Chapter 38 Faye #3
“Let me help you with that, Del,” Laz offers, coming in from the yard with Ren.
He takes the box from her, then pretends to stumble. “I’ll take that,” Ren steps in, seeing the look of horror on Delilah’s face. “Thank you. If it’s anything like your banana bread, I'm sure it’ll be amazing.”
“Oh, it’s wayyyy better than that,” she promises. “I’ll help you unpack it. We need to be really careful because of the layers.”
Ren nods and moves slowly, taking his duty seriously.
Delilah pauses as she passes. “I’m so happy for you, Faye. You’ve found your pack!”
It’s ironic, as many omegas spend their whole lives searching for a pack, yet mine stumbled right onto my lap.
“Have you filled out all the forms?” I overhear Kady asking Cole. “There’s the BC12, the AD1, and the ORA4.”
“I submitted everything this morning,” Cole responds.
“Good.” Kady nods in satisfaction, like they’re ending a business meeting. “I’m glad everything is in order.”
“I hope you know if you do anything to hurt Faye, you’ll have us to deal with,” Sabs chips into their conversation.
“We wouldn’t dream of it, little sis.” Laz creeps up behind her, hooks his arm around her head, then rubs her hair.
“I just got a blowout!” Sabs wails. “I swear, I’ll—”
He lets her go for a second, and she lunges at him. Laz’s quick, though, sprinting away as Sabs chases after him toward the backyard.
“Why don’t you join the others?” Cole suggests as he ties the remaining balloons to a banister.
“I told her that balloons weren’t a good idea.” Kady shakes her head as we head outside, then her smile brightens. “Congratulations again. How are you doing?”
“It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind,” I confess. “It wasn’t exactly planned.”
“You can’t help who you fall in love with,” Delilah chips in, nudging Kady playfully. “Just because the Ice Queen here doesn’t want to bond with anyone.”
Kady rolls her eyes. “The idea of a pack just doesn’t appeal to me. No offense, Faye. I just think I’ll be happier on my own.”
“Your drinks.” Cole hands us freshly made mojitos with sprigs of mint. “Ren’s the mojito king.”
“These are delicious.” Delilah takes a long sip then sighs. “Maybe if you find an alpha who can make cocktails like this, you’ll change your mind about bonding, Kady?”
“Perhaps,” she says, but her expression says otherwise.
“So tell me everything!” Delilah gushes. “What was it like? Intense? Hot? I mean, Damon gives off dark and dangerous alpha energy.”
I turn to look at Damon, only to find he’s already watching me. His lips curve into a smile mid burger flip. A smile that sets my insides alight and makes me want to leave the party right now, just to be alone with him.
“He’s a teddy bear, really,” I reply loud enough to make sure he’ll hear. “I guess one thing led to another, and it happened. I actually bit him first.”
Swooning, Delilah presses a palm to her chest. “That’s so romantic.”
A jarring splash has our heads whipping around to find the source of the commotion.
“Laz!” Cole scolds. “How many times have I told you to put on the pool cover?”
Sabs’s head breaks the water’s surface. So much for her blowout.
“Sorry, sis.” Laz bats his eyelashes in mock innocence from the pool’s edge. “I didn’t realize the cover wasn’t on properly.”
“Like fuck you didn’t,” she gripes, holding out her hand. “Help me out!”
When he goes to pull her, she yanks him in. He topples in with an even louder splash.
“The two of them turn into kids again whenever they’re together.” Cole shakes his head. “It’s a wonder the Maverick house is still standing. You should see what it’s like when all the Maverick siblings get together.” He shudders. “Total chaos.”
“Burgers and hotdogs are ready!” Damon calls out.
“You’re going down, sis!” Laz yells.
Seeing him and Sabs together makes my heart swell. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to have siblings or live in a house full of chaos and noise. Gram and I had our own traditions, but they were centered around quiet and calming activities, like collecting flowers, crushing herbs and brewing.
“From where I’m standing, Sabs has the upper hand,” Kady comments as Sabs grabs Laz’s curls and dunks him under.
“Well, she is captain of the volleyball team,” Delilah giggles.
Damon brings all the food over, placing it on the table for us to help ourselves. We all grab seats, including Sabs and Laz once they give up on trying to drown each other, both dripping wet and laughing. Fortunately for them, the sun will dry them up in no time.
Time passes quickly. I don’t say a lot, choosing to listen to the laughter, silly bickering, and joking around me. In such a short time, everyone around this table has become my family.
After Ren makes more tasty cocktails and we devour our body weight in food, we play a game of charades.
I learn Cole is a terrible actor but gets very passionate about guessing.
He and Kady throw out guesses like accusations in a courtroom, jabbing their fingers and pointing.
Damon’s also extremely competitive, but after being told he’s wrong a few times, he declares he isn’t playing and wraps his arms around me instead.
Halfway through, Delilah and Ren disappear, returning holding a towering cake.
“Woah!” My hand flies to my mouth. This would put a wedding cake to shame. There are five different sponge layers, each with one of our names iced on. “This must have taken you hours, Delilah.”
“She was baking all day,” Kady confirms.
“I loved making it.” Delilah shines with pride. “This may be my best creation to date.”
They carefully place the cake monster down. It’s large enough to feed the entire alpha quad.
“I tried to match each layer to match your personalities. Sabs helped choose the flavors since she knows the guys best.” She points at each layer.
“This is Faye’s at the top.” It’s a delicate white cake with piped white and yellow flowers.
“Vanilla and honey. Underneath that, we have Damon. His was soaked in liquor. Very dense. Then there is Cole’s.
” His chocolate layer is iced with a white pine tree pattern.
“Finally, Ren’s. It’s a light sponge—a dash of lemon with lavender.
Then the bottom layer is for Laz.” She sighs.
“It broke in two when I took it out of the pan because it was so large, so I had to re-attach it, but I think that suits your personality. Cinnamon and caramel.”
“It’s perfect.” I gape at the impressive dessert. “You’ve outdone yourself.”
“You should set up a cake making business.” Ren nods.
She waves him off, but her cheeks flush with delight as everyone admires her handiwork.
Sabs insists that me and the pack pose in front of the cake for a group picture. I’m dwarfed by the cake and the guys, smiling awkwardly as the flash blinds me.
“Who wants a piece?” Delilah asks.
“Cut me off a bit of me and Faye,” Laz requests. “I already know we taste good together.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” Sabs covers her ears. “I’m glad I’m finally going to get a new sister, but that’s too much information.”
Laz chuckles before he takes a big bite and groans. “Delicious.”
Kady looks down at her buzzing phone. “That was Nia. She was reminding me about the Omega Unite rally tomorrow and wanted to know whether we’re still going.”
“I completely forgot about that,” I admit, kicking myself. “I’d like to go.”
“Are you sure?” Kady tilts her head regarding me. “You’ve had a busy week. Nia would understand if you can’t make it.”
“No, I’d really like to.” I look at the guys. “If you don’t mind joining us?”
“I’m not leaving your side,” Damon says.
“Count me in.” Ren curls an arm around me as the others all agree.
I chew my lip. “I said we might make banners.”
“No fear, honeybee!” Laz puts his hands on hips and puffs out his chest like a superhero. “I have a load of craft supplies. I’ll bring them down, and we can make some now.”
“Yay!” I cheer. “Crafts and cake!”
We all spend the rest of the evening making banners and signs. For a change, Laz isn’t constantly joking around. He offers everyone help and tips to make their signs shine. It’s nice to do something with them that I’d usually do at home, but it makes my mind stray to Gram.
Damon tenses, instantly sensing my mood shift. “What’s up?”
It’s impossible to hide my feelings through our bond.
“Making these reminds me of my gram, that’s all.” I put the finishing touches on my Omega Power Hour sign by adding a sprinkle of glitter. “I miss her.”
I don’t add that I’m worried about how she’ll react when she learns I’ve found a pack. Damon’s frown hints that he knows I’m holding something back, but he doesn’t press me.
I’ll have to tell Gram about the Silverwoods eventually. Now that Damon and I have bonded, there’s no going back, but that’s a problem for another time.