Seth smiled immediately. “Hi.”
“I’m so glad you could make it,” she said warmly. “Especially on such short notice.”
Seth glanced briefly at me before answering.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
The words hit harder than they should have. My wolf practically preened. Mom looked delighted.
“See?” she said to me. “Such a nice boy.”
I sighed. “You say that like I brought home a rescue dog.”
“That depends,” Carter’s voice called from the dining room. “Is he house-trained?”
Seth immediately laughed, and just like that, the tension eased. We headed farther inside where the rest of my family had gathered around the dining table.
Devon stood first, smiling warmly as we approached.
“Seth, right?” he said. “Good to finally meet you.”
“You too,” Seth said.
Beside him, Carter leaned back in his chair. Carter had alpha energy even sitting down. Calm, steady, deeply annoying.
“So this is the famous Seth,” he said.
“Oh my God,” I muttered.
Seth looked amused already.
“Don’t encourage him,” I warned.
“Too late,” Carter said.
I introduced Seth properly around the table anyway, though most of them had technically met him already at the cookout. Still, tonight felt different.
Dinner was smaller, closer and more intimate, which meant every little interaction suddenly felt louder somehow.
Seth sat beside me at the table and our knees brushed briefly underneath it.
When my hand landed on the back of his chair automatically while he talked to Devon, it felt natural.
It was such a small gesture, except they didn’t feel fake anymore. Dinner itself turned predictably chaotic.
Levi and Chris argued over their favorite football teams. Mark and Zack talked about their upcoming performances. Pampi wandered beneath the table searching for scraps.
Through all of it, Seth fit beside me strangely easily. At some point during dinner, my mom asked Seth about the café again.
“You still hiding extra pastries in the back?” she asked.
Seth looked appropriately serious. “Only for valued customers.”
“I knew it,” she said triumphantly.
“You’re corrupting my mother,” I informed him.
“She was already willing to fight strangers over baked goods,” Seth pointed out.
