Page 9 of Their Promise

“Thank you, Kieran!” Tony shouted and took the bag.

This was a very familiar scene, one that had happened at least a dozen times as we grew up. It felt nice to still experience it, even though I was an adult now. Hopefully, there were other things like this that wouldn’t change as I got even older.

A familiar presence pressed upon me from the side, alerting me in advance of his approach. Sometimes it was good to be able to sense alphas and the signature auras of those you were familiar with. Though I wished I’d been able to sense them last night. Why hadn’t I sensed them last night? Was it just because there had been so many alphas at the party?

“I hate to leave so quickly, but I’ve?—”

“Oh, you don’t have to explain to us!” Sheila said. “We know you’re busy with all your duties. Thank you for coming to see us.”

“I’ll come by again soon,” I promised as I backed out.

I closed the door just as Kayden and Mason entered the square. Tony turned me towards the house, in the opposite direction as Kayden, and pushed my lower back. “Go, I’ll distract them. It’s the least I can do after yesterday, but you and I are going to talk about why you’re avoiding them later.”

“Thank you,” I whispered and walked confidently and calmly away, like I hadn’t noticed them coming.

“Lily!” Kayden called out.

“Kay!” Tony yelled. “Where have you been, man? We have got to catch up. Where’s Trey?”

“Not now, Tony. We need to talk to?—”

“Kayden!” Kieran yelled. “Come inside! We’ve got a bag for you. Wow, it’s been so long since we saw you. How have you been?”

Thank you, Kieran for the assist!

Branson, stepped out from behind one of the buildings, following me. “Let’s talk, Daughter.”

“Um, could we not?” I asked and cringed.

“If you want help avoiding them, then you’ve got to talk to me,” he said. “Also, you’re twenty-four, almost twenty-five years old. Why are you acting like a teenager?”

Ouch, that was Bran Bran, straight to the heart of the problem.

“I don’t want to discuss it,” I said. “I just need a bit more time away from them to collect my thoughts. Okay?”

He sighed. “Fine, whenever you’re ready, I’ll listen, okay? Now, do you want me to chase them away?”

“Tony said he was?—”

“Lily!” Mason snarled.

I yelped.

Bran Bran growled softly. “Go to the house. Your mother has some questions about your party that you need to answer.”

“Love you,” I whispered and ran towards the house.

“Branson,” Mason growled. “We just need?—”

“You need to rethink your approach to me, pup,” Branson growled.

The door safely shut behind me, I raised my eyes to meet Mom’s wide ones. “Uh, Bran Bran said you needed to ask me some questions?”

She stood at the island, eating a breakfast sandwich. Flipping around a tablet, she tapped it. “I need you to answer these questions so I can finalize your party details.”

“About that, do we really need a party? Maybe we could just go out to dinner as a family or?—”

“Lily, what is going on? You’ve been acting strange ever since the party yesterday.” She folded her arms and said, “Your hair has been glowing almost nonstop.”

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