Cade smirked but gave nothing else away as he navigated to the outskirts of town. It was further away from the lake, but closer to the forest. I always loved being outdoors, so I kind of hoped that our backyard led into it.
He turned down a fairly empty street, a few large houses dotted the drive, ending in a winding path that led to a modern victorian.
“Oh wow, look at that one,” I said, pointing it out. There were at least two stories and an attic. The house was surrounded by a covered wraparound porch. The yard had lush grass and cute little flower beds, and the best part was it backed up against the forest.
When he turned down the lane and followed the path to the house that I’d just drooled over, my jaw dropped.
“No… Are you kidding me?” I gasped, excitement filling me.
“Do you like it?” he asked. My poor alpha was nervous but hopeful. I let out an excited squeal, nodding as I leaned up to see it better.
“Hurry up and park. I want to get out and see it.”
Cade laughed, stopping the SUV right in front. I practically flew over Lennon’s lap to get out. He kept me upright when I nearly tumbled out of the door, and then I was gaping up at the home that Cade had found us.
It was gorgeous. The living room had a bay window, and above that on the second floor was a rounded room with a tower-like roof. The opposite side had a regular window, but the roof was peaked, making each one stand out against the rest of the roof.
The house itself was painted black, and the polished warm toned wood of the trim and porch pillars stood out against it, giving it a rustic, but modern look.
I was in love already and we hadn’t even gone inside.
“Oh my God, there’s a porch swing.” I started to move, then turned back to Cade. “This place is gorgeous, Cade. You did good. Can we go inside?”
“I may have already bought it,” he admitted. “You can do what you want, princess.”
“What?” I asked, trying to process what he just said.
He sighed. “It was one of those buy now or lose out kind of things. I snagged it and figured if we didn’t like it, we’d keep looking and just rent this one out.”
They told me I could pick, and technically I still had that option. He wasn’t pushing it on me, the alpha was taking a chance. One glance back at the house and I knew this was the one.
Instead of running toward it, I ran toward my alpha, launching myself into the air. He caught me and hugged me close, burying his face in my hair.
“This is a real packhouse,” I said. “I never thought I’d have one.”
“Just for you, princess. You make our pack a real pack.”
He let me go then, and I rushed toward the house, snagging Mason’s hand on the way. He was just as excited as I was. We both sat at the same time in the porch swing, kicking it off.
The wind was rustling through the trees behind us, birds chirping from the branches. Spring was just starting to peek its head out, green leaves barely dotting the trees, but I knew in another month this place would be full of life.
“That room upstairs is the nest.” Cade pointed to the rounded tower above the bay window.
That was enough to get me scrambling off the porch swing and rushing to the door just as Cade was opening it.
“There’s also an attic, so each of our deltas will have their own den.”
At Cade’s words I turned to Lennon, giving him a hard stare. “You’re going to give it a shot,” I said. “You deserve to be settled and accepted. Fuck what everybody said in your past. Fuck what the media is saying right now. It’s okay to be who you are. If you hate it, then we’ll find another use for it.”
He looked stunned, but nodded his head. “Alright, princess. Whatever you say.”
That was good enough for me. I stepped inside, and looked around at our new home. It had more of that Gothic modern charm. Not a single white wall was to be found. The living room was painted black like the exterior, the same warm wood beams on the ceiling and archways.
The fireplace was made with dark gray brick, fake logs piled in so we could get the whole picture.
I could already see us sitting on a big plush couch, playing games and living as a pack. Happy, settled, and full of life. That was all I ever wanted out of a packhouse.
We moved on to the kitchen next. It was huge, full of stainless steel appliances and a large pack-sized dining room table.
