He’d come back with tales of a reverse harem setup, intriguing some of us, until Dom had adamantly refused to hear another word, declaring he would share me over his dead body. I’d laughed, completely okay with his sentiment, but I knew there were some who were a little more than curious.
I knew one of the places Caleb had gone was to visit his mother, a visit that had lightened the last of the shadows that clung to him. She planned to visit during the summer and we were all eager to meet her.
Lincoln clung to my leg as we headed toward the Pack house, waving to Dad and Wren. Mom and Hank nodded, Hank in his sheriff uniform, no doubt on duty, but still here to celebrate. Mom had decided to stay, eventually divorcing Brian, and not shocking anyone when she moved in with Hank.
Our relationship had improved but we still couldn’t get along longer than an hour at any given time. She’d become a mother to Sam though, their shared experiences bonding them, and I was glad for it. I loved them both and they’d done a tremendous amount in the last few years to help women in abusive situations to recover and start over. They’d started with the Hanley women and then expanded their reach, using some of Trent’s connections to get the word out to other Packs.
I found myself….proud of my mother and she’d surprised me by embracing the role of Gramma with gusto. Monster alternated weeks living with her and Hank, and then Dad and Wren. I think Monster still preferred Dad, but he was trying, just like me. He had less baggage where she was concerned and I was grateful for that.
“Gregory,” I cried, opening my arms to the birthday man. “You look good.”
“Thank you, Jess,” he answered, accepting my hug. “I’m glad you could come celebrate an old man’s birthday.”
“Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” I declared, my eyes sparkling, “I don’t have a gift though.”
“What more can a man ask for than to have lived as many happy and healthy years as I have?” He asked, smiling.
“You know, when you put it like that, I have no idea,” I answered. “We are blessed to have so many friends and family.”
“And to have them all gathered in one place is a gift in itself,” Gregory agreed with a nod. “A slice of birthday cake wouldn’t be turned down though.” I chuckled, following him toward a massive cake surrounded by what looked like acres of food.
“Hey,” Anna snuck up behind me and I squealed, hugging her, as I felt the slight protrusion of her stomach under her shirt.
“I’m so glad to see you,” I said, ignoring the fact that it had been less than a week. “Where’s your uglier half?”
“Right behind you,” Trent stated dryly, lifting me up in a backwards hug before setting me back down. “You always act like it’s been a year since you’ve seen each other and you live less than two miles away.”
“Happiness is seeing an old friend,” I declared loftily as Trent rolled his eyes and went to rescue Dom, taking one of the twins from him and swinging them around.
I sighed happily, wrapping my arm around Anna’s waist as we watched our families gather to sing Happy Birthday. “Did you think it would turn out this way?”
“No,” Anna said instantly. “Never did I ever think I was going to be Alpha and mated to Trent of all people.” She rested her hand on her small bump, patting it gently. “You and Dom, yeah. That was a given from day one.”
“Ha,” I scoffed. “He hated me. I remember those burning eyes.”
“Burning with desire,” Anna retorted. “We all knew he was done for the very first day. He might not have and you might not have, but the rest of us knew.”
“I didn’t know it was possible to be this happy,” I mused. “For a long time, I didn’t think we’d get our happily ever after.”
Anna made a noncommittal noise as she said, “It’s a work in progress.” We met each other’s eyes and laughed, knowing we’d do whatever it took to protect the happiness we’d found.
Trent and Dom came up, wrapping their arms around us as we joined in singing, celebrating our oldest member, as we raised a new generation.