My phone chimes with a text from Birdie, and I nearly fly off the couch.
“Can you drive me to the farm?” I ask Greer.
“Of course I can. Just let me grab the keys.”
I feel bad that Callum was making food for me, but I’ve got to make sure Birdie is alright.
He lets the other Alphas know that we’re headed to see Birdie and the whole ride I’m bouncing my leg in anticipation. Greer plops a reassuring massive hand on my thigh and squeezes, his calming nature a soothing balm through the bond.
The moment we park, I’m out of the car and knocking on the front door. Greer trails behind me quickly in long strides.
Graham is the one to open the door with a reassuring smile. I’m immediately smacked with all their scents, and it takes me a moment to recover.
Scenting other people besides my mates is something I’m going to have to get used to now that I’m not on scent blockers or deodorizers. My nose twitches and Greer comes up to my side as I look at Callum’s brother.
“Where is she?” I ask, no time for niceties.
Graham blinks at me and points to the kitchen.
I don’t spare him another word as I make my way to the kitchen, wondering if I’ll find a distressed Birdie or worse. Yet, here she sits on her largest Alpha, Jamie’s lap, being hand fed crackers and cheese.
“Maisie!” she says cheerfully, getting out of his arms and coming to hug me.
She smells like all of them, which isn’t bad, but still something new to get used to.
“Can you guys give us some privacy?” Birdie asks and they do.
“Are you okay? Is everything good?” I ask, looking her over.
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” she says, her eyes landing on my bond mark. “Holy fuck. Greer?”
“How did you know?”
Birdie shrugs, “I don’t know, he just seems to help get you out of your head. It makes sense that you bonded with him.”
“What about you?” I ask, as we both pull up our respective stools in the bright farm-house kitchen.
Birdie smiles, and she tells me everything, and I listen intently. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen my sister this happy, and it surges through me, too. I came here thinking this was going to be a painful trip, balancing work, trying to reconnect with my sister, and yet here we are, feeling more connected than ever before.
She talks animatedly, and there’s no way I could ever think she wasn’t fully in love. They’ve got a plan in place, and they support her art. They love her free spirit.
I spent a lot of time thinking no one could ever love me for me, but I always had that with my sister. No matter our differences, no matter our time apart, we were connected in a way that was unbreakable.
I’m off my stool, hugging her tight, which she returns.
“I love you so much, Birdie,” I tell her softly. “I’m so happy for you.”
She squeezes me hard one more time before pulling back, and I tell her everything. How I knew they were my scent matches, how I needed to tell them first, memories of my heat. She gets a good laugh out of the eye mask being lit on fire.
“I had already decided to stay, but I knew I needed Greer to anchor me. I haven’t bonded with Lain or Callum yet.”
Her throat bobs and she glances at me with affection.
“Are you planning on making them wait long?”
I bite my lip and shake my head. “No, especially not Lain.”
“That’s true. Make Callum work for it and all. You look lighter, Maisie.”
