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I slid my hands down to wrap around his neck before pulling him into a hug. I run my hands up-and-down his spine, giving him goosebumps along his whole body. I really wish I could just dive into his head and make him actually think that we will make everything right because even if it’ll get hard for a minute, he’s strong and he would never let anything happen to himself without putting up a fight.
You’re making the best decision that you can make in this situation and you know that. You’ve been thinking about this for weeks and you knew in the back of your head that you would have to decide to do this to protect your pack now and in the future, I explain, hoping that he will understand that this is the best and only option that will protect the most people in the years to come even if it means hurting some now.
He nods his head against my shoulder before sitting up to wipe his eyes with his sleeves. He lets out a long breath before giving me a small smile and standing up, grabbing my hands to help me up. You’re right, you’re totally right.
I nod my head, kissing his cheek before pulling him to the bathroom where I start to shower to warm up for us. I grab the hem of his shirt, pulling it off of his body to reveal his toned body. I reach up, wiping the stray tears away before giving him a quick kiss. I grab towels for us while he undresses before stepping into the steaming shower.
When I get in, I immediately snatch the shampoo from his hands to do it for him. I put some in my hands before rubbing it into his scalp as he closes his eyes and tilts his head down so I could see what I was doing. He lets me do all of it for him while he stands under one of the shower heads while I stand under the other. Once we both get clean, we step out to wrap up in towels before going to the closet. I pick out some skinny jeans, a long sleeve orange t-shirt, and a black hoodie.
Once Joey gets dressed in black joggers, a white t-shirt, and a gray sweatshirt, we walk out to the living room to wait for everyone else. He sits on the couch, staring at the fireplace as it crackles while I run my hands through his hair to bring some calm to his body. I lean down, placing a single kiss on his temple before continuing to move my fingers through his wet head. He looks up at me, staring at me as I dive into our bond, which basically just means I’m feeling through his emotions in the current moment. Joey and I don’t use our bond that much because we’re both pretty private when it comes to stuff like that, so we only do it when we know something’s wrong or just feel the need to.
He closes his eyes as I run through his emotions, figuring out each and every one. I can sense frustration and anger along with sadness and fear, telling me that he’s still thinking about everything that’s happened today and what’s to come in the next few weeks. I run my finger over his brow to get his attention. Don’t think about it, okay ? Let’s just have fun for the night.
He nods his head, turning to lay his head on my chest again to feel my heartbeat against his cheek. We stay on the couch until everyone gets ready, including my family since Lila invited them to make the night even more fun. I also think Tyler, Isaac, and Oliver were also invited so it’s gonna be a pretty full table at dinner.
When everyone gets downstairs, we pile into Lila’s car since it’s the only one that can fit all of us. Joey and I sit in the back as he stares out the window, keeping a tight grip on my hand as we make our way to the restaurant. I notice the way Cody and Melissa seem a lot better, which means they talked through some stuff and that made me feel a lot better about them.
You okay, Joey ? Melissa asked, turning to look at us.
Joey turns his head, looking at her with a small smile. Yeah, I’m perfectly fine.
I tighten my grip on his hand, holding it close to my body. I look up at him, giving him the biggest smile I can to earn a chuckle from him so I could see his beautiful smile. We keep quiet until we get to the restaurant that we had decided to go to with my family. As soon as I get out of the car, I’m attacked with a hug from my little sister.
I missed you ! She exclaims, holding me tight as I kiss the top of her head.
I chuckle, knowing that I just saw her a few days ago. I missed you too.
When she pulls away, she goes over to hug Joey, who had a genuine smile placed on his lips as he said something to my sister. I go over to my parents who were now talking to Joey’s parents about the wedding and how they were feeling about it. I wrap my arm around my mom’s shoulder, kissing her cheek before moving towards the entrance of the restaurant with everyone.
Have you decided yet ? Emilie asks, coming over to link arms with me. Ever since she found out I was engaged, she’s been asking who would be my best man also known as best woman, in my case. I had been trying to figure who I wanted to do it and after talking about it with Joey, I had decided.
I nod my head, making her stop in her tracks along with Melissa who was listening to our conversation. Emilie reaches out, placing one hand on my shoulder as she waits to hear who I was about to say. I thought to make everything better, you and Melissa would team up to do it because that way I could have two of my favorite girls help me.
Emilie turns to look at Melissa who looks shocked that she was also picked because she was so sure that I would just choose my sister. Wait, seriously ?
I nod my head. Yeah, I like that way better than choosing and this way, you both can be just as involved in the entire process.
My sister nods her head with excitement, looking at Melissa to see that she has the same reaction. I can’t wait. This is going to be so exciting.
Well, I would hope so, I say with a chuckle.
We all pile into the restaurant, making our way to the private room that we had reserved earlier in the night. I make sure to sit next to my fiance along with my sister, who was already having a conversation with my man about something random. Once we order food, we all start talking about the pack since my family still had questions even though they’ve known about it for months.
But, I mean, it just doesn’t make sense that you can just transform into a creature, my dad says, speaking to Conner that was telling him about the shifting process.
Dad, it’s not something you’ll ever really understand, trust me, I tell him with an exasperated sigh.
If it doesn’t make sense, then how can it be real ? He asks.
Because it’s not something that needs to make sense to you, I tell him, making everyone at the table laugh lightly as my dad sits back in his chair while my mom pats his shoulder in sympathy.
Well, what should we do after this ? Lila asks, changing the subject.
We could just go walk around the shopping center or something, Mom says.
Nope, last time I did that, Emilie and Kade spent a lot of money and my card is still trying to recover from that night, Joey says with a small chuckle as he gives the two of us a playful glare. I smile, loving that he was starting to calm down more and focus more on right now than what’s to come in the future.
Mom laughs. Yeah, that makes total sense.
I look over at my sister to see her small blush that she had on as she held onto her hoodie that she had gotten on that shopping trip. I look up at Cody when he starts to talk. We could go bowling or something like that.
I chuckle, running a hand through my hair as the memory hits me. Yeah, my parents banned Emilie and I from going bowling anymore because we somehow broke a ball one time. Apparently, it was pretty old, but they got so embarrassed that they vowed to never let us do it again.
My mom shakes her head. Never again.
Oh, wait, you know what’s right next to the bowling place ? My dad asks and we all try to remember and as soon as I figure it out, I get super excited at the idea.
I nod my head in excitement, confusing Joey next to me since he couldn’t remember what building was there. Yeah, that’s what we’re doing. We’re going to have lots of fun.
As I see the neon sign come into view, I practically shake in my seat with excitement at the idea of showing Joey my skills since I’ve been good at this ever since my parents took Emilie and me when we were young. Putting on the shoes and hitting the ground to glide against the cold substance feels so freeing, especially if you figure out how to get off the wall and balance on your own.