Chapter 9 #2
“Claire!” my sister’s voice booms, ripping me from my thoughts, and she materializes from the crowd, her sandy hair pin-straight, smiling.
She’s two years younger, three inches taller, and has been effortlessly beautiful since birth, not to mention she found her Alpha soul-match at eighteen and has spent the last five years radiating smug satisfaction about it.
She’s in a blue slip gown that follows every curve of her body, and she’s stunning.
My mother is half a step behind her. Shorter, softer, blonde hair in a neat chignon, wearing a dusty-rose dress.
Ivy’s gaze travels from me to the Alphas beside me, then back to me again. Her mouth falls open. “Claire,” she states, with the solemn awe of someone witnessing either a miracle or a crime. “You brought a pack to the wedding?”
My fingers tighten around my clutch. “It’s… a recent development, and why not, right?”
Ivy and I have never been super close, though I always wished we were. She has a confidence that fills a room before she enters it and the ability to say something devastating while smiling like she’s passing the butter.
Her grin spreads. “Did you recruit three Alphas specifically to outshine Louis?”
“Ivy,” my mother says, swatting her arm.
“What? I’m impressed.” Ivy gestures at them with both hands, her eyes bright with wicked delight. “One date would have been respectable. Two would have been dramatic. Three is strategy.”
Corey leans slightly toward me. “I like her, as she thinks things through.”
“Please don’t encourage her,” I whisper.
Brody steps forward and offers his hand to my mother. “Mrs. Darling. Brody Hawthorne. It’s a pleasure.”
My mother takes his hand, then glances at Corey and Jakob as if she’s just discovered three very tall reasons to believe in happy endings.
“Corey Lock,” Corey says, shaking her hand next.
My mother blinks once, then glances at Jakob, who steps in last and takes my mother’s hand with a gentle formality that somehow makes him seem even more dangerous. “Jakob Holland. It’s wonderful to meet you.”
“So wonderful to meet all three of you.” My mother’s expression softens so fast I know I’m in trouble. Her eyes turn glassy, and she stares at me with that trembling, loving expression that has guilt crawling up my throat.
“Oh, Claire,” she murmurs, pressing her fingers to her lips as if she might give me a chef’s kiss.
“I’m just so happy you found someone. After everything with Louis, I was so worried you’d be here alone tonight, and to see you with…
” She glances at the three Alphas again, visibly overwhelmed. “Well. With all of this.”
Mom steps closer and squeezes my arm. “I’m sorry. I’m being silly. It’s only that it would have been awful to see you here alone when Louis has his new Omega. I just want you to be happy, sweetheart.”
“Nice to see you too, Mom.” I hug her. The words are meant with love, yet it still hurts that she thinks my not finding my Alpha would have been awful. That an Omega without Alphas beside her is something to pity.
I swallow it down because my mother loves me, and loving me badly is still different from trying to hurt me.
“I’m happy, Mom,” I say. “I promise.”
Then my father appears in a gray suit, silver hair, already eyeing all the Alphas.
“Claire,” he states and comes in for a quick hug. “It’s been a while since you’ve come to visit your mother.”
“I know. I’ve just been busy.” We break apart, and he’s nodding once at the Alphas. “Gentlemen.”
Corey straightens. “Sir.”
Brody offers a polite smile. “Mr. Darling.”
Jakob inclines his head.
My father looks at me again. “Are these yours?”
I choke on absolutely nothing. “Dad.”
Ivy releases a laugh behind her hand, clearly enjoying this far too much.
Corey’s mouth curves. “We’re here with Claire,” he answers, giving my father his full attention.
Dad stares at him for a long second, then lets his gaze move over Brody and Jakob as if he’s taking their measure one by one.
My mother touches his sleeve. “David.”
“I’m only asking.” His voice stays even, but there’s a weight beneath it I know too well. He isn’t angry, exactly. He’s being careful in the way he’d been careful when he first met my sister’s now husband—worried and trying not to show it. “It’s unexpected. That’s all.”
“That makes four of us,” I mutter.
Corey hears me and gives me the smallest wink, just enough to tell me he isn’t offended, embarrassed, or about to abandon me to the wolves.
Brody straightens, the grin still there but softened at the edges.
“For what it’s worth, sir, Claire didn’t plan on making an entrance.
We may have contributed to the dramatic effect of joining her together. ”
“That’s one way to put it,” I say under my breath.
Brody chuckles. “She handled it better than we did.”
I turn my head and stare at him. “That is wildly untrue.”
Jakob, quiet until now, says, “She handled it well.” There’s no teasing in his voice. Dad stares between the three of them again, then tips his chin toward a standing table a few feet away. “I’d like a word.”
“Dad, you don’t need to interrogate them,” I whisper.
“I just want to talk,” he explains firmly.
Ivy makes a small humming sound. “Historically debatable.”
Mom swats her lightly, but even she’s trying not to smile.
Dad ignores them both. “A word,” he repeats, and this time his eyes settle on Brody. “Man to man.”
Corey glances at Jakob. “Do we all count for that, or is this more of a lead spokesman situation?” It’s said dryly, almost politely, and somehow that makes it worse because Ivy snorts a laugh.
Dad studies them for a beat, then says, “All three of you.”
Corey nods, accepting his fate with far too much dignity. “Fair enough.”
I catch Brody’s sleeve before he can step away. “You don’t have to do this.”
His gaze drops to my hand on his arm, then lifts to my face. The humor eases from his expression, leaving something warmer behind. “Claire, your father’s worried about you. I can respect that.”
Before I can answer, Corey leans slightly toward me and lowers his voice. “Relax. I’m very charming with parents.”
“That’s what concerns me.”
His grin flashes. “Good. Your instincts work.”
Jakob passes close enough that his fingers brush mine. “We won’t make it worse.”
I study all three of them, not even slightly intimidated by the fatherly storm they’re walking into.