Page 68 of Knotty, Nice, & Holiday Lights
I winced, pursed my lips. “I… wasn’t sure how to.” Also, not a complete lie. “But, there’s good news, too.” I had braced myself. “I found my pack.”
To the point, Izzy. Good work.
“And Asher, Will, and—” I looked around the room. “Matthew!” I had called, immediately followed by pounding footsteps on the basement stairs, before the door had flown open and he rushed out.
I looked at my startled parents. “And Matthew,” I amended, “are my Alphas.”
My mother rose from the couch with a smile, her arms held open. “Matthew,” she had said before they briefly embraced. Then she turned to Asher, who was closest. “Asher, is it?”
“Yes, mum,” he had replied, making her squeal with delight before hugging him, too.
“Mum!” she exclaimed, looking over at my dad. “Did you hear that, George? I’m finally ‘Mum.’”
“I heard it, Josephine,” he had said, bemused.
“And you must be Will.” When my mom hugged him, he seemed to melt a little, making me smile.
“Yes, I’m Will,” he had said as they separated.
Then, as my mom approached me and took me into her arms, my dad rose from his seat and began to shake hands with each of my Alphas.
“I’m so proud of you, Isabelle,” my mom had whispered in my ear, a quiver to her voice. “I’m still sorry about your job, but I know you’ll find another. You’re so talented.”
I blinked back tears just as my dad hugged me, too. “You have a family of your own,” he had said as he looked down at me, expression serious but warm. “I know you’ve worked hard to be independent, Isabelle.”
His words had shocked the hell out of me. My mom’s, too.
“But you now have love and support that can take you further in life.”
Love and support indeed.
“Hey, Belly.”
At the use of his obnoxious nickname, I turn to my brother, Christian, who holds up a pint glass like a salute.
“This is a great party.” He gets closer, his expression and aura growing serious. “Thank you for inviting me.”
I blink up at him, my impossibly tall brother, and cast him a confused look. “Why wouldn’t I invite you?”
His head tilts, a little black ink from a hidden tattoo below his sweater is exposed on his neck with the movement. “I know our relationship has been strained since I moved. I’m just really glad to see you.”
My mouth opens and closes a few times before I look around the room to make sure no one is about to pounce on me, screaming I’m on a hidden camera stream. But nope. So I look back at Christian with a slow nod. “I’m glad to see you, too.” My voice is more airy than I meant it, and the smile that stretches across his face is something I haven’t seen in years. It warms my heart more than the one-armed hug he gives me after.
“So, listen,” he says a little conspiratorially. “Who’s your friend with the blond hair?”
Confused for a millisecond, I laugh before smirking at him. “That’s Bec. Be careful. She’ll break your kneecaps.”
The way his eyes grow hooded as he stares at her across the room, talking to Violet and her family, makes me cringe a bit. I don’t really want to know if my brother has masochistic tendencies.
As the night goes on, the laughter grows louder, the happiness all around increasing with each memory reminisced and future plan shared among friends and family.
And tears well in my eyes as I watch the crowd move all around, hugs and kisses, looks of love.
Matthew joins me in the corner of the room, sitting on the arm of my chair, leaning down to kiss the top of my head. “I’m ‘Unca Two’ now. Officially.”
I shoot him a questioning look before laughing. “What?”
His smile is lopsided. “Violet told Ivy not to call me ‘Matt,’ and she can’t say ‘Matthew’ yet.”
