Page 76 of His Wild Mate

“You're staring at her again.”

“She's my mate. I'm allowed to stare.”

“It's creepy,” she insisted.

“It's not creepy,” Paige and I said at the same time.

Mom and Dad shared a knowing smile.

“You'll understand someday, Esme,” Mom told her.

Kate's was packed when we arrived. And much to my surprise, Kate and Wyatt were both there. So were the rest of the Six Pack, and their mates, all sans kids.

I scowled at James. “You told them?”

“Of course I did. We're here to support you, and I didn't know you were having a family dinner.”

Kate started counting heads and told one of the busboys to put some tables together. She looked over us one last time and stopped on Paige with a gasp.

“Paige? Wow, girl. You clean up nice. I'm going to have to put the wet floor caution cone out from Emmett's drool.”

Kate hugged her like they were old friends and soon Winnie, Lily, Katherine, and Angel surrounded them, all talking at once.

Mom smiled. “She fits right in, doesn't she?” she whispered.

“She really does.”

It was true. Minus the initial uproar with her arrival to the Pack, my mate seemed to fit flawlessly into my life.

Esme was making her rounds hugging everyone. “Hi James.”

“Hi sweetie.”

She moved on to hug each of my friends. In truth, they'd been as influential in her life as I had been and I acknowledged that having six overprotective big brothers, one of which happened to be the Alpha, couldn't have been easy. None of us were looking forward to the day she started dating—a day that felt like it was getting closer by the second.

When she hugged Thomas, she whispered, “Emmett says he's going to kick your ass if you don't lift the Alpha order soon so he can touch Paige.”

“What the hell, Es?”

“What?” she asked innocently. “Haven't you always told me that the Six Pack are family and I could trust them with anything? That they'd always have my back?”

I shook my head and pursed my lips.

“Traitor.”

“I’m just watching out for my Alpha.”

Thomas chuckled. “Thanks, kid. I'll watch my back from this asshole.”

She grinned triumphantly.

“He thinks he can beat you.”

I glared at her.

“Esme, that's enough. Stop provoking the boys,” Mom told her.

I couldn't help myself. Behind my mother's back, I stuck my tongue out at my baby sister.

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