Freya hummed, “Yes, well that’s not a good thing to have kept secret.” It was a good thing because my friends weren’t sad or worried about it. Caine might be now…he had a mentor…and they probably told him that. Yeah…I was so getting a lecture at some point.
Adeline squeezed my hand, and I felt Ziggy’s intense gaze on me. Abigial was looking back and forth between us with Sierra. Paige smiled but looked sad. I knew that wasn’t about the going against Alpha’s comment though so I sat next to her.
I asked, “What’s up?” Paige sighed, “I think I messed up.” I frowned asking, “How?” My friend shrugged and looked away. I surmised the problem, “Paige Kathleen, whatever you think is going on… Dalton is head over heels for you.”
Elise chimed in, “He is.” Paige frowned, “I told him I wanted time, and he’s giving it to me. Now, I don’t want time, but he’s respecting that I asked for it. I’ve dropped hints, but...” I cut her off, “I’ve told you before…. men don’t do hints.”
Paige admitted, “I want to start planning our wedding, but now he’s not going to ask me.” I told her, “One, you can plan before he asks… it’s not like you’re a human who doesn’t know he wants to marry you and getting ahead of yourself… Dalton is going to ask… and two… I wouldn’t count on the fact that he won’t ask… one could say he might do so soon.”
Paige shrugged, “He’s been distracted lately. I’ve been busy with Luna duties and going to Coven meetings. You know how I get when I get into spells. I just hope I’m not ignoring him.” I told her, “You guys will find your balance, that comes with time. You’re both used to being single. Just talk to Dalton about it.”
Paige smiled, “You’re so smart sometimes.” I laughed, “Technically, I’m smart all the time. It’s also easier to give advice when it’s not your own relationship. That’s even a study I’ve read about.” Paige nudged me and said, “Isn’t that the truth? Thatstudy is correct.” I knew that because there was a lot of data provided to support their claims.
Elise came over to say, “Paige, my brother is gone over on you. Dalton’s also a workaholic and this situation with Melanie and you guys has him in knots. He’s double checking everything and keeping track and tabs on everyone who is from our pack but hasn’t been home.”
Paige said, “I know. My man is implementing a mandatory event where people have to come home after two months even if it’s for an hour and be seen.” I gasped, “He did…? I mean they… because Dakota… Dane … Cooper and….”
Paige interrupted, “I know all the Alpha’s in charge here. I’ve met them and they all emphatically agreed with the plan. They hate what happened to you, and that it was under their watch.” Well, clearly all the Kyle’s just wanted me to cry. Freya disagreed, “No, they don’t.”
Buttercup came over and asked me, “Can I do your makeup next, Melanie?” I nodded, “Of course.” She finished faster than I could imagine, but it looked amazing. My sister in law did Paige’s next. Elise sat next to me and giggled, “We are going to have fun together with our mates.”
I laughed, “So we are.” Elise smiled, “Just like it always should’ve been.” I nodded, “Yup.” Avery teased, “It’s you and your Xander just as you always dreamed, Mel.” I blushed. Addison said, “No kidding. It was always ‘Xander this’ and ‘Xander that.’ Then you’d say how he’d do things differently than the packs we saw. I wish I would’ve just got in my car and gone to talk to him years ago.”
I shrugged and offered, “We are all here now.” I grabbed her hand and Paige’s. Addison grabbed Avery’s, who grabbed Valentina’s hand, who grabbed Abigail’s. We all shared a smile.
Adeline snorted, “You guys think you heard about her Xander, but I was on the ground floor.” Elise agreed, “For sure.It was always all about him. I still remember when she got her Xander wolf.” Rober threw him in the mud and almost ruined him. Freya growled.
Jared had actually come over later to tell me if my wolf got messed up again, he’d use a charm. I missed Jared and the easy conversations we had. Adeline cackled drawing me back to the conversation, “You should’ve seen some of the men around here’s faces when they found out that wolf was a him.” I stuck my tongue out at her but enjoyed the ease with which she fit into my friend group.
Avery said, “Oh, we can. They probably nicer about it than our pack. My dad ranted about that dang wolf. Buck actually told him to shut up because it was just a stuffed animal once. It did stun my dad into silence.” That must have been in their house.
Addison giggled, “I can’t believe we are doing this.” I knew why she changed the subject. My Xander wolf was a hot topic for her dad and she didn’t like him. Freya growled, “Justifiably.” I agreed, “For sure.”
Paige said, “Right? Me either. Whatarewe doing?” Avery laughed, “We won’t be duped so easily. Just enjoy yourselves.” I snorted. Paige linked me, “What do you think is going on?” I replied, “It’s obviously some sort of big group date. I feel like that’s a given.”
“With partial Fairies being involved… it could really be anything… seriously… we could go to a different realm… or we could be going anywhere in the world… there’s too many probabilities to narrow down.”
Paige smiled warning, “Don’t hurt your brain thinking of the possibilities. It’s ok. We will find out soon enough.” I nodded because That was true. Adeline warned, “Stop trying to figure it out, brainiac.” Sierra snorted, “That does not work.”
Ziggy disagreed, “It did sometimes. Especially if T told Ladybug to enjoy herself.” Adeline agreed, “For sure. If Melanieneeded anything she went to T. Remember when she hid in that box for three hours to surprise him since she was supposed to be gone. It was her first test run with her concealing scent spray.”
Adeline winked at me, “Maybe some of us were certain you were helping the Resistance because of the lack of scent, but a cookie made us feel crazy about it. Stupid peanut butter cookies.” Sierra snorted, “I’m sorry, did you just say Melanie hid in a box? For three hours?” I winced.
Ziggy answered, “She did and jumped out of it and scared the crap out of several people. We wondered why we didn’t hear her heartbeat but chalked it up to some Melanie invention.” Because they at a plate of peanut butter cookies. I’d wanted them to ask about it.
Avery clarified, “So, Melanie hid in abox?” Adeline frowned saying, “Yes.” My friends all stared at me, but I shrugged. I didn’t use to hate small spaces. It was a trauma response I developed…which I felt like was now incredibly obvious. Lovely.
Cassie sat down beside me when Paige got up. I asked Cassie, “Have I told you congratulations?” Cassie smiled, “I think so, but thank you.” I asked, “Do you know what you are having?” Cassie laughed, “The little stinkers are being shy. We can’t get a shot of the goods. So, it looks like we will be surprised. At this point, I just think that will be fun.”
I laughed, “Have you decided on a nursery theme?” Cassie smiled, “I lovedWinnie the Poohas a child. Once my mom even had all the characters brought to life for me for our birthday. EJ and Alexander wanted me to pick the theme. So, I’ve decided to make that the theme of the nursery. Winnie the Pooh. My mom found a LOT of pins for ideas. They are adorable.”
I complimented her, “That’s really cute. How have you been feeling?” Cassie admitted, “I have my Hackura pregnant woman moments for sure. I’ve basically been like a Fairy and a Hackurathe whole time. I’m just praying I sneeze out babies like my mom.”
We sat in silence for a minute, and I literally bit my lip. Sierra laughed, “Here it comes.” I blurted out, “You will…for sure… both you and Angela…so…it’s…umm…Yeah.” Cassie raised an eyebrow. Gia said, “God, I want you to be right.”
I hummed, “I am right…so…it’s literally a fact…not a guess.” Tory raised a glass to me. Sierra linked, “Her Beta is asking how you know that.” I replied, “Just sent her the paper. Cassie will let it go because that’s the answer she wants, and she has Alpha blood.”
Cassie nudged me asking, “How are you doing? You’re in the Ribbon and that’s huge. Plus, your wolf came to you, coming home, being with my brother, and you’re married now. That’s a lot in a short period of time.” Adeline agreed, “Now, that she says it like that it does sound literally insane.”
