Vinny's parents stared at their son.
"What do you mean?" Duke asked with a frown of confusion. Vinny only just remembered to breathe as he looked down to the ground in shame. He found it hard enough to say those three words, let alone explain himself.
"Son?" Madison questioned, making him look back up.
He was nervous beyond belief but he couldn't go back on his words. He knew they had to know, it wasn't fair to keep them in the dark about this.
"My soulmate..." He stopped and took a breath to calm himself further. "Is male."
His whole body was screaming at him to run away. But he had to face them. Saying it out loud made him realise just how real this was. He is in love with a guy and admitting it to his parents.
But nothing was said between them. His mum and dad were trying to process this. They looked at each other with expressions Vinny couldn't quite read. It was almost like they were confirming it with each other that they heard him correctly.
His heart was thumping so hard in his chest, he was sure they could hear it. His face was burning with the intensity of his emotions and he was trying hard to keep himself together. He wouldn't let them see how heartbroken he would be if they were to reject him.
Duke was first to step forwards. His expression was still unreadable but to Vinny's surprise, he rested a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"How strong is it?" He asked.
Vinny was taken back. Why wasn't he shouting or looking upset? He now felt like they definitely didn't understand.
"My soulmate is another man dad. Did you not hear me?" Vinny now looked a little distressed. Why were they not freaking out like he did? He was sure they would be disappointed in him, it was hard for him to believe that they might actually be okay with this.
"Yes, I heard you. But how strong is it?" Duke asked again. Vinny's gaze swapped between his parents. He frowned but eventually realised that his dad was waiting for an answer.
"Strong," He mumbled quietly. He almost felt embarrassed.
"And when did you find out that this person was your soulmate?" Duke was in fact very, very surprised to hear this and he could tell how hard it was for his son to get his head around it. Therefore, he needed to act calm and relaxed so he knew they were there for him.
"Last night," Vinny remembered when all those new feelings came to him so suddenly.
"Have you connected the bond with him?" Madison asked. She was also exceptionally surprised. If it was anyone else, she probably wouldn't be. But her son always looked towards females when he pictured his soulmate and he never ever showed the slightest bit of interest in guys. She understood that this was a shock for him too.
Vinny shook his head to say no.
His parents looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
"You found out who your soulmate was last night, but you haven't connected yet?" Duke asked.
Vinny nodded.
"How have you managed this long without connecting a strong bond?"
They know how hard it must be for him right now. That awful pulling sensation on his chest from being far apart and the constant longing to just hold that person must be pumping through his veins.
"It's killing me," Vinny whispered and bit the inside of his lip.
"Son, you need to connect your bond," Duke now looked rather excited.
Vinny frowned once more. Was this actually happening?
"Do you not care that the love of my life is a guy?" He asked, but felt himself get nervous again.
"Of course not. We're just happy you have someone," Madison beamed while taking his hands in hers. Her son has been through a lot and they were counting down the days for him to finally have someone precious in his life. He needed a soulmate, no matter who it was. They were just glad that someone could love him like nobody else ever will.
"Did you think we wouldn't be okay with it? Is that why you didn't tell us?" Duke asked.
Vinny took in a deep breath.
"Yes. I didn't want you both to be upset with it and abandon me." Slowly, He was starting to feel calm again.
"My god Vinny, we would never do that to you! It may be a shock to us that you are going to be in love with a male, but I can't imagine how you must be feeling." Duke gave him a reassuring smile. Vinny wanted to cry with happiness and hug his parents endlessly, but he wouldn't do that. Instead, he cracked a small smile that lasted no more than five seconds.
"You have no idea," He muttered before crossing his arms.
"Are you finding this hard to deal with?" Madison asked him.
"Yes," He mumbled. "I'm not sure if I like feeling this way towards a guy and I feel really confused. I thought I was attracted to girls and this has me questioning whether I ever did." Vinny was truthful. He may as well get it out in the open while he's in this vulnerable state of mind.
His parents nodded, showing they understood.
"It's okay son. We're going to help you through this," She said softly.
Vinny relaxed further. He was still a little shocked that his parents were okay with this.
"And last night, did you stay near his house?" Duke asked.
The vampire sighed, knowing that what he was going to say didn't sound great.
"I broke into his house and hid in his bedroom," He cringed at his words as his mum's eyes widened.
"Vinny! Do you know how wrong that is!?" She asked but her tone wasn't harsh.
"Yes, I know. But what else did you expect me to do?" He muttered as his usual defensive manor came back, as well as his famous glare.
"Okay okay," Duke sighed and held up his hands. "I suggest you go and change before meeting us back here. We'll go and get your soulmate. You need to connect the bond right away." He was dismissing the fact that is son broke into someone's house. Under the circumstances, it was allowed to be ignored.
Vinny agreed. He couldn't connect his bond while wearing last night's clothes that are damp from the snow.
"Where does he live?" Madison asked but her son's eyes diverted to the grand clock above the fireplace.
"He works here." He knew he'd be in the kitchen already.
"Oh, really? Where?" Duke asked.
"Uh, the restaurant I think," Vinny shrugged. He was trying not to think about seeing his lover. That in itself was making his heart do somersaults.
"Right, we'll go get him. What's his name?" Madison asked as she felt her excitement rise.
"Oliver. I don't know his second name," Vinny said before heading towards the door.
"Make sure you wear something nice," She shouted after him, making Duke shake his head in amusement. Vinny rolled his eyes before continuing towards the staircase.
When he was gone, Duke and Madison exchanged big smiles.
"I didn't expect that, if I'm honest," Duke chuckled. "This'll be quite something to put in the newspapers."
"Today, our son will fall in love with another man," Madison beamed. "I never thought I'd ever say that about Vinny but I'm so proud of him."
His parents both felt the same. Even though it'll be unusual for them to see their son in love with a guy, they're proud that he has managed to somewhat accept it and is trying to deal with it.
* * * * *
Oliver made his way into the kitchen with a full five minutes to spare. He looked around to see Desmond giving him a moody frown. He brushed it off and decided to be the mature one by giving him a friendly smile, but he knew that would probably push Desmond's buttons.
He didn't know why he was so disliked by this guy, he has never done anything wrong to make him hate him. Except for spilling wine on his shoes last night but he was mean to Oliver before that. It's not like Oliver is the only one who he's nasty at. He does seem to hate Oliver more, for some reason. Maybe it's the fact that he's gay? That could be it. He could just be homophobic.
Just then, Alpha and female Alpha walked into the kitchen. Their presence as always was very dominant and the room instantly fell silent. But to everyone's surprise, they looked a lot happier than expected, considering last night's events.
"Good morning everyone," Alpha said while glancing around the room. He wondered which young male was about to become the newest member of their family. "As you know, the big hall needs to be spotless today in order for the restaurant to be re-opened in the afternoon. I would like everyone to get on with that this morning and I'll come and give you your next orders in a little while." But before anyone could do anything, Madison quickly stopped them.
"Before you all go, we need to speak to one person," female Alpha added and looked around the room. "We are looking for someone with the name of Oliver."
Oliver raised his head in surprise. Luckily, there was only one person with that name who worked here. But did they seriously want to speak to him?
A lot of glances were shared in his direction before he hesitantly stepped forwards.
When their eyes fell on him, they suddenly felt excited.
"Are you Oliver?" Duke asked and also stepped towards him.
Oliver nodded. He felt extremely nervous and maybe a little worried.
"Good, come with us please," He said before turning and swiftly walking towards the door and holding it open, expecting him to follow.
Oliver was polite and let female Alpha go first before he followed them both out of the kitchen.
They didn't say anything more to him as they lead him down the long corridors and into a part of the mansion he had never been before.
The longer they walked, the more concerned he felt.
When they came to a big, grand wooden door, Oliver's nerves spiked through his veins. Are they going to fire him for spilling wine on Desmond's shoes? Did he complain about him to the Alpha?
All sorts of things were running through his mind.
But he tried to stay calm as he entered what looked like a dining room but it was huge. Half of it had sofa's and the other half had a huge oak table with grand chairs placed neatly around it. At the end of the room was a big fireplace with a big painting of what looked like the Vanderwood family.
Oliver then took his gaze towards the two Vampires who were watching him with such interest.
"Um, forgive me for asking, but... am I in trouble?" He was trying not to look too panicked.
"Of course not, you just need to be patient. We'll explain in a moment," Alpha said and gave him a warm smile.
He smiled back, but that didn't stop his mind from freaking out.