“Way to get me in trouble kid.”
“Sorry about that,” I say lightly, “also I’m not a kid.”
He gives me an unimpressed look. I’m not sure how old he is. He looks late forties but given that Connor was almost thirty, he has to be in his fifties minimum and since I’m thirty-four, it’s a bit weird to be called kid.
“So what do I owe this visit?”
“I’m in town and thought I’d visit your pack. Thea talks about you all often. I came here in case the stalker is keeping any kind of tabs on your home.” I purposely omit Henderson’s name and why I’m here. I don’t want to risk him or anyone in his pack doing something stupid and possibly tipping off Henderson.
“Soph will want to meet you, so it’s probably best you come for dinner. You can come in my car and hopefully that’s enough to bypass anythingyou’reworried about where that asshole is concerned,” he says bluntly, a fire in his eyes at the mention of Thea’s stalker.
I am being hugged to death by my future mother-in-law.
“I’m so happy to meet you, are any other members of your pack here? What about Thea?” she rambles out.
“Soph let ’em breathe,” Max says, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Thea isn’t here. It’s just him.” I feel a little awkward for essentially dropping in on them. I really don’t know why I didn’t plan this better. Probably because I was so focused on Henderson and the interview with his ex-pack everything fell by the wayside. That’s not like me. I have to get it together, can’t risk something important slipping by.
Sophie leads me into the kitchen. It’s open but cozy at the same time, with warm wood for the cabinets, and large windows and glass doors to the yard, letting in the setting sunlight. The other end of the room has a small area with a table and chairs. It looks like their main dining table. I can’t imagine having such a small pack. For all our craziness, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I never thought I’d end up in such a large pack but it’s home. Always has been even when I’d distance myself from them, during the rough periods at the bureau.
It’s interesting seeing a table with only four chairs. When Thea and Connor were here, they must have had chairs for them. Now it’s only four. A pang of sadness rings through me at the thought of this pack, these parents losing their son and shortly after the woman they view as a daughter, who disappeared for a year.
We’re lucky to have Parker. His being able to set up a secure way for them to talk was the best gift anyone could have done for Thea and this pack. Sophie is talking a mile a minute and wants to know every little detail about me and the pack. I have a feelingif Thea was here, she’d be embarrassed and Sophie might back off. I guess she’s taking her chance while she’s got it.
“I hear we have a dinner guest,” a voice sounds from behind me. Turning, I see a beta who looks the age I assumed Max must be—mid to late fifties—but still fit, though not like Max. This man is lean like a runner, with light brown hair styled to perfection and hazel eyes. He’s wearing a dress shirt and tie; he must have left some kind of office job before coming home.
“Yes, Jake Carter.” I reach my hand out for a shake.
He returns the gesture. “Ah one of Thea’s pack. I’m James, good to meet you.”
The conversation is easy and light between us all as we wait for the last member of their pack to arrive. I end up helping Sophie finish dinner. I’m no great cook like Ben or Micah, but I can follow instructions. Max and James are setting the table as their last pack mate arrives. His outfit looks like it’s right out of Ben’s closet—slacks, collared shirt with a sweater over top. I really want to take a picture and send it to him. This alpha even has glasses too, it’s uncanny. Physically, they look different beyond face shapes, mainly the eyes, where Ben has striking light blue ones, this alpha has deep brown eyes. Both have olive skin tones. I need to get a picture of him and the rest of this pack for Thea regardless, but I have to show Ben his future father-in-law who he’s a mini-me of.
We introduce ourselves quickly, and it turns out his name is Mateo. I bring over the final plate of food and begin to sit at the additional chair someone brought out when Mateo shouts, “Not there!”
The silence is thick with pain based on the expressions his pack mates give him. Anyone would understand that this spot must have been Connor’s.
Max claps me on the back, though not as hard as it probably looked. “Switch with me,” he says softly as he nudges metowards his seat. We switch wordlessly after that and no one says anything for a bit.
“My apologies for yelling, Jake,” Mateo says earnestly.
“It’s not a problem at all. This is the better spot anyways, next to Sophie where I can spill all the details she wants on my pack.” I try to lighten the mood. I was rewarded with a round of chuckles from that. Even Max smirked. We begin eating, making some small talk. I find out Mateo is a college professor in engineering, and James works in finance.
I give them a breakdown of our pack for the most part, everyone’s names and occupations, showing Sophie some pictures of us all. She’s so excited to meet everyone. I wish I knew when that could happen. It has to be once we arrest Henderson. Though thinking about it, he knows where Thea is now, but it’s best not to have anyone else get involved until he’s out of the picture. If something happened to Sophie or any of this pack because of Henderson, I don’t think Thea could come back from that.
“The only one we’ve met in your pack is Parker. He’s such a sweetie,” she coos. I have a picture of all of us pulled up from a few years ago when construction began on the pack house. “Which one is that?” she asks, pointing to Keelan.
I smile at what I can only imagine her reaction will be. “That’s Keelan. He’s actually Parker’s twin.”
Her jaw drops and she’s studying the picture. It’s obvious they’re fraternal. “Wow he could give you a run for your money, Max.”
Suddenly a hulking shadow is looming behind us, examining the photo. I contain my laugh since I don’t need to annoy him more than I already have today.
James, who was on Sophie’s other side, huddles in with Mateo to get a look. “Gods, how tall is he?” Mateo asks.
“Uhm six foot six. Clearly the tallest of all of us by far,” I say.
“Does he fight? I’d be curious to see what he could do in the ring?” Max asks.
I can’t picture Keelan fitting in any type of ring. Has he thrown a punch before? Yeah, but I’d classify him as a gentle giant. Though maybe not to his face. Thea is the only one who could get away with that.
