23. CAMILA

Chapter twenty-three

CAMILA

A lunch date with my brother and his pack is the best thing I could have imagined, especially when the meeting place is Temple and my mates have joined. Bar food litters the table, half-finished beers and fruity cocktails for Sasha, Ethan, and I. I'm full and content, Kolsen patting my thigh under the table to gauge my comfort. I twist to look up at him, a smile playing on my lips that is truly genuine.

The thought that I would return home at some point was always lingering in the back of my mind or that Teo would somehow demand that I marry him. With those possibilities gone, I can relax and think of whatever future lies ahead of me.

Ethan is on my other side, guzzling fries like they're going out of business as he glares at Amiri across the table. "They all look so… mean? I don't know how to feel. You like them?" Reid is on the other side of him and whispers something into his ear. "Oh, they're mean in the bedroom. Got it. I know you like that, sis. "

I help him shovel a few fries into his mouth, everyone at the table laughing at the way my cheeks redden. "They are all very nice to me, Ethan."

"Good. Otherwise, I'd have to sic Zana on them." My brother and his mates didn't even blink when I explained the entire story, including the bits about Teo, Dad, and just who my mates were. There wasn't even a discussion when I mentioned that I would be moving in with them because I couldn't live with Dad anymore.

After Kolsen proposed inviting them to the club for a laidback lunch, I was more than happy to indulge. For the first time in a while, I was able to be myself and enjoy my family. The only ones missing were Violet and Sofie but a few texts told me that I owed them later with a high-end lunch on the Fox's dime.

Zana returns with another beer, sliding in beside Amiri and Sasha. "Who am I being sic'd on?"

"Her mates. If they weren't being nice."

Ethan's Alpha snorts and I realize there's some kind of joke I've missed. Zana shares a look between Kolsen and Amiri before just shaking her head and taking a sip of her beer. "Ethan, I wouldn't do anything to them anyway. They're excellent clients."

There's no way. "Wait, Zana-"

"I work with a few big accounts, Mila. I don't share that information because it's no one's business except mine and theirs but yes, your Alphas and I are pretty acquainted on the business side of things. They are respectable gentlemen. As your Alphas, however, as long as you're happy, I have no problems." Zana hides her smile behind another sip, everyone waiting for me to respond.

I don't know what to say, though. I am happy. Really happy. I'm also a little terrified about what this new step holds. I've left everything I know behind for my mates and while there wasn't much I was holding onto, saying goodbye to my childhood home is hard. I hope my mates will let me keep my mother's stuff in the back of my closet until I'm ready to let go—whenever that may be.

My hand moves to that bracelet unconsciously, both Kolsen and Amiri leaning forward. Kolsen wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me into his side, pressing a kiss to my temple. "One step at a time, love. You've taken a pretty big one today. No need to think about anything else other than being with us, in this moment. And then tomorrow? We'll take another step."

I nod and relax, shooting Amiri a smile to let him know that I'm okay. Reid breaks the silence with a question I haven't thought about for a while. "Are you going to start painting again? You never had a studio and after school, your masterpieces have been sitting in the back of that gallery collecting dust."

Sasha grins, talking around a burger he stuffed into his mouth. "Not anymore. They're in our living room."

"I'm not sure. Probably?" One of the main reasons I stopped was the lack of space. I still sketch now and then but that's few and far between. The other reason I stopped was my father's distaste for my craft. I went to school on my own dime, just as Ethan did. Our father had plans for our future but neither of us fell into that trap and now that he's not looming over my head with his rules, I have the world at my feet.

Do I want to paint again?

"Yes, I think I might start again."

I'll have to dig out my sketchbook first. It's always the first step. I draw and then I search for the perfect paint and canvas. And then I create.

"Buttercup, you look like a doll when you smile. I think I'm falling in love with you. "

Silence falls between us as I meet his gaze, Sasha's elbows propped up on the table, his hands cradling his chin. "Sasha, you just-"

"Yes, I think… no. I'm not falling in love with you. I'm already there. I think I've always been in love with you. I just had to find you. Or rather, you had to find us." Disregarding any etiquette, he sits up on his knees and leans over the table to drag me into a tongue-licking kiss that only ends when Amiri pulls him back. I sit there, confused and embarrassed as I sift through my feelings.

There's that bubbly emotion, the one that's taking over my entire rational mind. It's strangling my heart in the best of ways and telling me to focus on what I want, not what the world tells me I should want or need. When I finally figure out what to say, everyone is staring at me again.

"I love you too, Sasha. I… I love all three of you. It's too soon. We barely know each other but it's comfortable here, like we've been lovers for a lifetime and not days." And when I meet each of their eyes, surrounded by my family, I only see love and adoration. There's a lot of shuffling at the table as Kolsen pulls me from the booth and Amiri excuses himself beside Zana to gather me between them. Their tight embrace reminds me of every moment they protected me this weekend and the words they've shared that promise a lifetime.

"You are more than loved, sweetheart. You are cherished and you will be worshiped. I love you, Camila Thomas." Amiri steals my lips in a soft kiss before Kolsen's rumble against my neck.

"You are precious and so caring. Your heart is so big and you are beautiful. You are ours. I love you doesn't do it justice but I do. I do love you, Camila." Then Kolsen kisses me, Amiri pressing up against my back until the moment takes a sharp turn that isn't appropriate for the public.

Reid is clearing his throat as Zana is sprawled back, enjoying my happiness. Sasha is sitting there like a giddy child watching his favorite movie and Ethan's pupils are blown wide, a sloppy smile on his lips. "You found your happy ending," Ethan whispers as I wiggle away from my mates and to my brother. He wraps his arms around my shoulders and stuffs his head into my neck. "You found it. I knew you would, sis. I knew it."

Tears coat my skin as I hold him, feeling the best I have in years. "Yeah, I did."

Perfection doesn't even begin to describe this moment. I've said I love you for the first time in years and truly meant it. And my family was here to see it.

We say our goodbyes and I promise to stay in touch, everyone making a joke about how I won't keep my phone charged long enough for that to happen. Knowing that Zana already knew my Alphas and Ethan immediately accepted Sasha, I'm sure I made the right choice. It's Reid, though, that cements my decision. As we head out to the cars, Reid turns to me and asks me if I'm truly happy or just trying to run away from another problem.

"I am. It was a little terrifying at first. I didn't know what to feel. There was so much emotion. But they're caring and observant and they want me to speak up. They want to hear me, Reid."

He chuckles, bringing me into a hug. "It's a very different feeling being the center of attention, isn't it? It's addicting. They ever start treating you different, you come find me and Zana." He pulls away and there's a flicker of sadness in his eyes.

Reid hasn't ever spoken much about the time before he met Ethan, and Zana and my brother have been pretty tight-lipped as well. His advice is always just a little too perfect, though. I see that he's weathered a few storms as well and he found the best happy ending. Instead of asking him to spill a story he doesn't want to, I just wrap him up in another hug. "You ever need to talk, Reid, I'm here too."

"Of course. I think we both somehow struck gold. Go on before the big guy comes to see where you are and tries to carry you off."

"Wouldn't be the first time," I mutter before running off to the car where my mates are waiting.