed to but my request was much simpler.

"Anything, sweetheart," my mum said readily.

"I need you to take me to the Sun and the Moon Goddesses."