“No.”
Scout’s voice fell. He sounded both disappointed and confused now. “Oh.”
Before he could askwhy, Kyle explained. “He called me up asking if I knew any omegas without a mate, and I just… panicked and said yes. Everything just snowballed from there. He’s on a date with Chase right now.”
“Chase?” Scout asked, surprised. “As in, our friend Chase?”
“That’s the one,” Kyle confirmed.
“Wait, you said Isavedyou. Saved you from what?” He paused with a gasp. “You weren’t there with them, were you?” Scout asked slowly, as if he couldn’t believe what a ridiculous question he was asking.
“Yes. Unfortunately.” Kyle could practically hear his friend gaping in shock on the other end of the line. “Stark thought it would be a good idea for me to introduce them to each other. Sort of like an icebreaker between the two of them.”
Kyle heard Scout dragging a hand down his face. “Oh, my god. Alphas.”
Kyle let out a laugh. “Right?”
“Okay, Kyle, I have an idea,” Scout said. “Come over to the manor tomorrow.”
“The manor?” Kyle hadn’t been there since the old king’s funeral and Killian’s crowning ceremony last year. Whenever Scout wasn’t busy with his kid, they always met down in the middle ring where Kyle lived. This must be important, Kyle thought.
“Yes. We have a lot to discuss. For now, you should probably get back before Stark wonders where you went.”
Kyle sighed. “If he even notices I’m not there anymore.”
Scout’s voice was gentle. “Oh, come on. He’s pretty bad, but he’s notthatoblivious.”
“I’m not so sure anymore,” Kyle mumbled. “You’re right, though. I’ll go back.”
“Okay. Good luck,” Scout said. “And I’ll see you tomorrow.”
* * *
The restof the night went by without much fuss, to Kyle’s relief. Or maybe he had just drank too much alcohol to remember most of it. Either one was fine with him.
With a painkiller staving off his headache, he made his way to the upper ring. The manor was bigger than Kyle remembered, or maybe it just seemed that way because of extra staff running around, cleaning up and preparing food and making sure Scout had everything he needed to take care of the baby.
Although she wasn’t much of a baby anymore. Due to accelerated shifter aging, baby Kendra was biologically one year old but could walk and speak in basic words already. She sat now in Scout’s lap, fussing with a plush toy while her dad braided her long dark hair.
“She’s grown up so much,” Kyle said.
Scout beamed. “She really has. I can’t believe a year ago she was just this tiny thing who wasn’t even born yet.”
“Kywe,” Kendra cooed.
“That’s right, that’s Kyle!” Scout said. “He’s sort of like your uncle.”
Kyle smiled, feeling a warmth in his chest. Although they weren’t blood related, hearing Scout say he thought of him like a brother was touching.
“So what did you wanna talk about?” Kyle asked. “You seemed pretty excited about it over the phone last night.”
“Oh, yes.” His eyes sparkled. “Killian and I have been talking, and we think it would be a great idea to have a 1-year anniversary celebration of his crowning. It would be for close friends and family, which includes you, of course!”
Kyle blushed. Even after all this time, he couldn’t believe the series of events that had led to him becoming Scout and Killian’s friend. Sometimes he would lay awake in bed thinking about it and wondering how the hell it wasn’t just a dream.
“What do you think? Would you come?” Scout asked.
“Of course,” Kyle said, smiling. “It sounds like it’ll be fun.”
