7. Jeremiah

JEREMIAH

Felik and I boarded the plane out of San Francisco on Friday morning, hoping to land and get to my family home while they were all having dinner to celebrate my dad's birthday. He was still a relatively young man, but he'd lived a hard life, and the years were catching up to him.

No one expected me to come home for a family dinner, so I was excited to surprise everybody at once. Not just because I was there, but because I brought an alpha home with me. I just hoped that they let me explain before they attempted to interrogate him. Or kill him.

I had a window seat, and Felik was beside me in the aisle, protectively wrapping his arm around me as the rest of the passengers passed by to get to all the seats behind us. I didn't usually fly in first class, but Felik insisted on paying for our tickets and wanted us to have as much privacy as possible.

Part of me hoped that meant I'd get a little mile-high action, but being in the front row, we actually had quite a bit of exposure to the flight attendants who were constantly walking by.

After sipping a glass of champagne and eating a warm cookie, I sighed. "I feel like I should warn you about my family." I bit my lip and looked up at my alpha. Okay, not my alpha, but the alpha I'd taken to calling my boyfriend.

"Warn me about what?" His voice was calm like he didn't have a care in the world. That was a good start. Poor man. He had no idea what he was stepping into.

"Well, they're not the most orthodox kind of family. They're a little…intense most of the time. And my brothers will probably be a little distrusting at first."

"Distrusting of me?" He had a strange expression, like he wasn't sure how to respond to that.

Honestly, I expected him to laugh it off as if I were joking, and I'd have to explain what I meant in more detail. But I couldn't quite read his reaction.

"Why?"

"Not of you in particular, but I've never brought home a guy before. And you know how alphas are." I looked at him and realized that might be news. "Actually, did I mention that my three older brothers are all alphas?"

He grinned and blew out a breath. "No, you haven't told me much about them at all."

"Right, well, they are. Andro, the oldest, is sort of like our…head of the family now. I mean, my dad's the head of our family, but Andro has taken over the business, so that gives him a place of honor. And then there's Orsino and Louie. Louie and Andro are the ones who both got married and had babies this past year. So Orsino and I are the only single brothers."

Felik immediately frowned, and I had to grin at his expression. Was that jealousy I detected?

"And since they're about to find out that I'm not single anymore, that might be a bit shocking to them."

"You haven't told them about me at all? Not even a mention that you're seeing someone?"

I shook my head. "Is that weird? I just didn't wanna deal with their overprotective big brother crap over the phone. I figured when they meet you, they'll love you as much as I—" I swallowed and caught myself before I said anything incriminating. "As much as everybody else does… That just felt like the smart move here."

Felik turned to the front, thoughtful as he absorbed everything I'd just shared. After a moment, he looked back at me. "Maybe you should at least warn them before we get there so they don't freak out about having a strange alpha in their home with their omegas and babies present."

"No, it won't be that bad. If you're there as my guest, they'll be polite." At least, I hoped that was true. Having never brought anyone home before, I had no idea how my father would react, much less my brothers. But how could they not love Felik? I knew I certainly did. I didn't think he was ready to hear it, so I'd been careful to keep that little detail to myself, but as the days passed by, my feelings for him only grew in depth and intensity. "Anyway, it's nothing to worry about. This is gonna be a great surprise for everyone. I just don't want you to take anything personal if they're a little gruff at first. Andro is especially grouchy, and Orsino is not much better. Louie is pretty cool and chill about most things, so you guys will get along easily."

He looked uncomfortable as he nodded, doing his best to appease me. "Yeah, it'll be fine. One way or another, we'll survive this weekend."

I chuckled at the doom in his tone. I didn't mean to scare him, but I felt some kind of warning was in order. At least now, whatever did happen should be a pleasant surprise and not full of awkward explanations later.

When our driver pulled up to the house, I could see all the lights were on, and I knew our timing was perfect. It was just after seven, so they were probably getting started with dinner. It would be a bit of a disruption to add two more place settings to the table, but I was confident my family would be happy to see me, even if they were shocked by my guest.

Felik gripped my hand as we walked up the porch. "Are you sure surprising everyone like this is a good idea? Your dad's not gonna come at me with a shotgun, is he?"

It was obviously a joke, but he wasn't too far off. All of my family members carried weapons on them. Plus, they were followed around by armed guards. "Nah, they all carry handguns these days."

He looked down at me with wide eyes. "Seriously?"

I shrugged. "I told you they were intense. But we'll be fine." I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'll protect my alpha, don't you worry."

Felik wrapped his arm around me and held me closer to his side, giving us both strength as the front door opened and one of the servants welcomed us inside.

"Jeremiah, I didn't realize you were coming home tonight."

"I'm hoping to surprise the family. Are they having dinner for Dad?"

"Yes, everyone is gathered in the main dining room." He stepped aside after grabbing our luggage.

I took Felik's hand and gave it a squeeze. "All right. Here goes nothing." I strode confidently into the dining room, proud to have such a fine alpha at my side.

He seemed more nervous than I expected, but I had probably played up my family's reaction a little heavier than necessary.

But I just wanted him to be prepared for any situation.

We stepped into the full dining room, and all the chatter stopped as every eye turned to me and then to the alpha beside me.

"Surprise," I said with a wave of my arm. "I missed you all and wanted to be here for Dad's birthday." I looked at my dad and tried to catch his eye, but he was completely focused on Felik. "And I want you to meet my boyfriend, Felik Morton. Felik, this is my family."

My brothers turned to Andro and then my father, and within a split second, they were up in front of their omegas and infants with guns drawn, all pointed directly at Felik.

"What the fuck?" I stepped in front of him, shielding him with my body. "What are you guys doing?"

Felik's hands closed on my shoulders and he twisted me so I was suddenly behind him with him in full view of the bullets aimed at his head. "Please, let me explain."