Rounding the corner, the double doors are currently cracked, and I shove them open to reveal the dining room. “Only the ones that matter.”
I don’t have to look at Sabrina to know that she’s frozen in place, heart rate spiking at the sight of the long, crowded table. Taking mercy on her, I turn, temporarily blocking her view of the room. Her reaction is immediate; heartbeats slowing a fraction, and taking a small step closer to me. Damn near purring in satisfaction at her response, I shake my head like doing so can clear the dangerous thoughts that she conjures.
My voice is curt as I start the series of introductions. At the far end is Lizzie, the only other female in our pack, surrounded by her three mates. All four of them are blatantly staring at Sabrina, but there isn't a spark of romantic interest in James, Vince, or David’s eyes, only curiosity. It’s been ages since they’ve joined us at the main house for dinner, yet there was no way in hell they were going to miss out on meeting the ballsy human that tried to blind one of those assholes from Stonewood.
Emmy squeals, hopping to her feet and rushing over to practically tackle Sabrina to the ground. “You’re here! Not gonna lie, I was worried the second you saw Bo’s face, you’d turn tail and call the whole night off.”
Latching onto Emmy as a familiar comfort, Sabrina hugs her back, her breathing evening out and heart rate fully settling back into a normal range. “You really think I'd put up with any of his bullshit simply so I wouldn't have to walk? It's like you don't know me at all; I’d happily cut off my nose to spite my face, or even just something to do,” she teases. At Emmy’s sly smirk over Sabrina’s shoulder, I flip off her and her schemes.
Sabrina chuckles. “He was a perfect gentleman, no issues.”
A disbelieving snort slips out of Cinjin’s face on the opposite side of the table that I actively ignore. Pulling out my chair, I take my seat and let Emmy take over the rest of the introductions.
Gesturing to the head of the table, she announces with a mocking bow, “Slade, our resident gatekeeper.”
He’s been tracking Sabrina’s movements since the moment she appeared, his face stony and unreadable beneath the black scruff that keeps permanent residence on his jaw, matching his neatly trimmed hair. The gold flecks in his otherwise green eyes brighten as his pupils dilate, and I have to cover my laugh with a cough, knowing he just caught her scent and his wolf clearly likes it as much as mine does. He takes a drink to save himself from speaking, still contemplating the best way to handle this situation.
As I drop into the seat at his right hand side, Cinjin and Reid across from me, they don't pay me a second glance, their attention rapt on our guest. Barely a year younger than me, the twins couldn’t look less related to anyone in the room besides each other. Reddish brown hair and icy blue eyes, they’re identical in everything except personality, and the glasses on Reid’s face. Where Cin is the most reckless, carefree person I’ve ever met, Reid is his polar opposite, introverted to the max.
Emmy rattles everyone off in rapid succession, and the anxiety radiates off of Sabrina in tangible waves, likely worried that she’s not going to be able to remember everyone’s name. Awkwardly, she passes Em the bottle of wine in her hand. “You should have given me a head’s up so many people would be here; I’d have brought another.”
Waving her off, Emmy pushes her down into the empty chair beside me, taking the seat to Sabrina’s right. “Nonsense, you didn’t need to bring anything in the first place.”
Our plates have already been served, and in the ensuing silence Lizzie’s mates start eating, breaking the tension. Picking at my food, I’m hyper-aware of every movement that Sabrina makes beside me. Squirming awkwardly in her chair, her gaze bounces around to each of us, adamantly refusing to look at the room as a whole when she’s barely managing within the confines of the table.
Her unease is causing my skin to crawl and a building ache in my chest, so to save my sanity before I do something incredibly fucking stupid, I focus my attention on observing the way my brothers look at her. Slade, like he owes her a massive debt and is unsure of the best way to repay it after the way we filled him in about how she reacted to getting reimbursed for the cab. Reid, like he wants to figure out why she didn’t run away like any sane human would have, and Cinjin, like he’d happily devour her right here on the dinner table.
Only after she’s finished off half of her plate does Slade speak. “So, Miss Laroque.”
Her eyes find his instantly, and to anyone that didn’t know him, they’d think my brother indifferent; cold. But the subtle way his fingers tighten on his fork and his posture becomes rigid gives him away to the eight of us that know better. It's been a hot minute since anything managed to make Slade flustered, and we’re all happily eating up his discomfort to torment him over it later tonight.
Sabrina turns with a frown, gaze flitting over him with wary assessment. “How’d you know my last name?”
Clearing his throat, my brother sets his fork down. “It wasn’t particularly difficult to find once we had a first name and your building address. How else would Bo and Emmeline have known which apartment to wait outside of?" She drops her defensive posture, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly for not questioning it before in all of the excitement. Slade sits up impossibly straighter. "Regardless, we vet everyone before ever allowing them to set a foot inside of our home.”
Her embarrassment falls away in an instant, her cheeks heating for a very different reason, quick to temper. As Cin beams, resting his chin on his fist and enjoying the show of everything exploding around him, I shoot Slade a confused glare of disbelief. He schmoozes people for a fucking living; he had to realize how insulting that sounded.
Oh my god, the idiot’s trying to flirt,I suddenly realize with a mixture of horror and hysterical amusement.He deals with wolves and pack politics, not much on the human side of things. He’s boasting how safe our home is under his watch like it’ll impress her.
“Then I suppose it’s only fair if you share yours so that I can reciprocate,” she retorts acerbically.
Slade’s eyebrows disappear into his hairline. “What?”
Before he can dig his grave any deeper, I interject, popping a piece of grilled chicken into my mouth with a chuckle. “She doesn’t have a clue, Slade. Should’ve seen the way she nearly tucked and rolled out of the car when I pulled into the neighborhood.”
He furrows his brow, but shuts up, defaulting to silent contemplation rather than risk upsetting her again. Lizzie is cackling at the opposite end of the table, as bad as Cin in the face of our fearless leader making a complete ass out of himself.
Emmy clucks her tongue, disapproving. “Stop being a jackass and just say thank you before you chase off my friend.”
“I don’t need-” Sabrina hisses at Em, but Cinjin cuts her off.
“So, did he cry? Please tell me he cried like a little bitch.” Meal forgotten, my brother gives Sabrina his undivided attention, done with patiently sitting on the sidelines.
Licking her lips, Sabrina reaches for the bottle of wine she brought, pouring herself a hearty glass and taking a long drink before responding. “Full disclosure, I got a better view of your sister’s tits than I did of him. Didn’t exactly stick around to find out how quick his recovery time was, but based on the way he was cussing me out, I got a good shot in.”
Cin’s face splits in half with his broad grin, but Reid is frowning, tentatively asking, “Did he get a decent look at you first?”
Sabrina’s entire presence seems to shrink with his comment. “Yeah,” she whispers, taking another drink. “Pretty sure he did.”
