Noah paced the length of his living room for the fourth time, running a hand through his golden hair until it stuck up in soft, messy tufts. He kept glancing at the door like it might disappear if he looked away. For someone so effortlessly suave in any social setting, he’d never looked more nervous—and somehow more endearing.

When your knock finally came, every bit of tension in him melted. He opened the door with a soft smile, green eyes brightening the moment he saw you.

“Hey,” he murmured, voice warm. “You made it.”

He stepped aside so you could enter, his hand brushing yours; it was light, reassuring. He could hear your heartbeat quicken, smell the mix of excitement and worry you were trying so hard to hide. Meeting a shifter’s family wasn’t nothing. Meeting his family meant stepping into a world you’d only ever seen through him.

Noah cleared his throat and tried to smooth his hair again, failing completely. “They’re really excited,” he promised. “My mom’s been cooking since sunrise, and Cole’s been texting me nonstop about how he’s ‘totally going to behave’—which means he absolutely won’t.” He gave you a small, crooked grin, the soft kind he only ever showed you.

Then he reached for your hand, threading his fingers with yours. “But… I’ll be with you the whole time. And they’re gonna love you. I swear.”