“Right you are, good sir.” I slide to my knees and offer him my hand. “I’m Crew Kennedy. I’m Kiki and Mason’s omega.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Crew. I’m Ren.” He shakes my hand, and if it isn’t the cutest damn thing, I don’t know what is.
Delilah sweeps into the room, her blonde hair pulled up as she grins. “Are you being a pain in the ass already, Ren?”
“Ohhhh, you said ass. I’m telling Mom!”
“But you just said it too, so if you tell her I said it, I’ll tell her you said it too.”
Ren narrows his eyes. “I hate you.”
“That’s okay, buddy, because I love you.”
“Where’s my girl?” Akira nudges past Delilah, and Kiara launches herself off Mason’s lap and into his arms. “There she is.”
He hugs her close as the remainder of Pack Owens joins us. I push to my feet and introduce myself to Evelyn, Adan, and Dylanofficially. Hugs and well wishes are passed around before Evelyn and Delilah grab Kiara.
“Sorry, boys. We need to steal Kiara for some bonding ceremony planning,” Evelyn calls as they march her out of the room.
“Umm…shouldn’t Crew join us for that?” she asks, eyes wide as she glances over her shoulder at me.
“Absolutely not. You’re on your own for this one, Kiki.” I grin when she sticks her tongue out.
I don’t know why she’s acting like it’s such a chore to go off with Evelyn and Delilah—she adores them both.
Actually, it probably has more to do with the bonding ceremony talk. We’ve been handling most of it, but the guys have been helping when they can.
“Well, gentlemen, it seems it’s time for us to have a conversation.” Adan lifts his eyebrows, nodding toward the kitchen. “But I think it’s one best had over beers.”
Mason throws his arm around his dad. “Is this the part where you threaten us not to hurt your girl?”
Akira clears his throat. “Actually, that’s my job, and it applies to both Kiara and Crew.”
“You have nothing to worry about there, Akira,” Alexander assures him. “We’d never do anything to hurt them.”
“Oh, I know.” Akira chuckles. “And if you did, they’d hand you your asses.”
Davis and Alexander follow Adan and Mason out of the room, but Akira stops me. “How are you doing, Crew?”
“I’m great, Akira. Why do you ask?”
He gestures to the couch. “Sit with me for a minute?”
I shrug, settling beside him as he considers me.
“The last couple of months have been a lot of big changes for you. First, moving to Champagne Falls. Then meeting your scent matches. Bonding with Kiki and the guys. It’s a lot for anyone.I just want to check in with you to see how you’re handling things.”
And this is why I love Akira. He and Kiara’s mom, Reina, were like a second set of parents to me. Just as my parents were for Kiara. For the last few years, a lot of the parenting has fallen on my parents since we lived so close to them, but now it’s Akira’s turn.
“I really am doing great. Things were a little bumpy at first since Kiara didn’t react so well to finding out they were scent matches.”
Akira snorts. “It wouldn’t have mattered who your scent matches were, she would’ve freaked out no matter what. I’m glad it was them.”
“Me too. I was already planning to see if they might be the pack for us before I found out they were my scent matches. That just cemented everything. At least once Kiki calmed down. Everything happened fast, yes, but it felt right. It was as if they were what we had been waiting for. Everything just seemed to slot into place.”
“I know just what you mean. I felt the same way when I met Evelyn and Adam, and eventually Dylan.” He hesitates for a moment. “I loved Reina so much, and she gave me Kiara, but I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d met Pack Owens while she was still alive. Scent matches are…”
“Everything. I know.” I bite my tongue, reminding myself I don’t need to tell Akira about how often I fucked his daughter because of meeting my scent matches. That would bewaytoo much information. “But you would’ve figured it out. Reina loved you and Kiara. She would’ve wanted you to be happy, and Pack Owens would’ve wanted the same thing. But I’ve realized recently that fate knows what she’s doing when it comes to scent matches.