Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
MIA
It’s been two weeks since we left Knotty Tour with our tail between our legs. Sable was there to welcome us when we pulled up outside of Carnation Studio to unpack the tour bus and part ways temporarily. Within two days, though, the pack collected back at Aiden’s apartment where I swiftly turned his bedroom into our nest and the rest of the space was rearranged to fit our writing mission.
Leo has had a few infusions since our return and is due another next week. I’m just happy to see him getting the medical attention he needs and letting us take care of him around it all. Aiden’s really stepped up in this regard.
By the end of the two weeks, all of my alphas’ parents have stopped by to check in on them all. Sable has visited a few times with Seth in tow. Things between them are heating up, and she looks so happy.
On this particular afternoon we’re very deep into writing, with our first recording day scheduled for tomorrow, that it surprises all of us when there’s a knock on Aiden’s door.
“Wes, maybe?” I ask as he heads over to answer it.
Aiden shrugs. “No idea. He said he’d contact us in months, not weeks.”
But it’s not Wes on the other side of the doors when Aiden opens it. It’s my parents.
“Hi?” Aiden asks, and then his eyes go wide. I look just like Mom so it must register quick.
Mom looks over his shoulder to me. “Hi, honey!”
Dad extends a hand to Aiden. “Hi, there. We’re Mia’s parents.”
Aiden straightens almost immediately and he opens the door wider. “Sure, hi. We weren’t expecting you.”
The nervousness in his voice might be cute except for the fact my parents are here . “How did you even…?”
“Sable,” Mom says. Because of course Sable told them. She smiles warmly at Aiden, then Noah and Leo who rise from the couch as my parents enter Aiden’s apartment. “We won’t stay long, I know you need to be careful, Mr. Altis.”
“Leo’s fine,” Leo says with a slightly creased brow.
I understand. Because I’m still trying to catch up to why Sable told them where I am.
Mom catches it. “She knew we were worried, that’s all. And—Alex, the basket?”
Dad’s eyes go wide and then he retreats back out into the hall for a moment. When he returns, he’s holding a massive basket filled with groceries and other goodies. “Your mother insisted on a gift basket for the pack— band .”
So Sable told them about my pack, too. About how these alphas aren’t just my bandmates, but scent-matched mates. I want to be angry with Sable for stepping in between me and my parents, but I find it’s impossible to do. Sable means well. My parents do, too. But I’m still surprised to see they came all this way.
I weave past Aiden to hug my parents. “Thank you.”
Mom rubs my back, and then turns to my alphas. “Fine time we probably meet anyway, even if it’s quick. Thank you for taking care of our daughter.” Her eyes are tight though, and I’m more than sure it’s not because of the rock band. It’s the age difference.
Aiden takes the basket from Dad and sets it on his kitchen counter. “Absolutely. To be fair, she’s taking care of us plenty well, too.”
“You have an exceptional daughter,” Noah says. He’s standing rather stiffly nearby, his eyes on Dad.
Dad notices. They share a glance for a while, and then he extends a hand to Noah. “Mr. Smith. I don’t believe I had the pleasure of having you in class.”
“But you know of me,” Noah asserts while he shakes Dad’s hand.
Dad’s response is curt. “I do.”
I send a panicked look to Aiden, but it’s Leo who speaks up. “That was a lifetime ago, I’m sure you can appreciate that. Things have changed.”
Mom gives him a warm smile. “We can certainly understand change, can’t we, Alex?”
Dad holds Noah’s gaze long enough that I figure I should just find a shotgun for him if he’s going to be so stereotypically overprotective. But, finally, he relents. “We can. I look forward to getting to know each of you better soon. But Julie is right. Just a quick visit today to introduce ourselves and”—he turns to pull me in for a hug again—“to apologize to you, Mia. We know this is important to you.”
It was more important before my arrest, but I guess bringing that up would be petty. I hug Dad tight. “Thank you.”
“We’re off to visit your aunt,” Mom says. “But if— when —you want to have everyone over for dinner, we would like that.”
They’re trying. I know they are. It doesn’t fully soothe the sting of their words the last time we talked, but I suppose I was pretty venomous, too. “I would like that very much.”
Mom nods and then grabs Dad’s arm. “Off we go, then. Love you, honey.”
I hug them both again and tell them I love them. And I thank them for accepting my pack. Once they’re gone, I look to Aiden. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea they would be coming.”
Aiden pulls me back to the couch where everyone’s now sitting. “It’s okay. We’d have to meet them at some point anyway, right?”
I smile a little. “Yeah, I suppose so.”
Leo bumps my elbow. “They seem nice.”
Noah barks a laugh. “Certainly went better than I thought with your father.”
My eyes go wide and I nod. “I was worried about that, not going to lie.”
“Well,” Aiden says as he leans back against the couch. “I guess we’ve all met everyone’s parents. Pretty sure that makes us pack official.”
I shoot him a look. “As if you all marking me didn’t do that.”
My alphas laugh and I laugh with them. In short order, we fall back into our writing routine and then start recording by the end of the week. Sable is there, filming everything as a behind-the-scenes video we plan to release at some point.
It all feels right. So right.
And yet, Wes doesn’t call. Not yet. Even after another month, including a heat cycle during which my alphas play me like their instruments as if we’re still on tour. It’s hot and fast, and all-encompassing, but when we emerge, there’s still no word from Wes even after we finally submit our album: Finding Fate .
At least we fulfilled that end of our deal with Wes. All that remained to be seen was if Wes still wanted us.