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Dad attached himself immediately to Gabe, who seemed to hastily look up information on whatever soccer game my Dad had just mentioned to him.
“You look familiar.” Mom eyed up Hana for a moment, and realization lit up her eyes. “You taught that wonderful fitness class I attended a couple of months ago with some friends from our neighbourhood!”
Hana took that as her cue and engaged my mother in conversation while the pack led everyone into the dining room to sit at their massive table. Mom seemed happy enough, which was a huge relief that she had something to focus on besides me, and having someone she already knew would hopefully help her adjust to the whole idea.
I sat between my dad and Allie, the pack across from us, with Luca next to Jasper, where my brother was busy asking about the recipe for buns Jasper had used for tonight.
The pack had produced quite the spread. I’d made tiramisu under Jasper’s guidance while the others had put together a charcuterie board, a tray of eggplant Parm, orzo pasta salad, jazzed up lettuce salad with orange segments and toasted almonds, and a roasted pork loin.
“Do all of you cook?” asked Mom as her initial conversation with Hana lulled, and she took in all the food laid out.
“With varying skill levels,” said Gabe. “We usually take turns, but tonight was a team effort.”
“Who cleans?” Mom looked around, probably noticing the lack of dust bunnies and gleam of the surfaces.
“We have a service that comes by twice a month for regular cleans and every quarter for deep cleans,” said Billie. “Otherwise, we’re all in charge of keeping our own spaces tidy.”
Mom grilled them on their jobs and hobbies and the history of the pack. I could tell by the tiny smiles she kept hiding that Mom was impressed, not only by their fabulous home but also by the warmth that they offered. When she asked after Billie’s parents and that particular story came out, I thought Mom was going to climb over the table to hug Billie. Mom had always metaphorically adopted our friends growing up if they didn’t have a great home life, and it was nice to see that compulsion hadn’t faded.
As we filled our plates with the main events, Dad set his hand on my wrist. “Nicola, have you heard anything from the police yet?”
“No, not yet. I don’t know if that's a good or bad sign.”
“Forensics is scheduled to come in tomorrow,” said Hana. “We should hopefully get an update after that.”
“You’re sure you don’t want to come home, Patatina?” Mom asked. “We’re more than happy to have you.”
“I like it here,” I said. “Plus, Alphonse knows where you live already.”
“You’re welcome to stay with us if you ever need to,” Sidney offered.
Allie nodded her head. “Anytime. We’d love to have you.”
I didn’t reallywantto leave the pack house, but I couldn’t depend on them just always wanting me around. At some point it would probably be a good idea to find a new apartment. The lease on my current place would be up next month, so I didn’t have to renew.
“If this stuff with Alphonse drags on I could stay with you.”
Guilt swelled instantly in my belly at the crestfallen expressions that swept over the pack. At least that made it clear that they wanted me to stay. For now, anyway. They had all said as much, but saying and feeling weren’t the same things.
It was at least relieving to know that I had places to go. I certainly wasn’t keen on going back to my apartment, even when forensics had finished up with it. Alphonse had gotten in once, and he could get in again. It would be better all around if I simply took everyone up on their offers to stay, let my lease end, and find a new apartment.
The rest of dinner went pretty well. The pack was good at charming people, and even with her initial reservations, Mom was all smiles by the time the meal ended.
My family was given a tour of most of the house, minus the private spaces. Allie walked with her arm hooked through mine during the tour, whispering a commentary of how cute the pack house was and how lucky I was to get to stay there. Roscoe became the biggest hit of the tour when the floof deigned to bless us with his presence after we had invaded his nap space in the basement. That spurred the whole conversation about animal rescue, since Roscoe had been a foster fail and Sidney worked with a dog rescue on occasion to foster orphan litters.
Luca hung back with Jasper for most of the tour, walking behind the group. I overheard Luca peppering Jasper with questions about his bakery. I’d missed out on a lot of things with Luca since moving out. We were seven years apart, which was a lot when one party was going off to college while the other had barely hit puberty. If he wanted to make a friend out of Jasper, then I was certainly not going to dissuade it.
Mom sidled up to me while we were showing everyone in the backyard. “Patatina, they seem like lovely people.”
I didn’tneedher approval, but it certainly made me feel better to have it. “They are. I’m glad you like them.”
Mom nodded. “All of your struggles with Alphonse are my fault. I’m so sorry my dear. I’ll never speak to him again unless it's to give him a piece of my mind.”
“You didn’t know,” I said. “If I had been a little less tightlipped about everything, then we could’ve avoided all of this.”
“Well, in any case, I’m very sorry. I’m glad you have a safe place to stay with people who are kind to you. I don’t pretend to understand how betas fit into packs. It's certainly not something I would’ve ever pursued for myself, but their other beta seems happy, and you seem happy too. That's the most important thing to me.”
“I appreciate that, Mom.”
