17

I was cut off by Melissa rushing into my arms and holding me tight. You should’ve fucking texted me, you had us all worried.
I didn’t think of it, a lot’s happened, I tell her as I smelled her coconut shampoo that gave me a homey feeling course through my body. She pulls away and places her hands on my shoulders as she looks into my eyes with a soft look.
Are you okay ? She asks, probably wondering how I was taking all of this werewolf talk and to be honest, I hadn’t even thought of how I was besides stressed. I wasn’t scared because I trusted Joey, Melissa, and Cody to protect me if anything ever happened, but I also think I was kinda terrified of the possibilities as well.
Yeah, I’m okay, I tell her. She nods he head before turning towards Joey where she slapped him on the back of the head. I back away, not wanting to get caught up in her wrath as I saw the angry look she gave to only Joey.
What’d I do ? He asked, putting his hands up in surrender as he tried to back up, but was caught by the wall next to the door as his back slammed into it.
You told Cody you would text us, you idiot ! We were all sitting here, scared that you backed down or Kade rejected you ! You could’ve been dead for all we knew ! Melissa screamed and I noticed the real anger building in side of his as she started to hit his chest with her fists.
I look up at the sounds of footsteps to see Cody running in to pull his girlfriend off of him. Joey was giving her a soft, sad look as her words caught up with him and he looked down at the ground to find the proper words to say to her. I’m sorry, I really am. We stayed up to talk so I could make sure he wasn’t confused about anything and I just didn’t think to text you guys.
We were here worried and you didn’t even care, Melissa whispered as angry tears started to fall down her face as Cody kept his arm wrapped around her waist.
I’m here, Melissa, we’re here. Everything’s okay and I’m so sorry, I should’ve been thinking but it was a high stress situation and the thought slipped my mine, Joey said as he walked to her to give her a hug as she tried to compose herself.
Cody turned towards me and gave me a half hug. Hey, sorry about all the lying the past couple months. It’s just something we had to do.
I nod my head, giving him a smile. No, it’s okay, I completely understand.
I heard more footsteps and looked up to see a beautiful woman that was a bit older than the picture at the apartment. Her long light brown hair was controlled in a braid that went down to the middle of her back and I could see it was curly by the way it was at the end. She was wearing a maroon tank top with some leggings along with sandals to show off her freshly painted toes that matched her shirt. She had a necklace wrapped around her neck that was a white crystal and I remembered that Joey had a bracelet with the same crystal on it. His mom, Lila, had aged beautifully and didn’t seem to have any wrinkles or any blemishes that made her look over the age of 30, even though I knew she was about 50.
Behind her followed heavy boots that was his dad, Conner. He wore a black sweater with a collared shirt underneath that poked out at the bottom and the wrists in a fashionable manner. He paired that with dark jeans and brown boots that matched his belt. He aged well along with his wife and he didn’t look over 35, even though he was also about 50. I guess it was a werewolf thing and I hoped I would look like him when I was their age because no wrinkles and looking 30 forever ? That’s totally what I wanted.
I noticed the ring he had on that had the same crystal on it and I realized that it was definitely a family thing or maybe an alpha thing. I would definitely ask later, but now I walked forward to introduce myself with handshakes, even though they both rejected it to give me a hug.
It’s so amazing to meet you finally, Lila says as she hugged me super tight before Joey had to physically pull her off of me before pulling him into his own hug. Melissa came over to me and linked arms with me as she set her head on my shoulder.
I’m okay, I whisper to her and she looks up at me with a smile before setting her head back down on my shoulder. Cody came to stand next to me as Joey’s dad started to tell him something while his mom stood next to them with her arms crossed as she listened to what was being said.
Since they’re so busy, we’ll give you a tour of the house, Cody said and Joey turned around to give me a soft smile before looking back at his dad as we went up the stairs. The upstairs was covered with dark hardwood and the huge wall that you faced when walking up the stairs was covered in a freshly painted version of The Starry Night by Van Gogh. I noticed Lila’s name signed in the bottom right corner and my mouth dropped open.
Lila drew that ? I ask, walking up to it to run my fingers over it to feel the dried paint that looked absolutely beautiful and just like the painting with a few color problems, but it was still magnificent.
Yeah, about a year ago. She got bored one time when the pack was on lockdown due to a pack issue and did it in two days. We didn’t even know she was doing it until she was done, Cody told me.
Melissa moved over the the door on the left wall before opening it and motioning for me to go in. I looked around the huge room to see a huge bed in the corner that had red pillows and blankets. The walls were a light blue color and the small part of the ceiling above the bed was painted like a night sky.
This is Melissa and I’s room. On our first date, she had told me how she loved stargazing and I had Lila paint stars on the ceiling for when she came over for the first time, Cody said and I noticed the huge smile on Melissa’s face as she looked at the painted ceiling that was beautiful. It was a base color of a dark blue mixed with lighter colors like white and gray with stars that had a slight yellow tint to it to make it seem more animated.
Wow, she’s really an amazing artist, I tell them.
Oh, you’ll have to have her show you her canvases, they’re so good, Melissa tells me as I continue to look around the room. There’s a TV hanging on the wall in front of the bed with a desk under it that had a computer sitting on it along with some stacks of paper.
A dresser sat on the right wall that was the same color as the floors and right next to it was a door that I assumed was the closet by the hangers that were on the floor in front of it. There was a suitcase right next to the door that I assumed was Melissa’s that she used when she came here from home. The huge window right next to the bed brought in a lot of natural light since the curtains were open and the sun shined proudly in the sky.
We walked out as Cody walked to the other door across the hall before opening it to show a room with dark green walls with little things painted randomly around the room and I realized this was Lila and Conner’s room. The bed was huge with a dark gray soft blanket laying on top with different colored pillows. A TV sat on top of a desk on the far side of the room for them to watch on when they were laying on their sides. More windows brought in natural light that made the room feel very homey.
I noticed a small wall of pictures and walked over to it to look at some of them. There was a picture of Joey as a baby wearing a shirt that said ALPHA male on it with a werewolf underneath as Lila held him on her hip. Another picture showed Lila and Conner at their wedding, pretty similar to the picture in the apartment but it was of them walking down the aisle after being married as people threw flowers at them.
We talked about some of the picture before we realized we probably shouldn’t be in here for too long since it wasn’t our room. I pointed to another set of stairs that went up next to the room we were just in. Where’s that go ?
Oh, that goes up to my parents room, but they don’t stay here anymore since Joey and I took over the pack, Cody tells me and I remember Joey telling me that last night.
Oh, yeah, they wanted to travel around, right ? I ask.
Yeah, they have a little house in Italy that they stay in every now and then since it’s their favorite spot, but right now they’re in Cuba because that’s where my mom’s family is, he tells me and I make a mental note that Cody’s, at least, half Cuban and that’s why his skin is a bit darker than the rest of us. I would have to ask him later where his father was from to see what other part of him was mixed with his genetics.
We walk down the stairs again to find Joey and his parents in the same spot waiting for us. As soon as I’m by my boyfriend’s side again, he intertwines his hands and I notice the proud smile that lays on his mother’s face as we walk into the living room. In the middle of the room is a light gray sectional that matches the white walls. There’s an ottoman that is also used as a table by the books and plates laying on top of it. A marble fireplace sits in front of the couch as the TV sits on the mantle.