Page 110 of Altius
Pops was Dante, a smaller and sharper-looking alpha who smelled like agar wood, with an olive complexion and thick brown hair. He wore spectacles and a chunky cardigan, which I caught Cal eyeing with envy.
His features were a more masculine version of Morgan and Piper’s, with strong angles and a classic Roman nose.
The scent of warm summer rain enveloped me as Renee, their mother, pulled me in for a long hug.
She was the real surprise.
A petite beta beauty who’d generously shared at least one of her best features with each of her children: Rory had her auburn hair, Morgan her height and bow-shaped mouth, Piper her elegance, and Kelsey her freckled, peachy complexion.
Holly and Rory returned, swinging one of the twins between them. They settled her on the floor near the Christmas tree, where there were tons of new toys to play with.
A taller woman with light brown skin and short, curly hair trailed behind them, with the other toddler perched on her hip. Audra exuded subtle alpha confidence as she made quick work of the introductions.
“Hey, Rory.” A slender young woman peered into the room from the front hall. She had Renee’s delicate bone structure, skin the same shade as Audra’s, and a glorious head of burgundy braids. By process of elimination, she could only be Jenna.
She gave us all a wary once-over as she adjusted her glasses, then said, “You left the dogs outside.”
“Dogs?” Rory turned around, wearing a play tiara and gaudy plastic clip-on earrings. He blinked, then shot up. “Oh, the dogs!”
Jenna took advantage of his noisy exit to vanish. I’m sure there were numerous cozy hiding spots throughout the house—perfect for avoiding a bunch of interlopers like us.
I glanced at Morgan. Her serene smile almost passed for genuine if not for the tightness around her eyes. She probably wanted to hide from all the noise, too.
Somehow, I found myself as a third wheel caught between Owen and Dante. They were engrossed in a very technical discussion about how Dante’s audiology practice used various Redwing devices to treat patients.
After two thwarted attempts to squeeze past them, Morgan came to my rescue, handing me a beer and guiding me back to Joaquin’s side.
“Holly’s a graphic designer,” she said. “She’s curious about your work with the football team. You okay sitting next to her at lunch?”
After taking a long sip of my drink, I nodded with enthusiasm.
“Sounds perfect.”
“There he is.” A wave of sandalwood and the creamy nuttiness of tonka bean hit me as Ethan sauntered into the room, chest first, heading straight for Wyatt.
He was the tallest of the Van Daal siblings, maybe six feet or so, about even with Owen, with brown skin and green eyes. Bigger than I’d expected, but nothing that could rival Wyatt’s physique.
From how Owen and Wyatt talked about him, I expected his presence to be more…overwhelming. His dominance had nothing on Owen—or Audra, for that matter.
Morgan’s head tilted back, neck tensing as Ethan approached.
Trying to be as discreet as possible, I ran my ring finger along the underside of her wrist, giving her what little comfort I could.
“Hey, man.” Wyatt extended his hand with a smile, letting Ethan’s display of dominance go unanswered. “Good to see you.”
Thankfully, Wyatt was pumped full of scent blockers, or we’d probably be drowning in boxwood fumes, betraying all the hard feelings between them.
“You shoot hoops? My guys are playing downstairs.” Ethan motioned over his shoulder toward the basement door in the foyer.
“Sure,” Wyatt said, gamely following along. “But I take the winner in arm wrestling.”
“You’re on.”
As soon as they left the room, Morgan exhaled. Cold fingers briefly tangled with my own before pulling away.
Martijn appeared in the kitchen doorway. His smile was so broad that his round cheeks almost obscured his sparkling green eyes.
“Now then,” he said, holding up a fresh apron. “I don’t suppose one of you would be willing to help me make oliebollen dough before we eat? It needs to rest for an hour or so.”
