17. Rhys

Icouldn’t believe I’d agreed to this family dinner.

As we pulled to a stop in front of Gabe’s house, every part of me wanted to cancel. Yeah, because that wouldn’t be weird.

After Gabe and Hunter showed up at the house, they sort of forced my hand. My brother had mentioned one day after at work that Jaxson might think I was hiding him and Emilia since I’d never brought them around to meet anyone. Gabe wasn’t one to butt in for no reason, which meant my mate had said something that made my brother feel like he needed to step in and give me a heads up.

Still, my brain was filled with all the many ways this could go wrong. And I said a prayer to Urs to just help me get through this dinner without incident.

I got out of the car and opened the back door to get Emilia out of her car seat. Jaxson grabbed the wine he’d insisted on bringing, no matter how many times I told him it wasn’t necessary.

“I don’t want to go empty handed. It’s rude,” he’d teased.

Jaxson reached over and took her from me, then handed me the wine. Maybe he needed to hold on to her this time.

As we took the steps up to the front door, hand in hand, my heart pounded loudly in my chest. It was a miracle Jaxson couldn’t hear it.

After I rang the bell, the muffled sounds of chatter and laughter could be heard inside, making me even more anxious. Jaxson must have felt my anxiety, because he squeezed my hand gently.

“Relax, babe. It’s going to be fine. You’ll see.”.

The door swung open, and there stood my brother Hunter, a wide smile on his face. “Hey, glad you guys could make it.” He held out his hand to shake Jaxson’s hand.

“Thanks for the invitation,” he said, returning his smile.

As Hunter released him, he stepped to the side so we could enter. I took a deep breath and stepped into the house, clutching the neck of the wine bottle in my fist. From the volume of noise inside the house, it was clear we were probably the last ones to arrive.

I’d sent several messages to the family group chat, pleading with them not to embarrass me. But I knew trusting my family to be on their best behavior was like hoping pigs would fly. Especially when some of them thought I was making a mistake by not telling Jaxson everything.

The inviting aroma of roasting meat and simmering spices greeted us as we walked toward the myriad of voices. The family room was filled with the familiar faces of my family, and of course, they weren’t subtle at all when they all turned to look at us as we entered.

I knew this dinner at Gabe and Kian’s would be a risk to my secrecy, but Jaxson was eager to spend time with my family, and I couldn’t keep making excuses. But my real concern was the kids. My nieces and nephews weren’t fully shift-trained yet, and the thought of one of them transforming in front of Jaxson had me on edge. I’d been praying since I told Kian I was coming that it wouldn’t happen.

“Better late than never,” I muttered, trying to shake off my nerves. Jaxson gave my hand a gentle squeeze and flashed me a reassuring smile.

The house was buzzing with activity. Hunter went back to Sage, who looked to be holding a riotous conversation with Cooper and Graham. They’d just returned from a trip to Aspen where Cooper had been invited to do a review and his influencer thing for a new restaurant had opened recently. They’d flown down, leaving the kids with Cooper’s mom while they were away.

Austin and Nash were also present, deep in conversation with Gabe.

By the sounds of things, all the kids were in the playroom, except for Isla, who was with her dad Gabe, and Serenity, who was dozing in Sage’s arms. The sight of my family made me smile, but knowing so many little ones, namely three sets of unpredictable twins under the age of three, were under one roof had my stomach feeling like I was on a damn rollercoaster.

“Hey, you two! Glad you could make it,” Gabe greeted us. “Let me grab you something to drink.”

He got up from his seat and went to the kitchen, coming back with a beer for Jaxson and what looked to be ginger ale for me. I took it and handed the bottle of wine back to him. He studied the label and nodded.

“This is a good vintage. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. A buddy of mine in Chicago recommended it. Thought you guys might enjoy it.” He glanced at me with a smirk that said, see I told you.

Even though everything was going smoothly, I gazed longingly at the glass bottle in Jaxson’s hand. I still wanted a beer to help steady my nerves.

“Sorry, little brother. But you know the rules. No beer for you for a while.” He patted me on the shoulder and turned toward the kitchen.

My eyes immediately went to Jaxson as Gabe walked away with the wine. I took a big swallow of the soft drink, then placed it on the table. On instinct, I reached for Emilia. She was my human shield.

“Did you tell them?”

My face went beet red and heat radiated from my skin. I hadn’t but of course I couldn’t explain that my brothers had likely noticed my scent change. “Uh, I think I might have mentioned it to Kian. His big mouth must have let it slip. I’m sorry. I should have told you.”

Jaxon nodded and looked at his beer before taking a swallow. I watched his throat while Emilia patted my face. He must have seen the concern on my face, because his eyes softened when he looked at our baby tugging at my hair. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”

With one crisis behind us, I was relieved when Cooper and Graham made their way over to us.

“Jaxson, this is my brother, Graham, and his husband, Cooper.”

Both extended their hands to shake his.

“And this is Emilia,” I said, loosening her grip on my hair.

Cooper chuckled at my predicament, then looked at Jaxson. “How do you like living in a small town? I made the move from California and honestly I thought I would miss L.A.” He glanced over at Graham. “But I don’t.”

“Aww babe,” Graham teased, “You say the sweetest things.”

Cooper stifled a love-sick smirk and rolled his eyes at my brother. I didn’t miss how they leaned into each other like magnets.

“It’s different from Chicago, that’s for sure,” Jaxson replied. “Quiet. But much better than I ever expected.”

I caught his gaze, and my cheeks heated again at his words. I was a damn Christmas tree, and of course everyone took that as open season to torture me.

“Ooooh! New love so sweet,” Nash teased.

“Hey!” Graham said. “What does that make us?”

Everyone laughed at his offended tone, but before Nash could reply, Kian entered the room. “Dinner is ready, everyone. The kids are all fed, so come grab a plate and serve yourself. This isn’t a restaurant.”

I smiled at my best friend. He could be a spitfire when he wanted to be, and when he met my gaze, he gave me a knowing wink.

After everyone had served themselves, we all gathered around the table. The conversation flowed smoothly, everyone making an effort to get to know Jaxson better. I tried to relax, but my ears were constantly tuned to the sounds from the playroom.

Suddenly, a small growl came from the monitor. We all froze.

Jaxson frowned, then leaned into me. “Did you hear that?”

Cooper was quick on his feet. “I’ll go check on them. Don’t want any of them to be frightened. Don’t know why the twins love A Bear’s Life so much,” he said, standing up. Kian and Nash stood and followed him from the room.

“Never know how kids are going to react,” Kian mused, glancing at me.

I leaned into Jaxson. “The kids love nature movies. All the movies about animals.” My laugh was on the edge of maniacal, but I turned away to check on Emilia in her highchair in order to hide my face.

Jaxson chuckled. “Guess we better start collecting DVD’s then, if we’re ever going to babysit.” He seemed to accept the explanation, but I knew it was only a matter of time before something happened in front of him.

When they returned a short time later, dinner resumed. “False alarm,” Kian said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Now my mind raced. If Emilia was going to spend time around her cousins, she might shift soon, too. Kian’s kids had shifted before their first birthday, after all. And my scent could definitely trigger her shift, not that I shifted much these days.

The rest of the evening went by without any more growling, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of impending disaster. Jaxson was laughing with my brothers, completely oblivious to the tightrope we were walking. I envied his ease, his oblivion to what was truly at stake.

As the night wound down and we prepared to leave, Gabe pulled me aside. “We need to talk about Emilia’s shifting soon,” he said quietly. “You know it’s only a matter of time.”

I nodded, the weight of his words settling heavily on my shoulders. “I know.”

My brother looked at me with concern. “Don’t wait too long, Rhys.”

The only thing I could do was nod, because I knew he was right.

On the drive home, Jaxson was full of stories and laughter, recounting the evening’s highlights. I smiled and nodded, but my thoughts were elsewhere. The clock was ticking, and I needed to find a way to explain a world he’d never imagined to Jaxson.

As we pulled into the driveway, he turned to me, his eyes searching mine. “You okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” I said, forcing a smile. “Just a lot on my mind.”

He squeezed my hand again. “We’ll figure it out, whatever it is.”

I hoped he was right. For now, all I could do was hope and pray that our world would stay intact just a little longer.