Chapter 12
TWELVE
MAVE
Saturday night arrived way, way too quickly.
I’d woken up early that morning, having tossed and turned all night, then crawled into bed with Ben.
I told him the full story of the events at the end of the party while he held my hand, and then he apparently decided that he was only interested in hearing more about the "hooking up with the tatted hottie" portion of the evening and nothing else.
We’d had a family meeting that afternoon to prepare for what Dad thought we were probably facing at the Alpha’s house that night.
The invitation was allegedly just to formally welcome the family into the NWLA Pack, but we all knew better.
I’d let Dad know what Mason told his mother, and Dad agreed that this was likely a ploy to feel us out about the fated mate situation, and about whether we were going to let the cat out of the bag regarding our family bloodline.
So here we all were, doing a gallows-march up the steps of Alpha Monroe’s giant mansion that sat at the end of a long residential street on Pack land.
It was a historic Georgian colonial thing, with red brick siding and navy-blue shutters.
There were smaller mansions that lined the street, which I assumed were the Pack beta houses.
The Alpha's mansion sat on a cul-de-sac on the top of a small hill, with a lush green lawn sloping downward.
Large white columns framed the front door ominously.
"Must be good to be the king," Ben whispered, craning his neck up to stare as we walked toward the front door.
He looked perfect as usual in a crisp navy button-down shirt and fitted gray slacks.
I refused to put on a dress for this sham, so I was wearing one of my few pairs of skinny jeans without rips, a structured black corset-like top that covered all of my bits but dipped dangerously low between my boobs, and a dark green velvet blazer.
My hair was slicked back into a power ponytail.
I wore no jewelry except for the five golden studs in my ears, and I had chunky black ankle boots on.
The front door opened, and a pretty woman with white-blonde hair and light blue eyes appeared, giving us all a warm smile. There was only one person this could be.
"You must be the Fortunes!" she said, looking around with what appeared to be genuine warmth and enthusiasm.
"And you must be Bianca," Dad said, extending his hand. "I'm Jack, and this is my wife Sara. Ben and Mave are behind me here."
She waved us inside, and we followed her through a large formal living room filled with fancy-looking antique furniture that probably had not been sat on even once.
We quickly moved into a large dining room with high ceilings and walls adorned with fancy wallpaper covered in golden fleur de lis.
The long wooden dining table probably sat twenty-five people, and it was surrounded by high-backed chairs covered in dark blue fabric.
There were antique sideboards and bar carts lining the walls.
The dark mahogany floors gleamed as though they’d been freshly polished.
There were also several other people standing around the perimeter of the room, quietly chatting and sipping on drinks.
I spotted Mason with a tall, tough-looking brunette woman wearing fitted black pants, black pumps, and a sleeveless red blouse.
I could only guess this was his mother, Lissa, rumored to be the Alpha's number two.
She was holding hands with a beautiful redheaded woman, who was rocking a very nineteen-fifties pinup look with an A-line skirt, a black belt, and a cute polka dot blouse.
I was not sure who the others were, but I spotted Knox and the man who had to be his father having a fairly heated conversation a few feet away from Mason's family.
Alpha Monroe was about as tall as my father and just as muscular.
He looked to be in his mid-to-late thirties, which meant he was probably closer to his mid-forties in shifter years.
His hair was a darker blond than Knox's, and it was shorn into a military-style crew cut.
His calculating dark brown eyes darted to us as we entered the room.
The low hum of chatting that permeated the large room ceased as we approached the Alpha.
"Jack, I know you’ve met my husband, Alpha Kurt Monroe," Bianca said as we approached Knox and his father. "Alpha, this is Sara, Ben, and Mave Fortune."
The Alpha beamed a politician’s bright white smile, then held out his hand and embraced my dad in a handshake/bro hug combo like they were old buddies.
"Jack, good to see you again," he said. He turned to my mom. "And it’s great to finally meet your lovely wife. You guys haven’t been out to any pack functions over the summer, have you?"
"Oh, you know, we were pretty busy getting settled into the new house and our new jobs," Mom replied, radiating a casual calm she’d perfected after years of being poked and prodded by our extended family and meddlesome pack members.
"And the kids have been busy working at Marilynn’s, but we were so happy to receive your invitation to dinner so that we could finally meet some other Pack members and see the territory. "
The Alpha just nodded and then turned his sharp gaze on me. He glanced over at Ben for a moment and shook his hand. "Benjamin," he nodded at him, then turned his attention right back to me. "And this must be the lovely Mave."
I shook his hand and held eye contact as long as possible without issuing an actual challenge. I said, "Thank you for having us, sir. I can’t imagine that Alphas of other packs as large as the NWLA Pack make the time to throw a dinner party for their new pack members, so we are truly honored."
Dad and Ben both coughed—Dad probably in mild horror and Ben likely covering a laugh. Knox crossed his arms and gave me an exasperated look, like I was a misbehaving child.
"Well, now, aren’t you sweet!" Bianca said, beaming at me. She turned to her son. "Knoxy, I like her—so polite and so pretty."
Well, there was the first clue this wasn’t just a "welcome to the pack" dinner. Knox’s mom clearly knew about the mating but probably not the whole story about how he’d handled it.
He rolled his eyes. I shot him a toothy smile that would make Ben proud.
"Yes, Knoxy, it’s not every day us omegas get to see a mansion and rub elbows with the top wolves. You sure have made this country girl’s whole year."
Alpha Monroe was watching me closely, like he wasn’t quite sure what to make of things so far.
It would be interesting to see how much Ice Man told his parents about the events of this week, and I was betting that his parading around like an asshole manwhore— and my behavior clearly indicating that I found him repulsive—probably didn’t make the cut.
Bianca just clapped her hands excitedly. "Well, wonderful! Let’s all get seated for dinner. We can introduce you to the rest of our guests then."
We all moved towards the massive dining table.
Alpha Monroe sat at the head on the righthand side, with Knox to his left and Bianca to his right.
Mason sat next to Knox, his mom sat next to Bianca, and her partner to Mason’s left.
The other couple present filed in next to Lissa’s partner, then Ben and I were seated next to Lissa.
Finally, Dad sat down next to the mystery couple, and Mom sat next to Ben.
"Thank you, everyone, for joining us tonight," Alpha Monroe said as honest-to-Moon waiters appeared in the dining room with giant trays of meats, vegetables, potatoes, and other delicious-looking food. They placed everything in the center of the table and quietly filed back out of the room.
Everyone at the table waited for the Alpha to start to serve himself, then he motioned for us to dig in.
"Please eat, everyone," he said. "Now, Jack and Sara, I’d like to introduce you to two of my top betas and their partners.
This is Lissa Hayes"—he motioned to Mason’s mom—"and her partner, Monica.
" He nodded to the redhead next to Bianca.
"And this is Angelo and Naomi Parker." He indicated the mystery couple. Naomi looked like Nikka in twenty years, so I’m not sure how I didn’t figure it out sooner.
Angelo was a super buff male with olive skin, a bald head, and piercing brown eyes.
Fucking of course Nikka’s parents are here.
"Angelo and Lissa are two of my highest-ranking betas. They wanted to help me extend a warm welcome to our newest pack members."
I’ll just bet they did.
"Everyone, this is Jack and Sara Fortune, and their two children Mave and Benjamin, newest members of the NWLA Pack."
The sound of forks clinking against plates filled the silence that followed his introductions. I had some kind of pork on my plate that smelled amazing and a giant scoop of salad that I’d drowned in ranch dressing. Thank the Moon even the superrich wolves ate real food like us normals.
Small talk was made as everyone ate. Nikka’s mom just glared at me throughout the entire meal, but Lissa asked Ben and me polite questions about how we were liking the Academy, how Marilynn was doing, and how we managed a cross-country road trip in an electric car.
She was friendly and welcoming, but she was also on my shit list for most likely being the reason we were forced to attend this little soiree in the first place.
As our plates were being cleared by the mystery waitstaff and a delightful piece of chocolate cake was set in front of me, the Alpha cleared his throat. Ben grabbed my hand under the table.
Oh fuck me, here it goes.