Page 63 of Sear
His golden brows went up. “‘Requested and required,’ huh? Am I in some kind of trouble for putting the moves on you?”
She was forced to laugh at this. “No. I mean, they weren’t super-happy about it, but it’s SOP for a newly-mated pack member to present their mates to the alpha pair and the rest of the pack as soon as possible.”
“Hm.” He wore a thoughtful expression. “Will you get in trouble if I decide to show up at a later date, instead? Like, maybe, at next month’s event?”
She could only imagine Great Uncle Bill’s response to that. But asking her brand-new mate to face the entire, possibly hostile, pack membership before their relationship was a week old was alot.
So, she forced herself to say, “No. I’ll just let them know to expect you at the September meeting.”
Lucas must have sensed her distress. “But it’ll make things uncomfortable for you if I don’t show?”
She couldn’t lie to him. “Maybe a little. Especially since no one knows you. I think they’re worried. But you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. Great Uncle Bill and Great Aunt Mandy can’t really force you.” She forced herself to smile at him. “My alpha can be kind of scary, but I’ve known him all my life, and his bark is definitely worse than his bite.”
Lucas moved closer and took her in his arms. She buried her face in his flannel shirt and breathed in the fragrances of pine and cooking overlaying his unique—and comforting—personal scent.
“Okay, I’ll be there,” he promised. “Just let me know the time and place.”
“Seven o’clock, and we meet in the basement of the ranch house over there.” She turned her head and pointed in the direction where the gravel driveway continued further into the property. “Thank you, Lucas.”
“Hey, I’m your mate. It’s my job to be there for you,” he said, and bent to give her a quick, warm kiss.
She stood in the circle of his arms for a while longer, soaking in his strength and comfort. The accumulated stresses of her day melted away, chased off by the glow of his presence, both inside and out.
Is this what being mated means? If so, I’m glad it happened.
“So, I actually have a favor to ask you,” Lucas said, “along those same lines.”
“Sure,” she replied without hesitation. “What do you need?”
“I called my parents and my girls earlier, and told them about you. They’re really excited and want to meet you as soon as possible. Would you mind a video call?”
“Not at all,” she assured him. She couldn’t wait to see Lucas’s adorable daughters for herself. “When would you like to do it?”
“Maybe now?” He glanced over at the microwave’s built-in clock. “We still have some time before dinner will be ready.”
“Okay,” she said, then looked down at herself.
Her uniform was soaked and her duty belt still hung on her hips, wet and bulky. She’d left her dirty boots on the porch, but her pants were spattered with mud from the knees down and her sleeves had black smudges, courtesy of a tire she’d changed for someone stuck on the side of the road. “Let me change into something clean and dry first.”
Malia headed into her bedroom and stripped. After being repeatedly drenched during the course of her shift, even her underwear was uncomfortably clammy.
She opened her closet and contemplated her clothing choices. The prospect of meeting Lucas’s parents and daughters somehow made her mated status feel more real. She wanted to make a good first impression on them.
After some internal debate, she settled on a new pair of jeans and a pretty wrap-top in a bold floral print. She freshened up her eyeliner and lipstick, then joined Lucas on the sofa.
He started the video call app on his tablet, then put his arm around her. As they waited for the call to connect, she noticed that he had a photo of his girls as his desktop background.
The video sprang to life with four people sitting on an overstuffed sofa in the living room of what appeared to be a nice house.
Lucas’s daughters sat side by side, smiling and visibly bouncing with excitement. An older man and woman sat on either side of the girls. They looked kind, and happy.
“Daddy!” came the excited greeting.
Then the older of the two, who had freckles and golden, shoulder-length hair with a pink streak, asked, “Are you Malia? Daddy told us that you were our new auntie.”
Auntie?Then it hit her—that was likely a more comfortable way to introduce her than “stepmother.”
Malia smiled at them. “Hi! Yes, I’m your auntie Malia. And you must be Savannah. You’ve got your daddy’s pretty hair.”
