My belly was a hard ball wedged in between us, but I leaned over it and squeezed both arms as snugly as I could around Matt’s waist. When he revved the engine and took off with a burst of speed, a wave of sheer happiness spread through me as we sped toward home.
It was like nothing I'd ever experienced. Whenever I'd ridden in a car, I always enjoyed watching the scenery go by when I looked out the window. But now, I was part of the scenery. One with the landscape. Completely immersed and united with the world around us, nothing between me and nature. My grip loosened as I began to relax, and by the time we came to a stop, I was disappointed the ride had ended.
After our helmets were off, the first thing Matt did was kiss me hard and fast. His eyes were like liquid gold when he pulled back to ask what I thought of the ride. I was finally able to let out the giggles I'd been holding in. My happiness swirled around us like a living thing as I laughed with sheer joy.
"What did I think? It was the best! Glorious. Amazing, even. And when can I go again?"
I hadn't heard the other guys pull up; I'd been too focused on my mate and the intense exhilaration of my first ride. So focused, in fact, I nearly jumped out of my skin when the other alphas chuckled.
Lucian tipped his chin toward me in approval. "Spoken like a true member of the family. Welcome to the pack, Elisha. You already were one of us ‘cuz of Matty boy, but now you belong all on your own."
We were all still standing around the bikes as Jared drove up. When I saw the stream of cars following him, I turned to Matt. "We forgot to greet the new and returning pack members. I feel awful."
Matt caught my hand and lifted it to kiss my inner wrist. "You don't need to feel bad for a second, little wolf. Jared was there to greet everyone. There is nothing improper about the pack beta doing the initial hello. You had to take time and greet the two people who matter most, and you did. Now how about we take the boys inside and show them their new bedroom?If memory serves, Paula has the whole dinner buffet thingy planned in the old ballroom so we don't have much time."
"Remind me never to doubt you, my love. You're right. Let's take more family time and check out the boys’ new digs."
By the time we made it inside, Paula was already hugging Noah and Saul. Jared headed off with his clipboard to direct our incoming pack members to the community room—or old ballroom, if you were Matt. By the time Paula let my brothers go, they both had somehow wound up with cookies in their hands, and Paula shot me a look daring me to question it.
I smothered a laugh and pointed my brothers toward the stairs. If she wanted to spoil them, more power to her. As a fellow survivor of my father's house, I could vouch for how much pampering they had to make up for. And since I would need them to respect me, it was probably better if a grandma type did it.
Exactly like Jared said, a pair of twin beds had been installed in the bedroom closest to our suite. And toys. And books. And a lot of empty drawers and closet space, ready to be filled with new clothes. When Noah spotted a friendly teddy bear propped up against the pillow on one of the beds, he raced over and snatched it up. While he hugged his new treasure, I heard a suspicious sniffle. Four blinking alphas were obviously battling an acute allergic response of some sort.
When I caught Matt watching intently as Saul trailed a fingertip over a new cellphone box on his own pillow, I remembered his comment about leaving a gift or two as the room’s former occupant. Elbowing him in the ribs, I tried not to laugh at his expression as I shot him a playful glare. "Am I correct when I think you bought a cellphone for a twelve-year-old?" Since I couldn’t block—yet—I knew the second he felt my amused affection through our bond. His expression switched from guilt to pride in a heartbeat.
"Hey, what can I say? I was worried he might have friends back in Newberry Springs he'd want to stay in touch with. Plus, there's so many other things you can do with phones. You know, like take pictures, listen to music, and read books and… I don't know, Google shit? Yeah, I figured it was a good welcoming gift. Like your plants? Same difference. It's a little thing to make him smile."
I snorted so hard my nose tickled. "You gave him the latest iPhone. I don't even have that model. Are we seriously comparing phones to plants?"
Shrugging, Matt held his hands out, shoving his cheek against a shoulder with a wry grin. "It's a fair comparison. Don't forget, it is an Apple product. If we can't compare apples to plants, then I don't know what to tell you."
Our fun continued all through dinner, especially when Noah found out we were having spaghetti. We tried to avoid carb-heavy meals back home, especially this time of year. Mostly because my father didn't approve of air-conditioning. He said it wasn't natural, but I always thought it had more to do with him being cheap. Spaghetti was a winter treat, while lean proteins and salads were standard fare the rest of the year. Unlike back home, though, our solar-powered manor was kept cool enough to eat whatever the heck we wanted. And to prove it, I pretended not to notice when Noah overdid it on the garlic bread.
Once we were done with dinner, Matt gave the same speech he'd given twice before. After welcoming everyone to the pack and letting them know what to expect, we made our way around the room for his final round of wrist biting, accepting the allegiance of this final round of pack members to arrive. Initiation over, Jared and a team of volunteers left to take everyone to their new homes. At least the ones who didn't already have family here waiting for them.
Once everyone was gone except for us and the alpha crew, the guys made noises about heading to town to see if anyone needed help. We were about to say goodbye and head upstairs with the boys when Paula bustled in with a tray filled with big bowls of strawberry ice cream. She took one look at us and sternly shook her head. "Nope. Jared rushed everyone out of here before I got to serve dessert. These young boys need a treat, and the rest of you do too."
Already licking his lips, Tucker grabbed for a bowl. "Strawberry? Count me in. You got any chocolate syrup to pretty it up, darlin?"
Giggling like a schoolgirl, Paula set the tray in the middle of the table and produced a bottle of Hershey's syrup from her apron. "Better watch your flirty smile, young man. My boyfriend might have a few years on you, but he's an excellent shot." She winked to let him know she was teasing, but Tucker simply grinned harder.
"Ma'am, after tasting your cooking, I'm willing to risk the wrath of anyone if it'll get me an extra helping of whatever you're serving. Especially if he’s not smart enough to have you claimed by now."
Paula waved him off. "Oh, you. Behave or I'm putting you on dishwashing duty. And who wants a claim at my age? I had my mate, and I loved him to pieces. These days I can have fun sharing a few moonlight kisses without having to worry about anyone hogging the covers later. Now you boys enjoy your treat. I've got to check on my kitchen staff and make sure everything is running on schedule."
While we ate dessert, Matt told me about some alliances in the works with neighboring packs. Surprisingly, he brought it back around to the sign he'd stared at in the diner window earlier, mentioning his plans to have lunch there with some strange alpha.
"I told him it would have to wait until next week because my schedule was jam-packed right now. But yeah, the Tehachapi alpha wants to meet me in person before he signs an official alliance agreement."