There was luggage still by the doorway when we walked in the front. Karina’s bright laughter echoed down the hallway, leading us towards the kitchen.
As I pushed open the door and took in the dads, I nearly laughed. Karina had a type.
All three men were tall and broad. One had long, blond hair that fell around the shoulders of an expensive suit. The other two kept theirs cropped and tidy, both dark, though one lighter than the other in a shade that matched Jack. If it wasn’t for one having an angular face and the other broad, I might say they were brothers.
“My boys,” the beta with long hair said, his face lighting up.
Karina was practically beaming, not noticing how much her sons were freaking out. This wasn’t a happy reunion for them.
The other two were more reserved. The dark-haired one watched carefully as he waited for a response. They knew damn well how this was going to go.
“Surprised to see you here,” Jack managed. The blond’s smile faltered.
“We heard we had something to celebrate this Christmas.” It was a weak attempt at a winning smile and it failed spectacularly.
“You have to have something to celebrate to come home now?” Cole asked in a hard voice that even made me uncomfortable.
His smile was gone completely.
“Of course not, son. But you know we travel for work.”
“Of course, but I don’t really understand how you can call me your son. You barely know me.”
Ouch. I knew that one hit the mark right where they intended it.
“We didn’t come home to argue,” The lighter haired alpha cut in, trying to placate them both.
“How about introductions?” Karina intercepted. She walked up next to me, giving me a pleading smile, practically begging for me to not let this escalate any further.
I’m not sure what she thought I could do about it. My pack wasn’t going to simply forgive and forget just because she wanted them to.
“This is Aspen. All four of them formed a pack.”
“How nice,” one of the dads said, as if indifferent.
The tension was so high in here that I immediately saw red.
“It is nice,” I said as I narrowed my eyes.
“I meant no harm in my words,” he said in a way that was one hundred percent judgmental.
What a dick. It was all I could do not to roll my eyes.
Of course, he meant harm with his words. He could say what he wanted, but it was all complete bullshit.
“Why don’t we all just get comfortable and settled in, and then we can chat a little more,” Karina suggested.
“Sure,” Jack bit out, practically sweeping us all upstairs. We’d have to face them again, but at least my mates could breathe for a moment.
“I’m going to shower,” Cole said, running a hand through his hair.
Jack nodded. “That’s a great idea, brother.” Then he was stomping off.
“I’ll go with this one,” North offered quickly, before rushing after Jack.
It was kind of nice to have someone to split the task up with, which meant everyone could have the care they needed.
“Can I shower with you? It’s okay to say no if you want to be alone,” I promised.
