“Alright,” I said.
“Just so you know in advance, I invited some of my friends,” he said. “Flint, Charlie, a couple of the guys. Is that cool?”
Oh, right. Flint and Charlie.I winced inwardly, remembering how cold I’d been to them the first time we met. They were only trying to help me and I’d acted like an asshole because I thought I’d never see them again, considering my plan was to ditch Indigo Mountain and run once my first baby was born.
But now I had a whole set of other problems. How was I going to run withtwobabies? An image of myself with two young pups stuck out in my mind, lost and alone and cold in the forest with nowhere to go. A protective streak flared up in me. I couldn’t let that happen.
Did I evenwantto leave this pack anymore?
“Yeah, that’s fine,” I said to Jericho, who was still waiting on a response.
He grinned. “Cool! I’ll bet they’ll be super excited to hear the news.”
“I know I was!” Beth said.
“So Mason already told you, huh?” Jericho asked with a smile.
“He sure did. Although I nearly had to drag the truth out of him. He’s so cagey sometimes!”
“Right?”
“I’m right here, you two,” I grumbled.
We all chatted on the way to the outdoor cafe. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But whatever image I had in mind was shattered when I saw the display that was waiting for me.
My jaw slowly dropped as the view came into sight. Sparkling strings of white lights were placed among the branches of a birch tree that stood mightily among the cafe grounds. The cobblestone underneath the sitting area was sparsely decorated with ground lights that shone upwards. The tables each had a brightly shining candle on top.
And at the tables, a bunch of people were waiting for me with huge smiles.
I stopped and stared. I didn’t know how to react. No one had ever thrown me a party or anything similar to this before.
“Hey, guys!” Jericho called. I felt his hand on my shoulder, which brought me back to reality. “The gang’s all here!”
We sat down at a table. There were a few people I didn’t recognize, but most of them I did know - Flint, Charlie, their daughter Casey and son James; Shadow, the alpha bouncer from the club; and Ken, my doctor.
“Jericho, these are my friends from the hunting guild, Tyson and David,” he said. “Guys, this is my mate, Mason.”
Tyson smiled at me. He was a young alpha, about my age. His shaggy dark hair and gentle features made me instantly relaxed around him. We shook hands.
David was another story. He was a big, burly alpha with none of the gentleness in his face that Tyson had. His mouth barely quirked into a smile when he reached out to shake my hand. But he was Jericho’s friend, so he was probably a nice guy, and I tried my best not to be uncomfortable around him.
“Guys, this is Beth, my friend and co-worker,” I said, introducing her.
“You both work at the community kitchen, right?” Tyson asked.
“That’s right,” I said.
“That’s awesome!” Tyson smiled. “It’s pretty cool that you and Jericho both have something to do with it.”
I nodded. Jericho and the rest of the party’s hunts yielded a ton of meat for the pack, and we had a lot of folks who came in and asked for meat. “Yeah.”
“So, Mason,” David said in his low, deep voice. “Where did you come from? I don’t believe you’re from Indigo Mountain pack.”
I bristled. “No, I’m not.”
Charlie seemed to notice the tension between us and quickly stepped in. His voice was gentle and almost motherly. “He’s originally from Scarlet Ridge pack, just like me. But he’s just as much a member of Indigo Mountain pack now as the rest of us,” he said firmly.
David nodded and growled, “I know that. I’m just wondering what the hell’s going on over there that’s making it apparently unlivable for omegas.”
