“Whatever. I’m about to go to bed. I just wanted to make sure this is really happening before I get my hopes up.”
I frown as I glance back at the screen. “Get your hopes up?”
“Oh, yes, sister of mine. I’ve been shipping you and these three idiots practically since Akira joined the pack.” She grins.
“You’re so weird, Del.” Mason throws his back to rest on the back of the couch. “And you’re making this weird.”
She snorts. “Am I? I don’t think so. Now, stop avoiding the question.”
“They’re courting me and Kiki,” Crew assures her, and I flinch against the surround sound squeal that nearly breaks my eardrums.
“Finally! See! I knew y’all were meant to be.”
“Okay, that’s enough out of you, squirt.” Dad’s face fills the screen as he lifts their laptop. A moment later, he sets it down before joining Evelyn, Adan, and Dylan on the couch. “Hello, my girl. I’m so happy to see you. Talking on the phone just isn’t the same.”
Evelyn sighs, leaning into my dad’s side. “It’s really not. Are you sure you don’t want us to come home early?”
“Absolutely not, Mom, but thank you. You’re only there for a few more weeks. We’ll still be here when you come home.” Mason shoots her a smile. “It’s kind of nice that you’re not here. It lets us figure all this out without your meddling.”
Evelyn gasps, bringing her hands to her chest. “Me? Meddle? I’m not a meddler.”
That sends all of us into peals of laughter—even Crew, who knows her the least.
“You know what? You’re all ungrateful. I’ll remember this.” She continues to act offended, but I can see the smile curling her lips. “But enough about us, tell me what’s going on with y’all. Are you really courting? I thought courting went out of fashion.”
“It did—in the city.” Alexander makes the word sound like a dirty word, and not in a good way. “You know we planned to court Kiara eventually. Crew is just an unexpected surprise.”
“About that.” Dad leans forward, eyes on Crew. “How are you dealing with this? I’m sure this isn’t what you were expecting when you moved to Champagne Falls. You weren’t expecting a pack who was already in love with Kiara, were you?”
“Not really,” he replies slowly, his eyes widening as he glances at each of us.
Holy shit.
Had we not told our parental pack that Crew is their scent match?
Oh, we are in soooo much trouble.
“Um…so, interesting story,” I start, wringing my hands in my lap. “Crew is their scent match.”
“What?”
“Excuse me?”
“Come again?”
“No way!”
All four of them speak at once, and I don’t even know where to start. All five of us remain silent as we wait for the shock to wear off.
There’s a devious look in Evelyn’s eyes as she leans forward. “Let me get this straight—and please stop me if I get anything wrong. Crew, Kiki’s boyfriend of forever, is scent-matched to my son’s pack? The pack that’s been obsessed with Kiki for years? Oh, this is so much better than a soap opera. I wish Delilah was still out here to hear this. She would love this. Fate really is out there working her magic, isn’t she?”
“Are you okay, Kiki? Crew?” Dad asks, his worry for us clear, and my heart grows another size. I really have the best dad in the entire world.
“We’re good, Dad, I promise. We’re happy about this development—no matter how unexpected it was.” There’s no reason for me to admit just how freaked out I was when we found out. That’s something I can discuss with him one-on-one when they’re back in Champagne Falls. “Things are going well, and sorry for not letting you know Crew was their scent match. Everything happened pretty quickly.”
“I guess it’s a good thing you’re finishing up the pack house then, isn’t it, boys?” Dylan chuckles. “It sounds like you’ll be needing it pretty soon.”
My stomach flutters as I keep my eyes locked on the screen, afraid to turn my head at all. We haven’t really talked about bonding and becoming a pack outside of the broadest sense of conversation.