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TWENTY-SEVEN
My dad lefta few minutes later, and Dax and I stood in the doorway as we watched his fancy rental car drive away. My mind was still spinning with the revelation that he was going to build a house nearby—and that he wanted grandkids.
I felt good, though. Really good. Better than I had in a long time.
“How do you think he’s going to react when he learns what we are?” Dax murmured to me, as we remained in the doorway.
“I think we wait to tell him until we’re about to have a baby. How can he be afraid of an adorable teeny wolf?”
Dax chuckled. “Probably a safe bet.”
“Mmhm.” I leaned up against him. “I should probably head into the restaurant. I might owe them something for damages. Davy was pretty angry.”
“He didn’t do anything except bite a couple of other assholes. Nothing was broken, and Zed’s in charge, so I’m sure you still have your job if you want it.”
That was the question though, wasn’t it? Did I want the job?
I’d needed the socialization, before. I’d needed people to talk to, and to help.
Now, I had Dax and his family. And… the pack, as much as I was reluctant to admit it.
“We need to talk about the pack,” I admitted to Dax, as he shut the door.
“What about them?” His voice was gentle, and I could tell even without asking that he probably already had his suspicions as to why I wanted to talk about them.
Rather than going back to the couch, we headed into our room. “Want to talk about it in the tub?”
“I’d never say no to getting you naked.” He flashed me a grin, which I couldn’t help but return.
I turned the water on, and Dax went through the bath bomb box while I stripped. “I’m actually starting to like these things,” he remarked, pulling a glittery dark gray one out. “Though I’d request that when you buy more, we stick with ones that don’t have glitter in them.”
I laughed. “That’s reasonable, I guess.”
We slipped into the water together, both of us relaxing as the tub filled and the bath bomb dissolved.
When we finally turned the water off, I was relaxed against Dax’s side, his arm draped over my shoulder and tucking me tighter against him. My head rested on his chest, and his lips brushed my forehead or hair every now and then.
“So, the pack,” I said quietly.
He remained silent, waiting for me to talk.
“I just… I don’t really feel like I belong with them,” I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. “Lizzy added me to the group chat months ago, which was really sweet of her, but I always felt awkward. And out of place. So… I don’t know. It hurts that they didn’t like me then, and now I’m supposed to just accept that they only like me because I’m your mate now. That stings, you know?”
“I’m sorry.” Dax’s arm tightened around me, pulling me closer. “That’s probably my fault for the most part. I’m the one who was trying not to get close to you, so I wouldn’t develop feelings for you.”
“The girls were friendly, I guess. It was the guys who weren’t, which was mostly just you and Ryder, so…”
It struck me that there was a decent chance I had only hated hanging out with the pack because of the way Dax had treated me. Which wasn’t cruel, but was a bit cold.
The other guys were polite, and most of the girls were friendly for the most part. Dax had avoided me, though, and Ryder was constantly scowling.
“Ryder doesn’t have anything against you; he’s just a grouch. But he’s dying, so his attitude can be as shitty as he wants. I should never have treated you the way I did, but I swear, no one in the pack has anything against you. They all like you, as far as I know, and I’m the one who hears about it when people have issues with other pack members.”
I guessed that was fair.
“I just felt out of place. Maybe I can get over it, if we see them more. But maybe not.”
He squeezed me tight. “If you don’t want to spend time with them, you don’t have to. I won’t let them make you uncomfortable.”
