Chapter 34
“They’re going to love you,” I promised. I had repeated the words at least a dozen times this morning, but Madison was still so nervous for the cookout.
I’d warned my family in advance not to bombard her, no matter how excited they were, though I wasn’t sure how well they would listen.
They were ready to welcome her in if she would allow it.
I was pretty sure she would, once she got over the initial stage fright of being thrust in front of my extended family.
We’d worked together all Friday night and Saturday morning to prepare our food contributions.
Leo had guided us through Mexican street corn, Alve had put together onigiri with a practiced hand, Nathan had whipped up a Greek salad, and Madison and I had baked a peach cobbler and a cherry pie.
Cooking with my pack had quickly become one of my favorite activities.
At first, we kind of stumbled over each other in the kitchen, but now we’d figured out a flow, everyone completing their tasks without much struggle.
“They’re going to love you, too.” I took Alve’s hand and gave it a squeeze. He had been white-knuckling the peach cobbler pan the same as Madison, where she held the tray of foil-wrapped street corn. “You guys, I promise they’re not scary. I already told them all about you.”
I laid my arm over the back of the bench seating so Madison could lean her head on me and I could gently grasp Alve’s shoulder.
Leo turned in the passenger seat to look at us. “Does everyone remember the signal?”
Madison and Alve both nodded. We’d come up with a password—Eclipse—and a hand signal—crossed fingers adjusting hair—so that if anyone was overwhelmed, we could usher them somewhere quiet if they were too nervous to make the request. I was used to big crowds at family events, and Leo was used to it with his work.
Nathan was completely unfazed, looking like an absolute snack in the driver seat.
We pulled up to a street crammed full of vehicles, people spilling all over my parents’ front yard. Music flowed over us as we stepped out, along with the cacophony of voices.
My youngest sister, Jasmine, noticed us first and let out a shriek of excitement, flinging herself straight into my arms. “You’re here!”
Her announcement was a herald to the others, their heads swiveling in our direction.
“Jazz, this is supposed to be chill. I was hoping to do introductions one at a time.”
“Better to jump in the deep end or you’ll be doing intros the entire cookout.” Jazz was on Madison the second my girl was out of the car, hugging her so tightly, Madison’s feet left the ground. “I’m so excited to meet you! Jude hasn’t shut up about you for years. In a cute way, I promise.”
My omega’s eyes were enormous when Jazz released her, and I stepped closer to loop my arm around her waist. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
“Maddie, this is my baby sister, Jasmine.”
“But call me Jazz.” She smiled widely, flipping her braids over her shoulder.
By this time, the others had rolled up too. “Okay, line up so I can introduce everyone at once.”
My siblings smiled and fell in line across from my pack.
“Pack, these are the triplets: Aaliyah, Aisha, and Amara; the twins, Selene and Serenity; and the other twins, Jazz and Jax. Fam, this is Madison, Nathan, Leo, and Alve.” I turned to my pack.
“There are more, but no one expects you to remember all the names. Amara and Selene both have packs, and then there’s our parents and grandparents, plus all the aunts and uncles, and I’m pretty sure there’s a fair few neighbors and friends wandering around as well. ”
Alve tapped away on his phone.
“Are you taking notes?” Jazz asked, peeking at the screen.
“Remembering names might not be an expectation, but I’m going to do my best regardless.”
“I bought name tags for today only, since we have newbies,” Amara told us.
“Jude told us you might be overwhelmed by the crowd, so hopefully this helps you get better acquainted.” She produced a roll of blank stickers and quickly filled out her own and our siblings’ names and how they were connected to me beneath it, sticking it to each person in turn.
She glanced at my pack. “Spell your names for me.”
Madison went first.
“What do you want me to put underneath? Jude’s girlfriend or Jude’s omega?”
“Either is cool. I guess I’m both,” Madison replied.
Amara glanced at Nathan. “What am I putting for yours?”
I interrupted before he could answer. “You can put Jude’s boyfriend.”
I felt the eyes of every single assembled family member burrow into me.
“Boyfriend is new,” Amara observed, filling out Nathan’s sticker and pressing it to his chest. “Any other boyfriends in the mix?”
“Not yet,” Leo replied, only to immediately be under their gazes as well, mine included.
What did that mean? I suppose the more important question was, what did I want it to mean? I’d only considered Madison going into all of this, but after starting things with Nathan, getting involved with the others in the same way it wasn’t as nerve-racking as it would’ve been.
“Put packmate for Alve and I,” Leo instructed.
Amara nodded and put the stickers on everyone, her marker at the ready as we descended into the crowd.
Madison walked between Nathan and I, Alve holding onto Nathan’s hand for dear life, the other frantically taking notes as Amara introduced the various aunties and uncles, slapping stickers on them, too, much to their amusement.
While my sisters handled that, I recruited Jazz and Jax to help me get all of the food onto the ice trays set strategically on long tables down one side of the yard.
“They’re a bunch of cuties,” Jazz commented. “I didn’t know you wanted a boyfriend.”
“That was a surprise to me, too.”
“They’re almost at Mom, let’s go.” Jax pulled me over as my sisters nudged my pack up to my parents.
I got to them first. “Hey, Mama.”
My mother beamed, cupping my cheeks and forcing me to lower so she could kiss my forehead. “Good to see you, honey. Introduce who you’ve brought.”
My dads each stole me for a hug before I could, so I did introductions from under two arms draped over my shoulders.
“Come here, sweetheart.” Mama opened her arms to Madison and my omega slipped right in. “My Jude is being good to you?”
“He’s the best,” Madison assured her.
“And you’re being good to him?”
“I hope so.” Madison glanced over to me.
“She is, Mama. I promise we’re all being good to each other.”
My pack went down the line, each hugging my mother and my fathers. Aaliyah stole Madison and I away, moving toward the food table. It was full of all of my favorites, plus a few new items that I assumed were Serenity’s addition, since she was always making us try new things.
“First-time guests fill their plates before the rest,” Aaliyah told Madison with a bright smile. “Get your food so I can stuff my face.”
I waved my pack over so everyone could load up, the rest of the guests already eyeing the situation and forming a line.
Madison paused in front of a bowl of ceviche on ice, turning to me. “Can I have this?”
“Why wouldn’t you be able to have it?”
“I think raw fish is on the list of things you’re not allowed to eat if you’re—”
“Are you pregnant?” Aaliyah poked her head between us, turning an accusatory eye to me. “You didn’t tell us?”
“I don’t know if I am yet,” Madison clarified.
Aaliyah swiveled to focus on Maddie. “Skip it for now. I’ll be back.”
She sprinted away, grabbing the other triplets and pulling them into the house.
I pursed my lips. Odds were good every person here would know about Madison’s potential pregnancy within the next twenty minutes.
Good news never stayed quiet long in my family.
I thought about going after them to see what they were up to, but then Madison hooked her arm through mine.
“Sneak anything onto my plate if you’re worried about running out before you get to it.”
I gave her a double helping of Mama’s mac & cheese and some extra barbecue brisket. Both of those always went fast. I led my pack to the raised garden bed, where we perched on the stone wall lining it.
“Oh my god, this is so good.” Madison shoveled a bite of each savory thing into her mouth.
“I’m going to get in line for mine.” No special line privileges for me, but that was okay.
By the time I returned, Madison was gone. Nathan pulled me in for a quick cherry pie-flavored kiss. “Your whole sister squad took her a few minutes ago. They went into the house with your mom. Is there some sort of initiation ritual?”
“I have no idea. I’ve never brought anyone I was serious about to a family event before. They won’t do anything bad, but I’m still torn on whether I should check on them or if I should wait and eat.”
“If you’re going to worry, then go check. I’ll guard your plate.”
“Okay. I’ll be right back.” I found all of them, minus Madison, clustered outside of the upstairs bathroom the triplets had shared growing up. “What on earth is going on?”
Serenity hugged me until my breath wheezed out. “We’re finding out if we’re going to be aunties.”
My heart rate kicked into high gear, pounding against my ribs. I waded through the crowd of family and knocked on the door. “Maddie, can I come in?”
The door cracked open and I slid inside, closing it behind me. She was staring at a pregnancy test on the counter like it was going to come to life and bite her.
“What’s the result?”
“I don’t know yet. There’s thirty seconds left on the timer.”
I pulled her into my arms, each one of those thirty seconds feeling like a lifetime.
“I’m too anxious to look.” She pressed her face to my chest.
“I’ll look!” Jazz said through the door.
Madison gave a nervous laugh and opened it, letting Jazz inside.
My youngest sister picked up the test, her smile the widest I’d ever seen it. “It’s positive!”
Holy shit.
A chorus of delighted screams sounded from the hall, my sisters flowing into the bathroom and centering us in a group hug until Mama shooshed them away to hug us herself.
Madison looked shell-shocked for a moment before bursting into giggles, twisting in my arms and leaping up. “It’s positive!”
My tongue tangled the words. “We’re having a baby?”
“We’re having a baby! Oh my god. Oh my god!”
There wasn’t an ounce of space to move in the bathroom with nine of us crammed in there, but the outpouring of love steadied me. The bonds had made things real, but a baby made things real.
“What are we all screaming about?” Jax asked, finding all of us tucked together.
Madison held the test aloft.
Jax’s jaw dropped. “Whoa. I’m gonna be an uncle?” He threw himself at the group hug, though he was far from actually making contact with us. “Dibs being the favorite uncle.”
“I think you’re the only uncle,” Madison pointed out.
“Fuck, yeah! The favorite by default.” Jax grinned. “I’ll go get your pack.”
His version of that was opening the window in our parents’ bedroom that overlooked the backyard and yelling for them to get their asses up here.
“Jax, you scared them,” Madison admonished. “Leo and Alve got all panicky in the bond.”
“When will my Jude be joining you in a bond?” Mama asked.
I was about to tell her not to pressure Madison, but she beat me to speaking.
“As soon as he wants me. I just need a heat flare to make it happen.”
I swayed on my feet. Madison wanted me forever?
Our pack’s footsteps thundered up the stairs, and they stopped short in front of the assembled crowd, my sisters parting and filing into the hallway to let them get closer.
“What’s wrong?” Alve asked.
“Nothing.” Madison beamed and held up the test.
Reality dawned on each face one by one and then we were swallowed up in a new group hug.
Madison was having a pack baby. Our lives knitted even tighter together. My omega was pregnant and even bolstered by everyone’s surrounding joy, I was pretty sure I’d never been happier in my whole damn life.