1. Garret
Chapter 1
K elly gives me a quick kiss on the lips before she leans down to give Jake a peck on his snout. She’s running late, but can’t seem to leave the house without giving him due attention. I’m pretty sure the big baby wouldn’t let her anyway. He’d probably lie down behind her car and refuse to move until she got out to pet him. She has him spoiled rotten.
Snagging Jake’s collar, I give Kelly a minute to get out the door and to her car before I let him loose. He stops yanking immediately and turns a dirty look my way. “Yeah, buddy, I hate that she has to leave too, especially since she has to get back to classes after work. It just means we need to get all the cuddles we can when she gets home.” I ruffle his ears before heading back to the nest to collect Steve and Sam while Teddy finishes cleaning up breakfast.
“Come on boys, we gotta go if we’re gonna have a chance to make it to pick up flooring and paint after we hit the courthouse. I wanna be home before dark,” Sam’s voice calls loudly from down the hall as he stomps out, already covered in dust despite the early hour. Steve walks a few paces back. The knees of his black jeans are nearly white from where he was crawling across the floor checking measurements on the nest this morning. These two are determined to get it finished this week so that when they take Teddy back to the omega center to get his stuff, he has a proper place to set it up.
Teddy comes out of the kitchen, a cloth shopping bag slung over his wrist by the handles and four to-go mugs divided between his two hands. “Ok, guys. I got breakfast burritos all around, coffee, coffee, a spiced chai latte”—he looks pointedly at me—“and…ugh…orange spice tea for me. Remind me to pick up more decaf at the store. The paperwork for the courthouse is already filled out in the truck. Does anybody need to use the bathroom before we leave?” I never imagined that Teddy would go all mother hen on Steve, but that seems to be the case. He and Sam both treat my brother and our beta like omegas. Even when Steve is being a catty little shit about having to share them with her.
My twin leans into Sam, kissing him on the cheek before practically prancing to meet Teddy and taking one of the mugs from him. “Thank you, Bear. I think we’re good. Oh, do you have the names of those paint colors you wanted to look at? Garret, do you have your ID?” It’s been less than a week, but Steve already looks so much better. His face is filling back out—I didn’t even realize how gaunt he was looking until suddenly he wasn’t anymore.
“What are you, my mother?” I pause before swallowing thickly, realizing what I just said, my eyes flicking quickly between my soon-to-be-pack before I let out a mumbled, “Sorry.”
Sam’s big hand comes down on the back of my neck, his size and surly exterior belying his gentle nature. “Nervous? It’s not every day you join a pack.” We basically already have, not the bonding part, but all of this just feels like a formality.
Sam passes out coats, just in case, and we all head out, letting Jake loose to run around before we climb into the truck. The weather around here is going to take some getting used to. Plus, once we figure out how, we need to try to get back to Los Angeles to see if our apartment manager locked us out and what happened to all our stuff. I have no doubt that Dad followed through on his threats, or at least some of them, if the phone situation is any indication.
I really miss wearing my own pants. I only brought a couple of changes of clothes with me, and no real pajamas since we were in a rush. With five adults in the house, we’re washing a load of laundry every day. Sam says we need to set up a chore chart, so everybody chips in, and I’m fine with that. Just point me in the right direction and tell me what to do. As long as they don’t try to make me cook again, everything’s golden .
I take the back seat with Steve, letting Teddy sit up front with Sam. Despite their frantic reunion on the couch, they’re taking their time getting to know each other again, and learning how much has changed…and what hasn’t. A lot has happened in ten years, and I’m not sure if my brother understands yet just how different things are.
Sam rolls his window down, and yells to Jake. “Be good, guard the house. We’ll be back soon!” The big dog wags its tail and flops down on the porch, stretching out in the warm sunshine as we back up and get turned around. I take another look at the SUV we haven’t touched since we unpacked it last week. I wonder briefly what the hell is going on with our parents, before everyone starts arguing over who gets to control the radio.
Sam
T he courthouse is almost empty this early in the morning. Technically, they haven’t opened yet, not for another ten minutes, but no one else is waiting outside, so hopefully we can get in and out and then make it to Springfield to get what we need before lunch. I can’t believe that it’s only been a week since I was here with Teddy.
A few other groups show up before the doors are unlocked, but Steve practically bolts up the steps to be first in line when they open the door to the clerk’s office. He’s already holding his ID and the new paperwork we filled out. But, clearly Ruth is having another Monday, because she doesn’t seem excited to see us. Maybe she’s just not a morning person.
Steve bounces up to the counter, dragging Garret with him. Ruth takes one look, heaves a sigh and repeats, “Marriage licenses are down the hall, second door on the left. Next!” Dismissing the overwhelming enthusiasm before turning to Teddy and me. “Oh, Mr. Carpenter, how can I help you this morning?” She gives Teddy a bright smile, so maybe she’s just not fond of bouncy alphas first thing.
Teddy speaks up, since she seems to dislike him the least here. “I’m so sorry, Ruth. We screwed up. Is there any way we can adjust our paperwork from last week to include Steven and Garret Carson here? We didn’t think they were going to be able to join us due to a previous commitment, but they showed up out of the blue right before the snowstorm. If not, then we already have the new forms filled out. We’ll just need Kelly to come back and show her identification again at lunch.” I can’t be the only one staring blankly at my omega. He sounds so polite and professional; his voice has even taken on a sweeter tone than his usual grumpy growl. It feels like we’re doing an invasion of the body snatchers moment .
Ruth smiles at him, reaching across the counter to take his hand. “Of course not, honey. That snow got so bad I didn’t get a chance to get it filed. It’s no trouble at all, young man.” She pats his hand a couple of times before pulling back. Her smile drops as she turns to the twins, but there’s no way she could know what happened between them and Teddy, so I have no idea what’s up.
“So, you boys are gonna be a part of Pack Carpenter? Hmm, ok. I have some forms for you to fill out, and I’ll need a copy of your identifications, please.” She shuffles papers around on her desk until she pulls out the paperwork we came in and signed last week to hand over. Garret fills it out first, and Steve is practically vibrating by the time it gets to him. I get that he’s excited, but I think it’s a bit much since when he hands it back, Ruth gives him a hard glare followed by, “Sir, your handwriting is terrible. Oh well. Sign here and here, please.”
She passes them back their IDs, and looks at all of us again before pointedly looking at Teddy and me and saying, “Congratulations again, Mr. Carpenters…er…Misters Carpenter.” Steve offers her the new paperwork we did last night—it’s already wrinkled from being clenched too tight in his hand. She looks at it for a moment, her eyes flicking up briefly to meet his. “Sir, this would have been very helpful before…You know what? That’s ok. I’ll just take this too. We can staple them together to avoid confusion. Have a good day, Misters Carpenter.”
Effectively dismissed, we make our way back out to the truck, and drive the few blocks over to the garage to let Kelly know she doesn’t need to make any stops before she goes to classes. It hasn’t been long enough to justify taking her lunch, but my mind flicks over ideas on what I can do for her the entire way over, what she might need help with, or what she might like for a random gift. I really thought that a beta would be easier to take care of than an omega, but Teddy is so straightforward with what he needs: food, shelter, cuddles, a knot…and the alpha in the backseat who is acting like a hyper puppy.
But Kelly…I can feed her and give her cuddles, but everything after that is a mystery. She’s less about the visceral reactions than Teddy, and while a lot of Teddy is personal preferences—like his love of heavy metal, dark fabrics, and artisanal cheese boards—it’s harder to use alpha instincts to prove myself to her.
We pull up at the garage and Garret scrambles out the back door before I’ve even got it into park. This kid practically vibrates any time he’s not around her. It’s like somebody transplanted Jake’s brain into a human. I swear to fuck, he practically wags every time she walks into a room. And I can’t even blame the kid, I’m just...not jealous. I want her to know that I’m happy to see her too, and want to support her in whatever she does. I’m just not great at showing enthusiasm the way these two do.
Kelly’s behind the desk talking to Sal when we walk in. She still gets that adorable blush when she meets my eyes, and Sal grins at all of us. “Yeah, just lemme know if you need anything else, or if any assholes call for a tow truck.” She smiles at Steve and Garret before ducking out into the garage and throwing a wave at Gabe and Xan. Teddy walks up to the counter and leans over, leaving a loud smacking kiss on Kelly’s cheek, causing her blush to get darker—before Steve pulls him back. Garret saunters over next, trying to look cool. He pulls her hand across the desktop and places a kiss on the inside of her wrist before glancing at me and stepping away.
Guess that’s my cue, so I step around the counter and lean down to give her a quick peck on the lips. “Hey, Sugar. We already finished up with the paperwork and were about to head over to Springfield to get the flooring and paint. Do you need us to grab anything else while we’re out, or do you want me to make anything special for dinner after you get home from class this evenin’?” Her arms reach up to wind behind my neck and my purr starts up automatically when she snuggles into my chest.
Her voice is muffled against me. “No, sorry. I’m just a bit worn out from getting dropped back into life after a week off. I can barely keep my eyes open today. It might also be the hormones from the shot doc gave me on Friday. Hopefully, the coffee will kick in soon.” Her warm cheek presses against me as she turns her head up to look at me. “I might be kind of a zombie by suppertime.”
“You need to go get some rest, Sugar. We can drop you at the house before we head out if you’re feelin’ under the weather.” She shakes her head against my chest, taking in a big breath of my scent .
“No. I have work I need to get done here, and I can’t miss class. I’m so close to finishing. But I’ll call you if I have any trouble, or if I don’t feel safe to drive, alright?”
Not wanting to argue with the pretty beta, I just nod my reply, squeezing her tighter against me before letting her go and returning to the proper side of the counter right as Gabe walks in. He puts some paperwork on the desk beside Kelly before turning to me, his face serious. “Hey, Sam. I…I don’t want to step on your toes, but since you’re here, I wanted to tell you. You should probably call your brother. We…uh…we saw him at the hospital this weekend when we took Candice in. She was feeling kind of off, so Jacks insisted on a trip to the ER. She’s fine, but Joseph was there with Brice. I don’t know if either of them saw us, 'cause Brice was lookin’ pretty bad—pale—and your brother was completely focused on him…”
Gabe tapers off, scratching the back of his head, and my stomach gives an uncomfortable twist of concern, but also at the idea of inviting more anger and drama into my life. “Thanks, man. I…I appreciate it. I’ll take care of it soon.” When I turn around, Teddy is staring intently at both of us. I don’t immediately remember that he’s Brice’s cousin, but yeah, he might be worried too. Shit.