He swats his son’s hand off his shoulder. “I wouldn’t be scared of your daddy. I’m just saying,” he whispers to Sloane, making her laugh.
Her mothers walk into the room and hug their daughter and shake Dave’s hand.
“Well, I see where Sloane gets her looks,” he says.
Ethan groans, but Sloane’s Omega mother just grins at the old man and winks.
“Thank you, and you’re Dave, Ethan’s father?” she asks.
“That’s me. You’re Willow, and you’re Rosemary,” he confirms.
“Bram, do you have any family that will be joining us?” Rosemary asks. She’s intimidating, possibly even more so than Coach. She doesn’t wear her emotions on her sleeve like the male Alpha of her pack does.
“No, my mother passed away some time ago. My father is back in the Netherlands. We aren’t particularly close.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she says.
The doorbell rings, and Sloane jumps out of her seat. “That must be Max, Lori, George, and Owen.”
Of course, the moment she leaves, her fathers both come into the room, giving their introductions. Henderson is much more easygoing, but Coach glares at me. He quickly stops when his Omega elbows him in the stomach.
I would honestly rather be anywhere except here at this very moment. There’s no way to know how they’re going to react to the news. But I know if there’s a moment of Sloane feeling hurt, we’ll be the fuck out of here.
Max walks in with his family, and I can feel his worry. His mom is even more lively than Dave.
The introductions are friendly and thankfully cure some of the silence as we all sit down. I’m thankful Sloane sits next to me, and I wonder if it’s because I’m the only one with no family joining us at the table.
She places her hand on my thigh under the table as the caterers bring out the food for the evening.
Dave is filled with joy as Lori leans into my side.
“Fucking fancy, huh?” she says, and I can’t help but to snort.
“I’m so glad we could all finally get together. We’ve been wanting to get to know Sloane’s pack and extended family better,” Willow says cheerfully.
“Not to mention, so this one can stop sulking,” Henderson says, squeezing Coach’s shoulders like the man doesn’t torture us on a daily basis. “Plus, we missed having our girl at home.”
“Ya know, I’d torture them too if I was in your position,” Dave chimes in, earning a rare smile from Coach.
“Dad, you’re not helping,” Ethan whispers.
“I mean, I’m sure he gave you all the ‘don’t touch my daughter’ speech. Not that I don’t blame you for not listening—look at Sloane. Despite that, you were all too hardheaded to listen.”
“We’re past that now, right, Kristoff?” Willow says to her mate with a glare that says he better not fuck this night up.
“Right. They’re mated now, so it’s all about getting to know each other better,” Coach agrees, even though it is under duress.
“Well, we appreciate the invite. It’s been such a blessing for both of my sons to have played for the Foxes and found their packs that way. So I’m forever grateful, so is George,” Lori says to her husband who is just eating a mound of shrimp.
“I’d like it to be on the record. I didn’t know they were together,” Owen says, and Sloane gives him a disbelieving look as he grins at her. “Though I’m very happy to have a sister-in-law. I guess this also makes me your brother too, Nilsen,” he says with a grin.
I always liked the other Connery, but right now, I could choke him a bit.
“Everything is water under the bridge. Right, Dad?” Sloane asks, and he looks at his daughter and nods. She takes a deep breath, and I squeeze her hand under the table.
Holy shit. This is it.
“I’m glad you’re accepting my pack because as you know, we’re bonded now,” she says, really drawing this out.
