Chapter 29

A few days passed, and still the whole thing seemed impossible. Ryker could hardly wrap his head around the fact that Jo had been so willing to accept him, let alone deal with the fact that she had fire powers. He needed to help her figure out what that was about, but deciding where to start was hard. Plus she had made it clear that he had to also focus on his classes. Something about not failing...which seemed silly when he had found his mate and learned that she needed his help.

Ryker frowned down at the book he was supposed to be reading, ignoring Brett and Lexi, who were having an argument over by the empty fireplace. Or, honestly, Lexi was arguing while Brett grinned and countered in that annoying non-confrontational way he had. It was hard to focus when you had enhanced senses and your siblings were arguing while your nephews play-fought and your sister-in-law and dad made dinner, the radio blasting in the kitchen.

He flicked his gaze over at Brett and Lexi. "Can you go yell about whatever it is outside..." Maybe they could take Connor and Talon with them. The five-year-old and three-year-old could use some outdoor time, based on how they were using the couches and armchair as a jungle gym.

"Just tell him I don't need a birthday party," Lexi said, her hands on her hips, bright eyes glowering at Brett.

"Yes, you do," Brett said, "You'll be eighteen. It's tradition."

"It's just a birthday," she retorted.

"It's the day you become a full adult," Brett replied, "That isn't just any birthday."

"Ryyyyker..."

Brett smiled and also put his hands on his hips. "Ryyyyker." He ducked to the side as Lexi went to shove him.

Ryker sighed and shut the book, giving up. If Jo fussed at him he was going to wholly blame his siblings. "A big birthday bash is one of the best chances you have at meeting your mate, you know that," Ryker said, rubbing his forehead.

Lexi snorted. "Neither of you met yours at your 18th birthdays, so I'm not too worried about that."

"Okay, fine, you tell Dad you don't want a party after she's spent months planning it," Ryker said, smirking at Lexi. Lexi glared at him, both of them knowing she wasn't going to have the courage to do that.

"Fine, I won't complain anymore if you invite Jo," Lexi said, eyes twinkling with triumph. As far as his siblings knew, he hadn't told Jo about them being werewolves yet--mostly because if he had to explain why she'd accepted him so readily, that might lead to other questions, and he had a feeling Jo didn't want to share her powers with everyone just yet.

But Lexi knew that if he brought a girl to a birthday that would be heavily attended by werewolves, his dad would immediately want to know why. He knew Ryker hadn't wanted to seriously date until he found his mate, because of what had happened with him and Brett's mom.

And while he could handle the pressure, he was mostly afraid that someone would spill about 'mates' to Jo.

Yeah, he hadn't gotten around to telling her about the whole 'you're it for me' part of their relationship yet.

There was a very good chance that, only a few weeks into their relationship, she might freak out on him.

But when would the time be right? He had no idea.

"You're welcome to invite Jo," Ryker said, smirking as he found a way to sidestep Lexi's manipulation. "In fact, she'd probably be hurt if you didn't, seeing as you two hang out all the time." Sometimes it was annoying he had to share Jo with his little sister, but right now it was highly useful. If she came as Lexi's friend, maybe she'd escape his parents' notice.

"Who is Jo?" Brett's wife, Aaliyah, interrupted before Lexi could respond. She came in and sat on the arm of the couch to lean down and pressed a kiss to Brett's forehead. Lexi made a face while Ryker found that he strangely didn't have as much of a problem with their PDA as he used to.

Aaliyah's dad was a professor at the college, which was actually what had brought her to their town from Charlotte when she was 16. Aaliyah, a beautiful, Black woman, had immediately stood out in their admittedly less-than-diverse community, and Brett with his alpha blood had gone all macho-protective on her. But as a werewolf herself, she'd known how to settle Brett back down, and together the two of them brought a lot of changes to their pack and community that Ryker honestly thought had been needed.

He couldn't wait for her to meet Jo.

"Someone I think you're gonna love," Ryker said, grinning at his sister-in-law.

Aailyah looked intently at him, then grinned before turning to Brett. "This is Ryker's girl you told me about?"

Ryker shot Brett a glare, but Brett shrugged unapologetically. "You'll learn--you can't keep anything from your mate."

"You shouldn't keep secrets from me anyways," Aaliyah said. She gave Ryker a half-hearted frown. "Apparently everyone else knows about her besides me?"

"It wasn't...yeah, I should've told you," Ryker said. He scratched the back of his neck. "I'm still figuring it all out."

"And I'm guessing she's your mate," Aaliyah said, "How does she feel about that?"

"She doesn't know yet," Ryker mumbled. He stood up and put the book down on the arm of the chair. The boys raced past, and Ryker reached out to grab his littlest nephew, Talon. The boy laughed and then tried to wrap himself around Ryker's arm.

At this age, kids couldn't shift into wolves yet. That came whenever they hit puberty. However, they were stronger than normal kids and had better senses. And often they had even more energy, which was exhausting.

Ryker lifted his nephew into the air as he hung off his arm, his own little arms and legs fully wrapped around Ryker's arm.

Connor raced over and bounced on the balls of his feet. He was the quieter of the two with a love for books and learning even at his young age. The little library over at Brett and Aaliyah's house was always growing thanks to how fast Connor went through books. "Me next!"

"When are you going to tell her?" Brett asked. He knew Ryker well enough to figure out when he was trying to weasel out of a conversation.

"Soon."

"Like this year soon?" Lexi teased.

"Or maybe within the next month?" Aaliyah said, giving him a better deadline. "Even if she's human, she'll feel something of a pull. A few people in my old pack had human mates."

"How'd that work out?" Lexi asked.

"Like any other relationship," Aaliyah said smoothly, still watching Ryker. "Communication is important."

Aaliyah immediately had Ryker's attention. He hadn't known anyone who had a human mate--and he hadn't known that about Aaliyah's old pack. Guess he should have told her sooner. Still didn't mean he was going to tell his dad yet, but...

"You mind if I quiz you later?" Ryker asked. He didn't exactly want to get into messy relationship questions with the whole family around. He swung Talon down and lifted Connor up next, his little nephew giggling happily as he treated Ryker like a jungle gym.

"Sure," Alliyah said easily, a glimmer of understanding in her eyes. They brightened with amusement as she watched her son clamber on Ryker.

Brett, of course, had to take this as a compliment to himself. "See, this is why you tell mates everything," he said proudly, wrapping an arm around her waist while he leaned over to kiss her.

Ryker growled at him. "Yeah, yeah, rub it in."

"Yeah!" Talon echoed, jumping on the couch. "Rub it in!" They laughed as Talon completely ruined the effect of Ryker's grumbling.

"Kids!" Everyone looked up as the Alpha's voice echoed down the hallway from the dining room. They weren't a very formal family, but dad was big on family dinners. If you were home, you were expected to join unless you were on death's door.

"Coming!" several voices yelled back.

"Fooooooooooood!" Connor had leaped off of Ryker and was racing toward the dining room, his brother right behind him.

"Umm, remind me to wait a long, long time before I have kids," Lexi said, laughing.

"Fine with me," Ryker said, smirking at her. He was her older brother after all--the idea of Lexi doing anything anytime soon that would result in children was entirely disturbing.

Lexi rolled her eyes. "And not even ten minutes ago you were trying to convince me to hold a birthday party just to meet my mate."

"Hey, those are two entirely different things," Ryker argued as they headed down the hallway, even though he knew it was a weak argument.

"Maybe for some, but not for you, Mr. Alpha-to-be," Lexi said, raising her eyebrows at him pointedly as she reveled in her turn to smirk.

Please don't bring that up to Jo, Ryker mind-linked Lexi, groaning aloud. As much as Jo had surprised him Saturday, he couldn't keep counting on that happening.

"What are we moaning and groaning about?" his dad said as he came into the dining room with a giant pot. Ryker could hear the boys arguing in the bathroom as they washed their hands, likely ordered to by their grandfather.

"The idea of kids," Lexi said cheerfully, not missing a beat as she took her seat at the table.

Alpha Monroe chuckled. "They grow on you, believe it or not." He winked at Aaliyah and Brett as they entered the dining room. "Wouldn't you say?"

"Ask me when I've had more sleep," Brett said, shaking his head. Then--"ow," he muttered, frowning at his wife as he rubbed his ribcage. "I was joking! I love the rascals."

"You better or I'll leave your ass," she threatened, pointing her butter knife at him.

"Ahh," Lexi sighed. "True love."

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A/N: The next update will be on Wednesday, 3/31! Thanks for reading!