Chapter Thirty-Eight

Meeting the Pack

Larkin

I ended up helping Taylor organise a birthday party for Holt over the next week, inviting all the wrestlers and letting them know it was a surprise, as well as emailing Holt's mom—who I'd spoken to a few times on the phone—to invite his family. I found the details for a bowling alley run by a cyclops family in the next town over so Taylor could book it out for the following Monday evening after the shows were over for the week.

When I told Seb, he told me that was the town where his parents lived, and asked if I wanted to meet them for lunch on Monday before the party. The idea made me excited but super nervous. I was kind of worried they might think I was too immature for him or something. I wasn't concerned about the fact that I was fae, because I remembered Seb telling me what his dad had made clear to all his children—that they didn't care about who they ended up with.

But still. I wanted them to like me. And I was aware that I wasn't exactly for everyone. Too loud, too talkative, too excitable. His dad looked all quiet and stoic, but then Seb was too, and he liked me. A lot.

I liked him so, so much that it sometimes made me feel all weird and jittery. I missed him keenly when he wasn't around. I loved sleeping with him, waking up to his bare skin pressed against mine, his steady breaths in my ear, his big body all relaxed and warm.

I was desperate for him to fuck me, so I could finally be that close to him. Feel him deep inside me.

Over the week, he'd used the prostate vibrator thing on me a couple more times, and he'd been fingering me a lot when we had sex. Which, I was pretty sure, meant he was getting me ready to take his dick. I couldn't freaking wait. I wanted it so much . I wanted to feel him moving inside me. I wanted that thing he'd mentioned—where we got locked together by his knot while he came.

I'd only spent a couple of nights at home recently, and I'd ended up awkwardly but furiously fingering myself while I jacked off in bed, imagining it was his big dick coming inside me. And I'd made sure to text him and let him know that once I was done, which he seemed to really like. He'd sent me a pic of his hand wrapped around his hard dick just above his knot, which had made me need to jerk off again.

I stayed at his place on Sunday night. Taylor had convinced Holt to take Monday off so they could spend some time together, but the office was secretly shut so we could all get ready for the party that evening. His birthday had actually been on the Saturday, so we'd gotten him a small cake and I'd asked the bartenders to make a pitcher of the Holt Up cocktail—the one Seb and I had previously concocted—for him and Taylor to have in the private box while they watched the wrestling.

Seb and I had stayed behind in the office together with Cora so they could be alone. I may have ended up sucking him off in the bathroom, but otherwise, we were totally professional at work. Most of the time. When Holt was around.

We spent a lazy morning in bed on Monday, sleeping in late and talking aimlessly as we lounged around before finally getting up. We were heading over to the bowling alley early to get everything ready for Taylor, so we'd arranged an earlyish lunch with Seb's parents, which meant we had to leave after showering.

"I hope they like me," I said nervously on the drive.

"They will." Seb sounded so calm and confident that I relaxed a little, grinning over at him.

"Do I look okay?" I glanced down at my outfit of jeans and a pale pink button-up shirt, which I'd ironed at Seb's before we left so it wouldn't be all creased.

"You look beautiful." Seb reached over and squeezed my thigh. "Very handsome. You always do."

I laughed. "Not first thing in the morning."

A crooked smile tilted his mouth. "You look especially beautiful first thing in the morning."

I flushed, covering his hand with mine and threading our fingers together. Sometimes I just wanted to blurt out how much I liked him, but that word didn't feel big enough. It wasn't big enough. I liked my friends. I liked Taylor and Holt and everyone else at work. How I felt about Seb was… more. Way more. So much more.

How I felt about Seb was scary in the best way. Something deeper and way more intense and simultaneously terrifying and comforting. Like I already knew that he'd always be there, and the thought didn't make me feel all restless and overwhelmed, but relieved. Calm. Really, really freaking happy.

I was still clutching his hand when we pulled up outside his parents' house. The town wasn't as big as the one we lived in, but they still lived a fair distance from it on a small patch of land that backed onto a big forest. Ideal for werewolves. The house looked kind of like a big log cabin, but a fancy one with wide windows and a huge back deck that overlooked the woods. As we were parking, Seb told me his dad had built it when his mom was pregnant with his older sister Maeve. This was where Seb had grown up.

I hurriedly tucked the strands of hair that had slipped free from my braid behind my ears as we crunched over dirt and pine needles to the front porch. The wood looked like it had recently been power-washed, and there was an old rocking chair on the porch next to a stack of freshly chopped logs. I kind of wanted to see Seb chopping logs. Shirtless. Maybe in a pair of tiny cut-off denim shorts like the ones Dan wore for his wrestling persona.

The screen door was open, and Seb didn't knock before opening the front door, holding my hand as he led me inside.

"Ma?" he called as I looked around. It was nice. An airy front hall with a staircase directly opposite. Lots of stained wood. My dad would've painted it all bright colours if it'd been our house.

An archway to the right led into a cosy living room with a big stone fireplace and lots of blankets draped over two big, squishy couches, which were upholstered in faded tartan fabric. The air smelled like cinnamon and clove and citrus, reminding me of the candles my mom bought every Christmas.

A tiny blonde lady who I recognised from the photos in Seb's house appeared from the door on our left, wearing slippers, faded jeans and a knitted burgundy sweater under an apron. She had a pronounced limp, but it didn't seem to be paining her as she beamed at us.

"Hello, my darling son," she said as Seb dutifully ducked down to kiss her cheek. Then she grinned at me. "And you must be Larkin."

"Yes." I gave her a nervous smile, trying not to fidget too much. "I'm—Um, hi, Mrs. McCullough."

"Call me Emma." She stretched up to peck my cheek, making me blush, then chuckled. "You're tall too, huh?"

"Um, yeah." An awkward laugh bleated out of me, a touch too loud, making me wince as her smile widened.

"You're fae, yes?" She flapped her hand at me. "Don't feel like you have to stay like that. Get comfortable, hon."

"Oh. Um, thanks." I cast Seb a quick glance, then shifted into my fae form and gave Emma another timid smile.

She smiled back warmly. "So pretty. I love your hair."

"Thanks," I mumbled shyly, finding Seb's hand to clutch it again.

"Come and sit in the kitchen." She turned for the door. "I'm just finishing up lunch. What do you want to drink?"

"I'll do it, Ma." Seb gave me a reassuring smile behind her back as he led me into the kitchen. "Where's Dad?"

"Just neatening up his beard." She chuckled. "Wants to make a good first impression."

Seb laughed as I flushed and gripped his hand tighter. His parents didn't need to make a good impression on me. It was the other way around.

"Thank you for having me," I said as Seb pulled out a chair for me at the battered, solid wood table in the middle of the kitchen. "Your home is really cool. Lovely," I quickly amended.

There was a sunken snug area past the kitchen that led out onto the back porch, which was clearly visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows and French doors. The kitchen cabinets were painted cream, and the well-kept, oiled wooden counters were spotless and mostly free of clutter. Our kitchen at home was crammed with stuff—Mom and Dad liked to keep things out so they were easy to find, and my mom just loved trinkets. So many freaking trinkets.

Seb pressed a kiss to the top of my head and headed for the fridge to get us drinks, him and his mom moving around the kitchen together with easy familiarity. He towered over her, which was kind of funny. I grinned at him when he glanced at me with a smile.

"Iced tea okay?" He pulled out a big pitcher. "Dad likes it unsweetened, but we should have some honey if you want it."

"We do have honey." Emma seamlessly opened a cupboard and passed him a jar.

"Unsweetened is fine. Great," I said quickly. "Thank you."

"Larkin, honey, do you eat chicken?"

"Uh-huh." I smiled at Emma when she glanced over as she pulled something out of the oven. She grinned back in relief.

"Okay, great. I wasn't sure if you might be vegetarian. We're having baked chicken with Hasselback potatoes. And lots of veggies, don't worry. I know the fae like their veggies."

"Sounds great," I said politely, then shyly added, "My dad grows all kinds of stuff so, um, yeah, we eat a lot of vegetables."

"Ooh, maybe he could give me some tips for my tomatoes next year. They got ruined by spider mites this time. Little buggers."

"Yeah, sure," I said eagerly. "He can definitely help. He'd love to. He's, like, super passionate about growing stuff."

As Seb handed me a glass of iced tea and sat down beside me, gently squeezing my leg, I heard the stairs creak in the front hall. I tensed up, clutching my glass tight and taking a quick sip. Seb's mom was all nice and friendly and mom-like, but I was super nervous to meet his dad.

"Hi, Dad."

I quickly twisted around in my seat when Seb greeted him, plastering what I hoped was an easy smile on my face. Seb deftly grabbed my glass and set it down when I almost spilled it all over my lap. After shooting him a grateful glance, I looked back at his dad.

He was just as tall as Seb, with thick, dark hair streaked with grey and tied back in a neat bun. His jet-black beard had some white sprinkled through it, but he still looked pretty youthful, and he was strong and fit under his buttoned plaid shirt.

He gave me a tiny smile, looking so much like Seb that I swallowed nervously as I rose from my chair.

"Hi, Mr. McCullough." I stuck out my hand probably a bit too forcefully, but he just stepped forward to give it a firm shake.

"Great to meet you, Larkin." His voice was deep and raspy, but not harsh or too gruff. And he actually looked a little nervous himself as he let go and tugged on the hem of his shirt. "Call me Jack."

Then he turned to look at Seb and his smile widened. "Hi, Son."

"Hi, Dad." Seb drew him into a brief, tight hug. Jack patted him on the back as they moved apart.

"So…" He seemed a little awkward, like he wasn't used to talking to new people, and it reminded me so much of Seb that it actually made me relax slightly. "How was the drive?"

Seb chuckled. "Fine."

"You're going to a party after this, right?" After a pause, Jack smiled at me again and made his way around to an empty seat at the table.

"Uh-huh," I blurted, hurriedly sitting back down. "Our boss's birthday party. He gets all weird about getting older, but his boyfriend wanted to do something for him, so we're going bowling. I've never actually been bowling, so I'll probably be really bad at it. I'll have to use one of those things that kids use to get the ball down the lane."

As I snapped my mouth shut and flushed, Jack chuckled. "Bowling, huh? That'll be fun. I haven't gone bowling in years."

"Is this the boyfriend you told us about, Seb?" Emma asked as she brought a big dish filled with baked chicken and Hasselback potatoes over to the table. "The human?"

"Yep, that's him." Seb relaxed in his seat, draping his arm over the back of mine. I tried to subtly shift my chair closer to him. "Taylor. He's great. Fits right in at work."

"He really does," I added eagerly. "He's awesome. And he keeps Holt busy so Seb and I can be alone in the office."

Heat immediately flared over my whole body as Jack looked at me.

"Just working, obviously," I blurted, my face on fire. "We don't—Seb just keeps me company while I'm at my desk. From the couch. Across the room. Doing crosswords. We… we barely even look at each other, honestly."

Seb and his dad both laughed the exact same laugh as Seb smoothed his hand over my shoulder. I tried not to squirm in my seat, my wings fluttering anxiously.

I just had to get through this lunch without making a total dink of myself.