"It's about time," she teased. "We expected you an hour ago."
Mom looked like she wanted to say something, too, but she grabbed the snacks from my hand without a word.
"Seriously, Mika," Faria continued. "It's not like you to be late. Or messy. Is that a stain?"
I glanced down to find a spray of green dots on the thigh of my khaki pants. "Shit."
"Faria!"
Her eyes widened at Mom's tone, and then she danced away with a shrug. "He gives us shit all the time."
"Girl …" Mom watched her go, shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I raised her to have better manners, but brothers were made for teasing, as she likes to remind me."
Faria usually saved that bit of wisdom for her twin. I sighed. "She's right. We should have been here an hour ago."
Mom tugged the diaper bag from my shoulder, letting it drop to the floor by my feet. Then she stepped into my space, hugging me so tight it brought tears to my eyes. "You are meant to be here when you show up." Her chin dug into my shoulder. "Not a moment sooner, and not a moment later."
My face scrunched so tight it hurt. "That's bullshit and you know it."
"For your job, maybe, or your court appearances. Not for family. When it's just us, you are always on time."
I relaxed into her hug, dropping my chin to her shoulder. "I don't think I'll ever be on time again."
"That's not true," she said. "You aren't as painfully early as you once were, but you're still early." She pulled back and swatted my chest. "But if you ever show up late to dinner, I might say a few choice words."
She'd dipped into the tone Gabe called her "mafia boss." After watching a few organized crime documentaries with him, I had to agree. "Yes, Mom."
She grinned and patted my cheek. "Let's get these snacks out to the hungry masses."
I plated the snacks and followed her around the dining room, passing plates around until every group had one. Then, I watched them from my usual perch against the wall by the kitchen door. Gabe bounced Jett on his hip, listening to my little brother Nathan tell Carl and Ross about seeing real meerkats on his first trip to the zoo. I'd heard it a million times before, but he entertained the newcomers with his arm gestures and meerkat antics.
I sidled up to my mate and slid into the circle beside him, flattening my hand against his lower back. He turned into me, and I kissed his temple, unable to resist when my heart felt so full of love for him and for our extended families.
Mom was right. We had arrived on time. Nobody cared that Carl and Ross were both alphas. Nobody but my little sister minded the giant green stain on my pants. We were part of one big, happy, blended family now. It had taken Gabe a little longer to find happiness with his folks, but now was the perfect time to start.
EPILOGUE
TEN YEARS LATER
Gabe
Most people wenton vacation for their wedding anniversary, or bought themselves expensive gifts. Not that Keith's tattoos were cheap, but getting an upper-arm piece of our three baby meerkats on the same arm as my tattoo of Mika was all I wanted to celebrate ten years of marriage.
I checked my watch. We were two minutes early. I'd always wanted to be punctual. With Mika's help, I finally was, most of the time.
My dear alpha had the week off, so I had scheduled an appointment for my new ink at a time when Keith's husband Dave was upstairs in his studio. We planned to swing by afterward to see the repurposed wood designs Dave had sketched for our next art project: baby furniture.
While they wouldn't shift into meerkats until they were teenagers, our children were hell on furniture. Jett had destroyed his crib and combination dresser and changing table before we moved him to his own room to prepare the nursery forRose. When Sienna came along, it was time for all-new furniture again.
I was done popping out babies, and I knew we would make more money if our line of baby furniture was just as flimsy as the (increasingly expensive) pieces we'd purchased, but I didn't care about the money. I wanted new parents to have furniture they liked that would last. Friends and siblings could pass around the same set of furniture as needed without the fear that it would break apart or possibly injure their child.
Thankfully, our children were indestructible. They needed to be, with how curious they were. By curious, I meant prone to trouble. With Becca's three little wolf cubs, they had tipped over and broken every plate in Becca's curio cabinet, destroyed two swing sets, and started a small brush fire. The last, they'd put out by peeing on it, and I couldn't even be mad. The alternative would have been destruction of the entire compound, so we were lucky Jett had smelled the smoke before it spread.
Becca stepped up to the counter beside me, her girls nowhere in sight. "Fancy meeting you here."
Despite having seen her only a few hours ago, I pulled her into a side hug and kissed her temple. "Hey, Bestie. Did you decide on a design?"
Her high ponytail brushed my chin as she shook her head. "Jamie's drawing something for me with three wolf cubs."
