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I suppose it can’t all be blamed on work this time, though. I’m still processing how my relationship with Javi has evolved. The other night was a big moment for us- not only finally having sex, but the L bombs we both dropped before and after. We’ve met at the cabin to fuck every night since. I’m trying not to get too far in my head about what this all means, but it’s hard not to, considering the implications.
It’s not like we’re just a regular couple dating. We’remates. And now that we’ve gotten to know each other better and are on the same page about how we feel, it’s time to consider how we’re going to break the news to our family and friends. We need to have the talk about making this thing official, and part of that still hinges on what I’m able to dredge up in IT. I’m sure the conversation will go a whole lot smoother if there’s no bar to his pack joining the alliance.
I need it to go smoothly. Not only am I completely infatuated with Javi, but the sex is way too good to give up. It’s like he’s unlocked this whole other side of me; a secret sexual deviant that is constantly craving his touch, rapidly becoming more wild and adventurous and uninhibited.
“C’mon, let’s go,” River urges, bouncing up from the bed and holding out a hand to me.
I place mine in hers, letting her pull me up to my feet and smoothing the front of my chiffon blouse. “You sure you’re ready to endure a dinner full of giggling Anderson girls?” I ask, referencing my cousins on my dad’s side.
Riv just shrugs nonchalantly. “Sure, how bad can it be?”
Dinner is chaotic. From the time we sit down at the table to the time the meal ends, there isn’t a single blessed beat of silence. Harper is a social butterfly, and as the guest of honor, she’s on her feet half the time flitting from person to person and regaling everyone with stories about her life as a student at Denver U. Don’t get me wrong, it all sounds fun and exciting and I’m trulyhappy she’s enjoying herself there, I just sometimes wish she could’ve found the same fulfillment in sticking around here. I’ve never been as close with her as I am with my brothers, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be.
Honestly, I feel closer to my cousin Riv than I do to my own sister. She takes the seat beside me during dinner, and we spend a lot of the time catching up, though I still have so much on my mind that I find myself drifting off quite a bit. I really need to get this stuff with Javi figured out sooner rather than later.
After we eat, everyone disperses between the kitchen, living room, and back patio of the packhouse. My Uncle Theo is holding court in the kitchen, he and my mom bantering back and forth about their childhood together at the Summervale packhouse while my Grandpa Anders contributes commentary whenever he can get a word in edgewise between his kids. Most of my cousins gather out back, drinking spiked seltzers and trading the latest gossip.
I wander into the living room, my Uncle Logan greeting me with a broad smile from the sofa in the back corner. Though we’re not technically related, he’s such a close friend of the family that he gets the ‘Uncle’ moniker- as he should, considering the fact I was named after him.
Logan’s mate, Olivia, is cozied up beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. Though she now goes by Olivia Evans, she’s formerly Olivia Harper- my sister’s namesake, and my friend Andie’s aunt by blood.
“How’s my favorite Logan?” she teases as I start toward them, earning a playful swat from her mate.
“Just living the dream,” I laugh, approaching the couch they’re seated on and flopping down beside her. “How’s baby Maeve?”
“Enjoying her last few days with her cousin,” Liv replies, lifting her hips to pull her phone out of her back pocket. “Wanna see pictures?”
“Of course,” I say eagerly, leaning in as she thumbs through the photos on her phone.
Logan and Olivia were never going to do the whole kid thing. They both dedicated their lives to their roles within the security squad, the two of them always heading off on missions and kicking ass. I don’t know all the details, but Liv was captured and tortured by the shadow pack for months when she was a teen, and though she didn’t talk about it for years, she slowly started opening up when she applied to join a mission to hunt down former shadow pack loyalists. Uncle Logan led that mission, and while helping her get past the trauma associated with her captivity, the two of them fell in love and the rest is history.
Getting pregnant with Maeve last year was definitely a surprise, but they’ve taken the whole thing in stride. Though it must be weird for them to have a new pup while all their friends’ kids are grown.
“Oh my gosh, herhair!” I gush, smiling at a picture of Maeve taking a bath in the kitchen sink. She’s got a big, cheesy grin on her face and a full head of curly, flame-red hair.
“I know, right?” Olivia laughs. “Those recessive genes must be stronger than people think. I spent nine months growing that kid only for her to come out looking just like her auntie.”
She’s talking about her sister, Serena Raines- the one that Ares and Andie also inherited their bright red hair from.
I chuckle softly, shaking my head. “Well, she’s adorable. I’m gonna have to come by and see her sometime soon.”
“Definitely,” Liv agrees. “Or I’ll bring her up to the squad complex to visit. I know she’s gonna miss Andie when she moves back in.”
“Yeah, well selfishly, I’m glad to have her back,” I say. “The dorms haven’t been the same without her.”
“Didn’t Ares move into her old room?” Logan asks, cocking a brow.
I grimace. “Exactly.”
The three of us share a laugh while a few of my cousins filter in from outside, grabbing more drinks out of the fridge.
“Lo, come hang out!” River calls to me, waving the two spiked seltzers in her grasp.
“I’ll be out in a little bit,” I tell her, turning back to Logan and Liv. I don’t get to see them often these days, so I’m not about to miss out on this opportunity to catch up. “So how’s everything else going?” I ask with a smile, tucking up one of my legs underneath me. “I feel like I haven’t seen you guys in forever.”
“Oh, good,” Logan sighs, adjusting his arm around his mate’s shoulder and pulling her in closer. “Maeve has been keeping us on our toes. And Liv’s all freaked out about the new nanny starting next week.”
“Am not,” she huffs, swatting his chest with the back of a hand. “I’m just not thrilled about a young, hot twenty-something prancing around our house all the time,” she grumbles.
