Nate sat comfortably by Alex at the table with Eric to his left. He looked over to see that his boyfriend looked a bit nervous, still, which could be understandable. He remembered how nervous he'd felt about meeting the Ramseys, particularly after how Alex's father had found him and Alex. However, just as Alex had assured him that things were fine then, he made sure to let Alex know that things were fine. Part of this was to give Alex's hand a reassuring squeeze. Alex only squeezed his hand back as William and Martha returned with series of ceramic pots and dishes that contained the pot roast and the dinner that they would all be enjoying. Nate even heard Alex lick his lips at the sight of it.
"It smells good," Nate said as his plate was in front of him.
"It always does," Martha smiled to her eldest son, "It's just that now... our sense of smell is so good we can smell delicious coming a room away..."
Nate chuckled and nodded while Eric began eating. Nate and Alex meanwhile sat quietly and watched as Martha walked around the table to sit next William. Nate eventually checked on Alex and found him still nervously looking between Martha and William.
"So... Alex... you welcomed our Nate into your pack, right?" Martha asked.
"Yeah," Alex answered slowly, "I am a member of Austin's Pack as well... though in my case... I could end up being asked to help other Packs welcome new members as well."
"There aren't many gay werewolves?" William wondered.
"Not really," Alex answered, "Some packs may ask Nate to help when a gay man asks to join their Pack."
"Wouldn't each Pack be responsible for welcoming their own members?" Eric asked curiously.
"In a way..." Alex explained, "but while weres have a higher libido than normals... we are still control of ourselves and generally speaking we aren't so horny that we don't care the gender of the others. And since there are few gay werewolves, that means that not every pack has one... and if one of these packs welcomes a gay man to their Pack... if he can't be... attracted to the female members of the pack... they'd need to contact a pack that DOES have a gay member for that ceremony."
Martha blinked as she began eating and was listening to Alex's answer. It actually reminded her of her own welcome into were society that Frances and Samantha had given her. The only other members of the pride were some of the male "werecats" that were completely homosexual and wouldn't have had interest in Martha even if she could be turned by a male "werecat." They might be friendly, but it would never be more than platonic friendship between them, which meant that her transformation HAD to be with Frances and Samantha, though not that she would have traded that experience for anything in the world.
"Sounds potentially busy..." Martha said slowly.
"It has the potential," Alex nodded, "but it all works out... and these transformation ceremonies are generally intended purely for the transformation of the normal in question and their welcome to were society... So... if a normal woman asks you to turn her into a werecat... or asks your husband to make her a werefox, any coupling that goes on isn't an issue of marital fidelity. It is simply welcoming a new were into were society... Though... in many cases, weres will try to make sure that the person doing the welcoming is single."
"And I'm glad Alex welcomed me into were society," Nate answered, "and more."
Alex looked over to Nate and tried hard not to blush, but largely failed to do so. Both Martha and William noticed the redness of Alex's cheeks.
"Nate is actually the first real boyfriend that I've had," Alex said weakly, "and... well... I am happy to have him and hope to be good for him..."
"That you'll only find out as things go," William assured him, "it's okay if you both aren't perfectly in sync with each other or sure if you're truly in love, yet. A lot of that takes time."
Alex nodded and nervously took a bite of his dinner, noting that there were no mushrooms on it. He felt glad of that. Martha noticed his attention to his plate and felt her curiosity rise higher.
"Alex... would you mind if I asked you a curious question?" Martha asked.
"No, ma'am," Alex answered.
"I understand that I wasn't born into were society..." Martha gave a playful smile, "but forty isn't even old for a normal. You can call me Martha. No need for ma'am. Okay?"
"Of course, ma'... Martha," Alex answered, catching himself this time, "Ask away."
Nate smiled as it sounded like Alex was getting a bit more comfortable with meeting his folks. That was a good thing and he began chewing on a potato that was the main side dish for dinner. It tasted good, though from what Nate had noticed was that the pot roast tasted better than it had ever been before. Like his new found lycanthropy preferred the meat in the meal.
"Well... you said you had an allergy to mushrooms," Martha commented, "Do you know what brought that about? I may not have been a were-fan before coming to Moon Lake, but I thought the only thing we were allergic to was Silver."
"Silver is the thing that all weres are allergic to, yes," Alex answered, "and as to my allergy... I can't really say. Some things like that happen. As weres... we're all extremely healthy with most if not all human diseases not being a threat to us... and even things like cancer and heart disease aren't the threats that they are to normals... but sometimes these things happen. I can't really say and the doctors haven't been able to say either."
"It's not bad... is it?" Nate asked him.
"Not super bad... but I would swell up like a balloon if I ate any," Alex answered.
"Wouldn't there be a pill or something that could help with it?" Eric asked, "Like people who take pills to counter pet allergies?"
"I've never heard of that," Alex said weakly.
"Well do our best to keep mushrooms off the menu when you come to visit," William promised him, "Don't worry."
"Thank you," Alex answered as he continued to feel more and more comfortable. From what Nate had told him, he had expected things to be rather tense in the Anderson home given the things that had stressed his parents marriage, but both of them were cordial and even friendly. He'd occasionally heard his own parents make some commentary that there was "something about Moon Lake" from time to time. He'd never fully believed it before, but at present he wondered if maybe they were right in that regard. That "something" in Moon Lake had done that and made things better.
"So... what are you into, Alex?" Martha asked, "any major interests or plans?"
"Well... I've enjoyed cooking to some degree and my folks have let me experiment from time to time," Alex answered, "and I've enjoyed a good many following various pro sports... particularly the Seahawks."
William and Martha both nodded as they ate.
"Though... I don't really know what I'd want to do," Alex admitted.
"Are you good with your cooking?" William asked.
"I'd like to think I am..." Alex said slowly.
"Maybe you could be a chief then," William offered, "if you enjoy it... and if not...there is time to figure out what you want to do. You don't have to know for sure right now."
"Maybe... though... it's been more of a hobby for me," Alex answered.
"As I said, it's still early," William answered.
Alex nodded and did begin to feel more comfortable with how things were going. He had been nervous that nothing he would do would work with Nate's parents, but as dinner went on, he found things being better. They were getting along and both of Nate's parents were proving to be friendly and cordial. They also weren't pushing anything was related to school as well. As dinner progressed they enjoyed the cordial and friendly terms which Alex enjoyed greatly. It left him feeling good about the meeting. As dinner came to an end, Alex wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin that had been sitting next to his place at the table.
"Thank you for dinner," Alex said as he stood up, "It was great."
"Don't mention it," Martha smiled, "It was nice to meet you."
"Yes," William agreed.
"You know..." Alex chuckled, "I kinda had the fear that you wouldn't like me..."
"It's okay," William chuckled, "You seem like a nice enough werewolf. Keep our Nate happy and you never hurt him, and you'll be fine."
Alex only nodded and smiled.