Page 57 of Pack Larsen

Like a mad woman, she downs one, and then the other, depositing the now empty glasses on the tray before accepting another. It’s only then we all take a flute each, all of us fighting our laughter at the dramatic omega.

We’re only seated for twenty minutes or so when a woman who looks to be in her early fifties strides over with two men flanking her.

“Silver,” she proclaims with a warmth and familiarity that declares who she is before I’m even introduced to the woman. Her arms are flung open ready, and I’m only confused for a split second before Silver releases her breath in a rush and hurries into them for a long, hard hug. “Hey, Meemaw.”

Chapter 22

Silver

Meemaw hugs me tight enough that I grunt with the force of it, but I’m grinning as I return it without fuss.

“Hey, Meemaw,” I greet, inhaling her sweet, caramel scent that always reminds me of home.

“Oh, my girl, you came,” she croons in my ear before pulling back, her small hands gripping my biceps as she steps back and runs her eyes all over me. I’m pretty sure tears fill her eyes, and she breathes, “You look beautiful, sweetie.”

“Thanks, Meemaw. You’re looking pretty hot yourself,” I quip, lighting up on the inside at her laughter. It’s true, though. Meemaw, now in her early seventies, looks no older than fifty-five. The woman doesn’t age like us mere mortals, appearing youthful and as gorgeous as she was when she was younger. I have no idea how she does it, whether or not she uses the help of injections or surgical tools, and I don’t care to know. What Meemaw does with her money and cosmetics is up to her. But whatever she’s doing, may it be aging gracefully or taking advantage of being able to afford age-defying surgeries, she looks like a knockout in her gold, floor-length gown that skates the floor as she walks.

“You’re so sweet,” she chuckles, cupping my face with a warm smile. “I’ve missed you, my girl. How have you been? How is school? Are you learning things? Making good choices? How’s that girl you befriended? Juniper, was it?”

I wait patiently for her to get all her questions out before laughing. “Any more you want to get in there before I start answering?”

“Smart-ass,” she volleys, nudging my shoulder with her dainty hand.

“You know what she’s like, flower. She’s full of questions, and she hasn’t seen you in a couple of weeks. I’m pretty sure she’s collected them for today,” Paw Copper snickers, before pulling me away from his wife and hugging me in a tight embrace that smells of ginger and spice.

“Just wait until she notices the fellers behind you,” Paw Hudson quips, dragging me into his embrace, smelling like his usual clove and eucalyptus.

“The what?” Meemaw blurts, before leaning around me to check out the guys who haven’t uttered a word since my grandmother hurried over.

Chuckling to myself, I step away from my Paws and gesture to the guys, stepping around Munro’s chair to place a hand on Aero’s shoulder and lean into Munro’s shoulder. “Meemaw, this is pack Larsen. You know, the pack that I told you about.”

I ignore the looks of surprise I receive from the guys, because now isn’t the time to get into how I’ve been talking to my family about them. I mean, if I can’t talk to my family, who can I talk to, right? I’m not even going to mention that I’ve spoken more to Alek about them than I have Meemaw. There are just some things you don’t want to share with your grandmother. Some things a cousin wouldn’t judge you over.

“Well, aren’t you all tall glasses of handsome,” Meemaw drawls, and I close my eyes with a shake of my head and a bemused smile.

Thankfully, the guys aren’t uptight prudes, and Aero winks at my grandmother and holds his hand out to her, “Pleasure to meet the woman who raised my girl. I can see where Silver gets her good looks.”

Hudson and Copper laugh behind their eyes, but Meemaw positively melts as she shakes Aero’s hand with her free hand pressed to her chest. “Aren’t you a charmer.”

“I try my best, ma’am,” the omega smoothly replies, grinning like a handsome bastard. “This is my pack.”

From there, Aero takes on the task of introducing everyone, declaring their names while each member of pack Larsen shakes hands with the woman who saved me, raised me into adulthood, and loves me like the daughter she wished hers had become.

By the time introductions are done, and Meemaw has been thoroughly flattered by the men who are quickly possessing my heart, I’ve relaxed significantly. Seems like an encounter with my mother wasn’t the only thing that had me tense. I didn’t realize I was so worried about Meemaw liking the guys until she was eyeing them like they were a threat. Of course, that look didn’t last long, because I’ve discovered pack Larsen can actually be rather charming and playfully flirtatious when they want to be. Even Munro who, although didn’t smile as such, was polite, courteous, and respectful of the woman I love to the ends of the earth. It was effortless, and it’s no doubt they've already won my grandparents over with their humor, smooth lines, and promises to look out for me.

Secretly, they’ve won me over, too. But that’s a conversation for another day.

Rage and Haze excuse themselves sometime later, claiming their stomachs are going to start eating themselves if they don’t find food soon, while Munro and Aero find themselves deep in conversation with Hudson and Copper. Pace is seated on the opposite side of the table from me, intense eyes watching, lips twitching as I watch him back while Meemaw chitters in my ear. “Alek should be here shortly with the boys.”

“He said he’d be running late. Said something about a friend of Barne’s needing help, but he’ll be here,” I assure distractedly, narrowing my eyes on Pace.

Meemaw laughs, and I wonder briefly what she’s giggling about until she whispers, “I like them for you, sweetie.”

That has me losing an intense staring competition with the serious alpha who grins before I look away. When my gaze collides with Meemaw’s, her gray eyes matching to mine lit up with approval and happiness, I blurt, “What was that?”

“They’re good for you, Silver. You’re more you with them around. Remember the last function you attended? You were stiff as a board, tense the entire night, and jumpy any time someone spoke to you,” she reminds me, and I cringe, because I do remember that. It was a function my mother hosted for the anniversary of something or other. It was there that she tried to blackmail me into accepting a pack’s proposal to bond with them before Paw Copper caught her and gave her an earful. The rest of the night was a blur, because I was paranoid for the remainder of the evening.

Meemaw nods. “I know you remember. I can’t even correlate that young girl to the woman sitting with me now. You’re so relaxed with them here, sweetie. You’re at ease, and it’s a beautiful thing to witness. Love looks really good on you.”

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