33. Adler
THIRTY-THREE
Adler
Despite my initial nerves, I’ve relaxed as the day goes on. Sabs’s family are amazing. She and her mom look alike and have the same friendly, outgoing personality that makes people gravitate toward them.
After everyone got over the initial angst over me and Sabs bonding, her parents made a real effort to speak to all of us—finding out about our studies, Orin’s job, and our interests outside of school and work.
Even Ray—Sabs’s hardest-to-win-over father—has asked me about my games and dreams. It took me aback; my own mother never cared enough to ask.
I can’t help feeling bad for Izzie, after watching Sabs and her mom together.
Although I don’t care that we don’t have a relationship with our mother anymore, it’s always been harder for Iz.
She hides it well and has Aunt Jade, but I know she’d have loved an omega parent to help her when she first learned her designation.
It can be challenging for an alpha, with a hotbed of hormones that make you feel like a raging bull, but omegas have it even worse.
“Meeting the parents is always rough, huh?” Gene—who Sabs calls Bug—drops down in the seat next to me, taking a swig of his beer.
“I remember meeting Cassie’s parents for the first time.
Meeting one dad was bad enough. I feel like she had the tougher job, though.
She had three sets of in-laws to meet! Everyone loved her, of course. ”
His eyes skirt over the room to where Cassie is deep in conversation with Luca. Sabs is hanging off his arm, roaring with laughter, and I’m glad to see that his posture looks at ease. “Do your parents know that you’ve bonded?”
“Uh…” I take a drink, my palms slick against the cool bottle. “I haven’t heard from my dad since he left when I was five. And Mom… Well, we don’t talk anymore. She moves a lot.”
By “moves a lot,” I mean she’s couch surfing, probably living with whichever junkie boyfriend she’s currently hooking up with.
She’ll do anything to get a fix. When I think of my mother, I’m not comforted by loving embraces or the sweet smell of gingerbread; my mind goes to stale cigarette smoke, sweat-dried clothes, and bitter disappointment
“But Sabs has met my sister, Isabella,” I tell him, my voice brightening. “Izzie loves her.”
“It’s hard not to love our Sabs.” The crinkles around Gene’s eyes deepen as he looks at his daughter. “She’s as stubborn as her mother and knows her own mind.”
“I’m gathering that,” I say fondly, checking out my beautiful omega from across the room.
“Hey!” Sabs pouts, putting her hands on her hips as she notices me staring. “What are you saying about me?”
“Nothing!” Bug raises his hands in mock surrender. “I was just about to tell him the story of your first nest building disaster.”
Her eyes blaze. “Don’t you dare.”
“Nest building is no joke,” Cassie calls him out. “Quit embarrassing her, Gene.”
“That’s what dads are supposed to do, right?” Bob—who she calls Pops—chips in. “Besides, I’m pretty sure Drax was there to witness the aftermath.”
“My lips are sealed.” Drax makes a zipping motion across his mouth. “Forever sworn to secrecy.”
Orin chuckles. “Now that’s a story we have to hear one day.”
I’m fascinated, watching how Sabs and her family interact. The way that Gene strokes Cassie’s arm and how Ray and Bob share knowing looks when Sabs starts regaling a dramatic story. It’s like watching a movie about the kind of family I always wished I had, but it’s real.
Detecting my change in mood, Sabs comes over, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. Bug vacates his spot next to me, inspecting a painting on the wall—one of Laz’s latest pieces—hanging next to a strange-looking plant.
“I wouldn’t touch that one,” I overhear Luca saying to him. “Faye warned me that it may be poisonous.”
“You okay?” Sabs whispers in my ear. “I know this is a lot.” She’s positively glowing. I can feel how happy she is; the love she feels for her family radiates through our bond.
“I’m okay. I’m just not used to… family.” I smile sheepishly. “It’s just been Iz and me for so long.”
“Well, you have a huge, crazy new family now.” She drops a kiss on my cheek. “Just imagine how chaotic Christmas can be. But seriously, if you need to step outside for a break—”
“No,” I say quickly. “I want to stay. I hope they…” I look around to make sure none of her parents are within earshot, but they all appear to be wrapped up in conversation with the others, “like us.”
“They’re all still here, aren’t they?” Sabs nudges me playfully.
“And you’d know if they didn’t. They had to play hardball at the beginning, but Mom’s already asked me about our holiday plans, which says it all.
” Sabs frowns the moment her gaze strays to her mom.
“Oh no, she’s got that glassy look in her eyes. How many bellinis has Luca made her?”
“Look at you!” Cassie pinches Drax’s cheek. “I remember when you were this tall.” She gestures at her knee. “You were the cutest little thing, and now you’re all grown up. Our little Drax, one of my daughter’s alphas!”
Ray pries the glass from her hand. “Maybe we should swap this for water.”
“My two youngest children have packs.” Cassie fans her face, overcome with emotion as her eyes fill with tears. “I never thought I’d see the day! I thought we’d done something wrong with Beckett and Forest—”
“It’s not your fault that no omegas want them,” Sabs chips in. “Let’s face it, Beckett would bore anyone to death, and Forest spends more time with fish than people.”
“Be nice, Sabs,” Ray tuts.
“Maybe we should get you back to the hotel?” Pops pats Cassie’s shoulder. “They have a spa. A massage and a swim would be nice after all the traveling.”
Cassie hiccups. “That does sound good.”
I can see the love between Sabs’s parents. A love that’s built on trust and friendship over years. If we’re going to be half as happy as the Maverick family, we’re going to have a pretty awesome life.
“Here.” Ray grabs Cassie’s cardigan then wraps it around her shoulders. “Let’s get ready to go.”
“We’re around for a few more days,” Bug says. “Any chance we could get tickets to see our daughter’s alpha’s big hockey game?”
A lump forms in my throat. “Y-you want to see me play?”
“Of course we do.” Bug claps me on the back. “You’re family now.”
“I can get extra tickets.” I’m grateful for Orin’s offer as I’m too stunned to speak. “We’d love to see you there.”
Bug offers me a smile. “I look forward to seeing you out on the ice.”
“Oh, Sabs!” Cassie dives on her again for another long hug, one of probably 100 over the course of the day. “I really am so proud of you.”
“Okay, Mom.” Sabs pats her. “We know you get weepy after a few drinks.”
“Sorry.” Cassie swipes at her wet cheeks before turning to address the rest of our pack. “It was lovely to meet you. I can see that Sabs is in very strong—I mean, good—hands.”
“Let’s get back for that massage, okay?” Ray starts leading Cassie toward the door, pausing to peck Sabs on the forehead. “See you soon.”
“Will do.” Sabs gives her father a big squeeze. “I guess we’ll see you at Adler’s game.”
“You betcha!” Bug winks. “We wouldn’t miss it.”
We wait at the door, watching them head down to the car, Cassie swaying slightly.
“What a lightweight.” Sabs laughs, but it’s filled with affection, wiping her forehead as soon as Orin closes the door. “That seemed to go well. Sorry for all their heavy questions.”
“It was to be expected,” Orin replies.
“But we probably should talk about the future, right?” I feel her nerves as she fiddles with her hair. I’ve noticed that Sabs tends to mask uncomfortable feelings under jokes or tries to divert attention away from them. “You know, about us… dun, dun, dahhhh… bonding!”
Although I can’t feel the others’ emotions, I notice the postures of my packmates stiffen. They haven’t wanted to put any pressure on her, but I see how they look at my bond mark on her neck, almost as if they’re imagining what theirs would look like alongside it.
“We don’t have to talk about any of that if you’re not ready,” Orin says.
“No, I want to talk about it.” Sabs lets out a deep breath, her next words coming out in a rush. “We should do it. Talk about it, I mean. What we’re going to do.”
Luca, Orin, and Drax hang on her every word.
I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be in their shoes.
I notice Luca’s jaw is tight. Poor guy. He’s already told me that he’s gone through a full tube of Teeth-Numb gel because of the tingling in his canines he gets whenever he’s in the same room as Sabs.
I’m guessing that Drax and Orin must be experiencing similar discomfort too.
“I’ve waited a long time for you, Sabs,” Drax speaks first. “Just being with you is enough for me. We don’t ever need to bond, if you don’t want to.”
“You know that I think you’re my scent match.” Luca nods earnestly. “But we can go at your pace. Whatever makes you feel comfortable.”
“While I appreciate you all being super sweet and chivalrous…” Sabs flashes us her mischievous smile that we all love so much. “I think I do—no, I know—that I do actually want to bond with you. All of you.”
“You do?” Drax sounds surprised, which baffles me because it’s obvious how much she cares about him. While he might have been stuck in the friendship zone in the past, he’s the one she feels most comfortable around. The one she runs to if she’s upset.
“Yep,” Sabs confirms with zero hesitation, her voice slowing now that she’s aired her feelings. “And I don’t see the point in waiting. I mean, I’m already bonded to Adler. I know you’re my pack, so why are we dragging it out?”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Luca smile so wide, and Drax’s pheromones are filling the air, making it obvious that he’d bite her right here, right now, if she asked.
“Bonding is a big decision.” Orin—always the serious one— states this like it’s something we don’t already know. “It’s not something we should rush.”
“I’m not saying to pin me down and bite me here in my brother’s house.”
A pink flush spreads over Drax’s neck and cheeks.
“But I don’t want to wait forever,” she continues.
“When you know, you know. I want to start living as a pack. My parents have always said that bonding is what builds a family, and things don’t feel complete, not being bonded with all of you.
I can’t imagine my mom being bonded with just Dad and not the others. ”
Orin nods slowly in understanding. “As long as you’re sure this is what you want?”
“It is.”
“We could go somewhere special to, uh, do it?” Luca suggests.
“Rent a cabin in the woods? Maybe a weekend at a hot spring?” Both of his ideas sound eerily similar to those listed in the article I caught him reading about “How to Please Your Omega” on his phone yesterday. “I mean, they’re just ideas.”
“I kinda had something else in mind.” I feel a rush of lust through our bond as Sabs thinks about it. “I’d like you all to bite me when I next go into heat. It’s probably best that I tell you this now before I’m all delulu and losing my mind, begging for your knots.”
“During heat?” Orin’s eyebrows raise. “You’re sure?”
“Mind-bending pleasure sounds pretty fucking awesome to me.” Sabs smirks. “A whole knotting and bonding extravaganza. But…” Her eyes sweep over the three of them. “If you have any objections, we should talk it through. This is as big of a deal for you guys as it is for me.”
“As long as you’re happy, then I am too.” Orin is quick to respond. “And if that’s what you want, it’s important that we have your consent now.”
“Well, consider it granted.” She turns to Luca and Drax. “What do you think?”
“I’m in.” Luca stares down at his hands as he cracks his knuckles. “But I know we haven’t spent a lot of time together yet…”
“Time isn’t everything.” She steps over to Luca, stroking his cheek. “Look at my parents. They chose to bond after their second date. But if you’d prefer to wa—”
“No!” Luca grabs her hips possessively. “I feel that you’re meant to be ours, Sabs. But you only get one chance to bond. So I want it to be everything you want.”
“This is what I want. A thousand percent.” She pecks his lips with a loud smack before turning to Drax. “And Drax—”
“When have I ever been able to say no to you?” The corners of his mouth quirk upward. “I’m all in. Always have been, always will be.”
“That settles it, then.” Sabs claps her hands. “The next time I go into heat, we all bond and complete our family.”
Giving me the family I’ve always wanted.