Chapter 8
Faces Addie didn’t know all turned her way curiously.
“Where did you find Addie? You’ve only been gone fifteen minutes,” Everly said, walking out of the kitchen to extend a greeting to the new girl.
Addie smiled nervously.
“Welcome, Addie. Merry Christmas,” Everly said.
“Thank you, ma’am. Merry Christmas,” Addie replied.
“She helped me get into Christian’s house. She lives next door,” Emmalyn explained. “Addie, this is my mom, Everly. My dad, Bam. My Uncle Bane and Aunt Janie, who are Brandt’s parents. My cousin Daisy, who’s his sister. My cousin Jobe, his wife Maggie and their kids Jenn and Jobie, My Uncle Maverik, my Aunt Valerie, my cousin Havoc and his daughter Harley, and that’s one of them you’re supposed to help distract attention from,” Emmalyn explained.
“The little girl?” Addie asked, turning a confused expression on Everly.
“No! Her idiot father,” Emmalyn quipped as she walked away and walked toward the kitchen, leaving Addie to face all the people there alone.
“Emmalyn!” Everly snapped.
“Merry Christmas, Havoc!” Emmalyn immediately shouted with an exaggerated happiness. Then her voice dropped the exaggeration though she continued to shout from the kitchen. “Funny story, Addie. Aunt Valerie is Christian’s aunt. Like his real blood aunt. Her brother is Christian’s dad.”
Addie’s face went white.
Everyone shared a questioning look.
“So, Addie, right?” Maverik asked from across the room.
Addie’s gaze locked on him, taking in his tattoos, his mohawk, the wild blue eyes of his Wolf. Her Fox took a step back in her mind, warning her that this male was a dangerous predator.
“Yes, sir,” she said, her voice quieter than it had been, her eyes focused on his chest rather than his face.
“You’re one of the family that Brandt invited in,” he said.
Addie nodded.
“Well, damn, girl. You’re supposed to be here. Your whole family ought to be here. What’s their number?” Maverik asked, taking out his phone.
Addie’s gaze jerked up to his. “They’re just relaxing at home today.”
“You don’t think they’d want to come?” Maverik asked, his Wolf informing him that she was afraid of him as it picked up on the scent of her fear. He was not new to people fearing him because of his appearance, but usually they were human, not another shifter.
“No, sir. My sister is very close to her due date so they’re staying close to home.”
“Oh! Another baby! I love me some babies. Ain’t nothing like watching them grow, and they don’t judge you, neither.”
Addie realized with his subtle reminder that she’d been doing exactly what she was afraid would be done to her — judging him. She straightened her spine and blinked a few times as she gathered her courage. “You’re right. It’s a difficult thing to be judged by others who don’t know you.”
Maverik smiled at her, then winked as he watched her pull herself together. “Ain’t nothing but a thing. And not a thing that can’t be overcome. You want one of these broccoli balls? And let me tell you before you go, eww broccoli, they got bacon and they got cheese, and they are so damn good. Everly even makes good broccoli. Tell her, Harley,” he said to a little girl sitting beside him steadily eating from the platter he held.
“They’re good,” Harley said, nodding her head convincingly.
Addie smiled at Harley. “I might have to try one, then.”
“Try two,” Harley said.
“If they have any left,” Havoc added. “Y’all leave some of those for everybody else,” he said, taking the plate away from Harley and Maverik and putting it on an end table to his left.
“Hey!” Maverik exclaimed.
Harley tugged on his sleeve. “Poppy, they got cookies!” she said excitedly.
“Well, then we need some,” Maverik said, following the girl across the room to pick out some cookies.
“Addie, come on in and have a seat,” Havoc said.
“Uhm, okay. Thank you,” she said, walking slowly further into the living room, taking a seat beside Havoc on the sofa.
“You manage to get any rest at all last night?” Havoc asked.
She knew then that Havoc was the Wolf that had kept watch over Christian and the woman that had spent the night with him. “Not really, no.”
“Me, neither,” he admitted.
“Addie, I’m guessing you know Christian since Emmalyn made it a point to say he’s my nephew,” Valerie said.
Addie looked like a deer in the headlights suddenly.
“I think I remember Brandt saying y’all moved in next door to him, right?” Havoc offered, throwing her a line.
“Yes. Yes, we did. I only met him briefly, but until Emmalyn, I hadn’t met anyone else but Alpha Brandt and Tempest and Barron.”
“Oh, okay. I understand,” Valerie said. “Well, Havoc there, is my son, so that makes him and Christian first cousins. All kinds of connections here.”
“Is everybody in the clan related?” Addie asked.
Bane shook his head. “Blood does not a family make,” he said. “You’ll never find one closer than ours. Our family is family by choice.”
“It’s an excellent family to be a part of,” Jobe said.
“Isn’t it, though?” Valerie asked.
“Are you hungry, dear? Can I get you something to drink or nibble on until dinner is ready?” Janie asked.
“Oh, no, ma’am. I’m fine, but thank you so much.”
“My name is Janie, just in case you didn’t catch everything that Emmalyn tossed your way when you first walked in. Daisy and Brandt are my kids.”
“It might be a little while before I can remember all the connections and names.”
“Gotta start somewhere, right?” Bane asked.
“Yes, sir,” Addie agreed.
Havoc sat back and watched as Addie relaxed a little while everybody made conversation with her. He had to wonder, though, what was behind her really being here. Emmalyn said she was supposed to distract him. He leaned over to where she sat beside him. “So, what are you supposed to distract me from?” he asked quietly.
When she looked up at him, he smirked a little.
“I’m not exactly sure. There was a lot of information at once. But she said someone new would keep everyone from focusing on Alpha Brandt’s new mate, on her and Barron, and you and, I’m sorry, I don’t remember the other name.”
“Analise,” he supplied.
“Yes! That’s it.”
“And you came after all that?”
“Well, I met her while I was protecting Christian’s house.”
“Still at it this morning?” he asked sarcastically.
She just rolled her eyes at him and answered despite his teasing her. “She was breaking in. And after she explained that she was his cousin, and that he wouldn’t mind, but continued to break in, I thought it might be best if I just went along with her to make sure that her being there was okay. She said he’d be here, so, I’m here.”
Havoc nodded, an unreadable expression on his face. And that is why she was here. Christian. Which he was really glad about, because it meant that Analise wouldn’t have Christian to pal around with and he’d have better access to her if she couldn’t run to Christian.
“Makes sense to me,” Havoc said, eating a broccoli bite from the platter next to him.
Bam had disappeared without a word to anybody right after having been introduced to Addie, and his voice could suddenly be heard from the other side of the house. “I said not to give her vodka again!”
“I didn’t!” Emmalyn answered.
“Is she not holding a drink?” Bam demanded.
“It’s not vodka! It’s bourbon!” Emmalyn snapped.
“She is standing right here. And she’s old enough to drink whatever the hell she wants! And stop talking about me in the third person!” Analise yelled at both of them.
“Last time it took you three days to recover,” Bam said protectively.
“Last time I was still in high school and had never had a drink before. This time I’m an adult and have more than enough experience drinking whatever the heck I want to drink, Daddy. Relax, alright? It’s Christmas. Everybody else gets to have a beer or wine or whatever. Why is it a problem if I do?” Analise asked.
“Excuse me,” Everly called over her shoulder as she darted from the kitchen to the side of the house the yelling came from, and that held her daughters’ bedrooms. Seconds later they heard her voice. “Hush! Every one of you hush! You’re making everybody uncomfortable with your bickering.”
“Analise is drinking again,” Bam informed her.
“Oh, my God. I have a drink now and then when I’m out with friends. Why is it a huge thing?” Analise demanded.
“You remember last time, right?” Bam demanded right back at her.
“That was more than six years ago, and for the record, it’s not the last time!” Analise shouted.
“I knew you shouldn't have left home!” Bam exclaimed.
“Mom!” Analise begged.
“Bam, go in the living room,” Everly ordered.
“But…”
“No! She’s a grown woman, with a grown woman’s life. Stop treating her like she’s sixteen.”
“I’m not!”
“You are,” all three shouted at him.
“I’m just trying to make sure she’s okay.”
“I’m fine, Dad,” Analise said. “You’re turning this into a whole thing.”
“Because I care. And I don’t want this to go bad so you wait another six years to come home,” Bam answered.
“I won’t do that, Dad. I promise.”
“You’re not planning to leave this afternoon?” he asked, his voice making it clear he already knew the answer.
“I… But… I haven’t decided fully. I was thinking about it,” Analise answered defensively.
“You just got here,” Bam said, his voice quiet now. The only reason they could all still hear him in the living room was because they were shifters and trying to.
“I won’t leave this afternoon, okay?”
“Promise?” he asked.
“Promise.”
“Because it’s my Christmas present, you know. That you’re here,” Bam persisted.
“I know, Dad. I’m not leaving this afternoon.”
“Okay.” He hesitated, then added. “Have some wine or something.”
“I’m having bourbon. On the rocks,” Analise said.
“I just don’t want you to get sick again.”
“I wasn’t sick, Daddy. I was hungover. And I’m not going to do that again. I have no reason to be upset this time. If I cared enough to be upset, then we’d have a problem. But I don’t. So, there isn’t a problem.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Alright, if you’re sure,” Bam finally conceded.
“And that would be why they want you to distract me,” Havoc said, pulling his attention from the bedroom down the hall to himself. All eyes in the living room turned toward him.
“You make her drink?” Addie asked.
“Apparently. A long time ago, but it’s not a problem anymore because she no longer cares,” Havoc said conversationally. He got up and went into the kitchen. He reached for one of the bottles of bourbon to pour himself a drink.
“Can I have something to drink, too, Daddy?” Harley asked, skipping toward him from the living room.
He looked at her happily coming toward him, set the bottle back where it was and scooped her up. “Let’s go get you some of the punch on the table in there,” he said.
“Okay.”
“I got her. Come over here, baby girl,” Maverik said, already ladling some of the sherbet punch into a cup for her.
Havoc put Harley down in the living room so she could go get her punch from Maverik.
In Analise’s bedroom, her phone rang, causing Havoc to turn his attention toward the hallway none of them could see down.
“Hi, Beau,” her voice said, softening when she spoke into the phone. “Oh, well, Merry Christmas to you, too. Tell them all I said, hello and miss them, too.”
“Who’s Beau?” Maverik asked, handing Harley her cup.
“Her boyfriend, I think,” Janie said.
“Who’s that?” they heard Bam ask.
“Will you just go back in the living room?” Everly asked impatiently.
“Her boyfriend,” Emmalyn said.
“You have a boyfriend?” Bam asked. “Who is he? What does he do?”
“Mom!” Analise exclaimed once more.
“Leave her alone and be glad she’s moved on from all the pain,” Everly snapped, shoving Bam through the door and into the hallway.
A soft snarl escaped Havoc.
Addie looked at him with her brows raised in question, which let him know that others heard it. He cut it off quickly.
“You alright?” Addie asked, her own voice soft.
Havoc looked at the new female still sitting on the sofa, looking in his direction. He didn’t know her, but he sensed that she was a kind person. He was so tired of pretending that he was okay. And that realization gave him the freedom to be honest with everybody in the room, with himself even. “I haven’t been alright in years,” he confessed.
Footsteps sounded as Bam and Emmalyn reentered the room.
Bam’s gaze swept the living room, pausing briefly on Havoc who’d moved to the sofa and retaken his seat, before settling on Addie who was sitting next to him.
“Everybody doing okay?” he asked, plastering a smile on his face.
“Don’t even fake it, we heard you,” Maverik said.
“Oh, like you don’t still try to parent yours,” Bam snapped.
Maverik grinned at Bam. “Don’t we all? You a little overbearing, though. Adults, Bam. They all adults now. All we do is get in the way if we push too hard.”
“Mine will never be too old to be parented,” Bam grumbled.
“They already are,” Emmalyn said, going back into the kitchen.
“Do you need some help Aunt Everly?” Daisy asked.
“No, baby. I got it, but thank you,” Everly said, busy putting the finishing touches on her contribution to dinner.
Daisy looked over at Addie and decided to try to strike up a conversation with her. “Does your sister know what she’s having yet?” Daisy asked, making conversation.
“Not officially, but we all think it’s a girl,” Addie answered.
“Oh, man, little girls wrap around your heartstrings and play you like a puppet,” Havoc said with a smile.
“Don’t think it’s just the little girls. They all do,” Valerie said.
“Hey! Merry Christmas!” Brandt called out, opening the door and leading the way in for everybody with him. He kept Tempest’s hand clasped in his, as he greeted everyone. Ronan came in right behind him, with Hellen and Barron bringing up the rear. When Brandt got to Addie, he was surprised for a second, then just brushed it off and hugged her, too. “Hey! This is a surprise. Glad to see you here.”
“Thank you, Alpha,” Addie said.
“No, I’m just Brandt,” he said. “We’re not that formal.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And none of that sir, crap either. Hey, everybody, this is Addie, she’s part of the family that moved in between Christian and Remi,” Brandt said.
“Taking my name in vain already, and I’m just now getting here,” Remi said, walking through the door with his arms full of casserole dishes.
Brandt laughed, then turned to Addie. “You know Barron, this is Ronan, and that’s Remi, and this is Hellen,” he said. Then he pecked a quick kiss to Tempest’s cheek. “Going to help Remi unload the rest of Aunt Avaleigh’s food.” He headed back outside, followed by Remi. Moments later the door opened and Avaleigh, Daniel, and Angelle were coming in.
“Hey! About time,” Maverik called out.
“What are you talking about? Everly said one, and it’s ten minutes to one,” Daniel answered.
Maverik looked perturbed for a second then shrugged. “Guess we early, then. Y’all need some help?”
“Naw, you know Avaleigh cooks enough for a dang football team, and she did it this time, too. But Brandt and Remi are getting it,” Daniel said.
“It’s my love language,” Avaleigh said, playfully tapping her mate on the butt.
“Who’s this,” Daniel asked, his attention focused on Addie sitting next to Havoc. “Hi, I’m Daniel. This is my mate, Avaleigh, and this is my daughter, Angelle. Remi’s our son.”
“Hello,” Addie said, nervous again because now they had not only one, but two Dragons in the house with her. Everyone in this clan was some kind of predator, except the humans and the Foxes. Okay, fine, Foxes could be considered predators, too, but not like the others in this house.
The door opened again and Remi and Brandt came back in both carrying multiple dishes, and followed by Goldy, Sadie, Kaid, Delilah, and Tessa.
The room was suddenly filled with loud voices, laughter, talking, hugging. Just like any large family gathering. They all started finding places to sit, doubling up on chairs and sofas, causing her and Havoc to be pushed even closer together than they had been. And that made Addie even more uncomfortable. It wasn’t that she minded so much, as that she just really felt now that she didn’t belong here. Everyone here had a tie, or familiarity that bound them together. She was the lone stranger.
Havoc leaned over and whispered in her ear. “It’s alright. You belong here more than I do, and they’re actually my damn family. We’ll sit here and pretend it’s all good together, alright?”
Addie laughed and turned toward Havoc with a beautiful smile, thankful for his sense of humor.
Analise walked in at exactly that moment and found Havoc and Addie sitting inches apart, smiling intimately as they looked into each other’s eyes.
“I’d forgotten just how surprising holidays with the family could be,” she announced, staring at Havoc for a split second before she turned her gaze away from him and started dialing a number on her phone.
“Looks like we all had the same idea of what time to get here,” Vince said, adding to the din in the room as he and his family made their way in.
Analise slammed back the rest of her bourbon, ended the call she was trying to make, and handed the glass to Emmalyn to refill for her. “He’s not answering.”
“Who’s not answering?” Emmalyn asked.
“Beau.”
“It’s Christmas. He’s with his family, and you just spoke to him,” Emmalyn said.
Analise glared at her, then the glass. “More,” she said simply.
“Alrighty, then,” Emmalyn said, snatching the phone out of Analise’s hand, taking it along with the glass and making her way through all her relatives to the kitchen.
“Hey!” Analise called out after her sister.
“No phones on Christmas,” Emmalyn called back as she disappeared into the kitchen and added Analise’s phone to the pile of them already there. They decided years ago to discourage phone use on Christmas, that way you interacted with your family, and not the screen on your phone. Everyone had jumped on board with it.
“Hey, Lion! You late!” Maverik called out.
“Why you keep telling everybody that?” Daniel asked.
“Because if you’re not fifteen minutes early, you’re late,” Maverik insisted.
“What time did you get here?” Vince asked, walking over to Maverik and embracing him briefly in the way males do.
“Eleven o’clock,” Maverik said.
“Then you’re imposing, not even early,” Vince said.
“Nope. They love me,” Maverik insisted.
Christian went straight to Analise’s side and hugged her close. “You doing okay?”
Analise smiled coldly. “Fine, just fine.”
“Here you go,” Emmalyn said, walking up and giving Analise another drink.
Christian inhaled to identify what Emmalyn was giving to Analise and realized it was bourbon. “Seriously, is everything okay?”
“It’s lovely,” Analise said, turning her head to flick her eyes in Havoc’s direction quickly.
“Hey, thanks for the bourbon!” Emmalyn said.
“Addie said I couldn’t break in and take your bourbon, but I convinced her that I most certainly could, and then I brought her with me. Hey, I think she likes you.”
“What? Who?” Christian asked, confused by both sisters talking to him at once.
Analise looked at him, then flicked her eyes toward Addie and Havoc on the sofa again.
Christian’s gaze followed hers and his expression changed immediately. “She’s here,” he murmured, leaving Analise’s side, completely focused on Addie as he moved through the crowded room toward the female he’d been hoping for another glimpse of since he’d first met her the day before.
“Christian?” Analise said.
Christian didn’t respond. He just kept moving toward Addie.
“Christian!” Analise tried again.
“What’s the matter?” Emmalyn asked, between greetings to everyone that went past her.
“Who is that woman and why is she here?” Analise asked.
Emmalyn turned to see who Analise was talking about. “Oh, that’s Addie. I just explained that she tried to stop me from breaking into Christian’s house to get the bourbon. She’s my new bestie. I brought her to keep attention off me and Barron and you and Havoc.”