I briefly consider messing with him, but I’m already tense enough. I put my pinkie finger in the air. “Pinkie promise, no blenders.”
“See?” Faye curls an arm around Cole, whose posture remains rigid. “We’re going to have a great day in Forestville, then we’ll catch up with everyone later.”
“Maybe you can buy a new mop while you’re out?” I can’t resist teasing him one more time.
Since Luca and Orin are uncharacteristically quiet, I’ve been overcompensating, making extra jokes and talking nonstop to fill every silence. Although I’m not fully able to hide my nerves from Adler. Damn stupid bond.
“You’ll all be fine.” Ren, the voice of reason, says as he puts on his jacket. Like Faye, he always knows the right thing to say.“The Mavericks are great. They’ll just be happy that Sabs has found a pack who loves and cares about her so much.”
Luca braves a small smile. His hair looks a little different today. It’s usually styled in beachy waves, but it’s smoother and glossier, like he put some product in it.
Adler is wearing a button-down shirt, which is very hot but looks weirdly formal for him, and Orin’s shoulders are even stiffer than usual. Drax is the only one of my alphas who is keeping calm and has made himself at home in front of the television.
“They’re a few minutes away.” I read Mom's text, fresh anxiety swimming through me. “Is everything ready?”
“We’ve already checked everything three times over,” Orin reassures me. “We’re all set.”
We decided to lay out some light snacks, most of it baked goods prepared last minute with the help of Delilah. Nothing says ‘hooray, I accidentally bonded’ more than tiny cheesecakes and chips and dip, right?
“Please make yourselves at home.” Faye motions to the space around her. “We’re all family now.”
“Good luck, little sis!” Laz gives me a final noogie. “Break a leg. And make sure that Dad doesn’t break all of theirs.”
From the corner of my eye, I notice Adler gulp.
“Quit playing with them.” I shove him.
Laz’s face turns serious. “Yeah, he was only a cage fighter in his youth.”
Orin’s eyes almost pop out of their sockets. “A cage fighter?”
“Go!” I scowl at him. “Now!”
Faye gives me another quick squeeze before she herds her alphas out of the house like she’s cajoling a pack of wayward lambs.
“This will be fine,” I say, turning to my guys. “You’ll love my family.” Well, I hope they do… because family means everything to me.
Luca peers through the blinds. “They’re here.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Adler mutters under his breath, rubbing his palms on his pants.
“Is it bad that I’m enjoying seeing you this rattled?” Drax chortles, throwing a peanut into the air and catching it in his mouth.
“And to think I was just starting to like you,” Adler snaps at him.
“No arguing.” Orin huffs out a sigh. “We have to make a good impression.”
The moment the doorbell rings, they all freeze.
“You guys wait here,” I order. “And remember, don’t say anything about the bond. Not yet. We need to ease them in, okay? Charm them. Schmooze a little first.”
I head over to the door, a pit forming in my stomach from the anticipation bubbling in there.
“Sabs!” Mom’s entire face lights up when she sees me. People say we look similar with our flaming red hair and full lips, but I have Pops’s green eyes.
“Hi, Mom.”
Although my parents never found out who the biological father was of each of their kids and we see all our dads as our dads, I do have the same golden eyes as Pops. Yet I have the sense of humor as Bug and the same fierce determination as Dad.
