Page 9 of Knight Life In Vegas

Both of my sons perked up when they saw me, running full speed to crash against me. I sank down to my knees and hugged them both.

“Did you two have fun sleeping over at Auntie’s house?”

“We swam for hours!” Ollie beamed.

“And watched movies and ate ice cream.” Sammy grinned, pressing his messy face into my stomach. I quietly hoped the ice cream wasn’t so recent that it was smeared all over my dress now.

“They were both great,” Bryce, one of Ava’s alphas, assured me.

Ava came over with her baby in her arms. Lucy’s birthday was an odd day for me since she was born the day my whole life had been ripped apart. She was a sweet, happy baby, though, and I loved the opportunity to still be in her life even if she had never ended up being one of my children.

“I’m so glad you’re here! Did you have fun last night?”

“Probably more than I should have.”

Ava’s eyes gleamed. “Why don’t you come get some coffee with me and the pack can wrangle the boys for a few more minutes.”

“Coffee sounds amazing.” I kissed each of my boys’ cheeks. “I’ll be right back. I’m just going to get a drink with Auntie. Go play with your uncles for a bit.”

Neither of my children needed to be asked twice, taking off at a full sprint and throwing themselves at Micah and Luke, who seemed to take as much joy in the boys’ exuberance as the boys did getting the fatherly affection they had been missing out on with Andrew. Ava handed Lucy over to another of her alphas, Jesse, and pulled me into the kitchen.

“Spill.”

“It’s not that exciting,” I promised.

Ava poured me a fresh cup of coffee. “You have to at least explain what it means that you had more fun than you should’ve had.”

“I may have gone home with an alpha.”

Ava squeaked, absolutely delighted, and snared me into a hug. “Oh my god! That’s such a huge step. How do you feel?”

HowdidI feel? I stirred some sugar and cream into the coffee, staring at the swirling pattern. I craved Francisco down to my bones and I already wanted to go right back to him, which was not remotely an option. “I’m not really sure. He, and the whole experience, was so radically different from what I’m used to.”

“In a good way?” Ava tilted her head, examining me.

“Definitely.”

Ava gave another excited squeak. “Are you going to see him again?”

“That’s basically impossible.”

I kept the knowledge of him being a scent match to myself. Ava’s pack had deep connections in the city and I was pretty sure if she had his name, one of her extended relatives would dig him up somewhere.

“Why impossible?” Ava asked.

“I didn’t get any of his contact information before I left. I might’ve been ready for this step,barely, but I don’t think I’m ready to actively date.”

“I suppose that’s fair. I’m really proud of you either way. I know it’s not easy.”

“Thanks.” I sipped the coffee, letting the sweet caffeine flood my system. “It was really nice to just be out in the world. I was buttoned up so tightly in New York that alphas never gave me a second glance.”

“And now you got waymorethan a glance.” Ava grinned. “We had a great time with the boys. We’ll watch them anytime you want to have a Charlotte night, or a day, or a weekend. The point is, you don’t have to worry about your kids if you do run into someone you want to pursue. I know eventually the kids would have to meet whoever you were into, but it can be super stressful in the early days?—”

I laid my hand over hers, cutting off her nervous rambling. She’d gotten a lot better over the last year, but I was pretty sure every so often the knowledge ofwhywe knew each other snuck up on her and she fell back into trying to hastily explain everything running through her head. “That’s very sweet. I’m not going to take advantage of it often, but the breathing space was appreciated.”

A ruckus sounded from the main room and Ava peered past me. “Sounds like everyone’s arriving. Feel free to finish up your coffee. I’m going to say hi.”

Ava’s pack had alotof family and they had all welcomed her in. I had never been particularly close to my family besides myparents, but they had passed before Ollie was born. I sucked in a slow deep breath. I still hated that he would never get to meet them. Sammy didn’t remember them, but at least I had pictures.

---