“No shit.” Johnny moved closer and wrapped his arms around me, lifting me off the ground. I squealed in surprise.
“Welcome to the family,” Johnny said as he set me down.
“Johnny’s my cousin,” Xander explained.
“Yeah, but we’re all family here, anyway. Pack is family. And you’re pack,” Johnny said.
The others crowded in around me and I quickly learned that they were Xander’s closest friends. Aside from Johnny, I met Mateo, Riley, and Will. All four of them had dark hair and dark eyes, but that’s about where the similarities ended.
Johnny was built like Xander. He was tall and strong. Mateo was about my height and lean. He never stopped moving and I got the sense that he was fast. Probably a runner. Riley was shorter, but solid. Will was all around huge. He was nearly as tall as Xander and nearly as wide as both Xander and Johnny together. They were all quick to welcome me, though, and had no shortage of smiles and warmth.
For the next hour, I chatted with Xander’s friends on and off as a never ending supply of shifters stopped by to say hello to their Alpha. Xander was friendly and polite, yet emitted a commanding presence. His pack members seemed to respect him and enjoyed seeing him.
To my surprise, every person I met welcomed me with open arms. I got the sense that some of the pack members were glad their Alpha had finally settled down. Thankfully, I only had to dodge the question about us having kids a couple of times. What was it with older people asking that?
The sound of tires on gravel made me turn away from a conversation with Mateo about boxing. A blue pick-up truck pulled into the spot next to ours and I recognized Gerald in the driver’s seat.
He climbed out of the car and walked over to us, a frown causing deep creases in his face. He looked pissed.
I couldn’t blame him. The last time I saw him, we’d left him with a trio of demons and we’d borrowed his car. Then we totaled his car.
“Neither of you are allowed to touch my truck,” he said.
“I’m so sorry about the car,” I said.
“That car of yours saved our lives, it gave its all for a good cause,” Xander said. “Besides, I already told you we’d get it fixed up.”
“I know you will,” he said. “But I gotta give her a little bit of a hard time, right?”
His frown faded into a smile and he laughed. “I can’t stay mad at my future grand-daughter in law.”
I let out a relieved breath. I liked Gerald and I really did feel terrible about the car.
“But for real, no touching my truck. That car was fast and zippy and beautiful, but it wasn’t my truck.” He grinned.
Xander moved closer to me and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me into him. “We swear, we won’t touch your truck.”
“What’s this about giving Skylar a hard time?” Fern asked with her hands on her hips. “You’re not scaring her off, are you?”
“He’s fine,” I assured her. “We did deserve it for what we did to the car.”
“Nonsense,” she said. “If the truck can get you across that finish line of what you’re working on, I’d give you that too. It’s worth it what you’re doing.”
My shoulders slumped. She didn’t know yet that we’d lost the stone. I looked over at Xander. I could feel his emotions churning. He was so happy to be here, so alive at being outdoors around his pack, but there was sadness and anger simmering below it all.
“Might as well get it over with,” Xander said.
“You ready?” I asked.
He nodded. “Hey, Johnny, can you gather everyone? I want to make a few announcements.”
Johnny gave Xander a salute then grabbed Mateo and the two of them jogged away.
“You’ve got bad news,” Gerald said.
“We do,” Xander confirmed. “But it won’t stay bad for long. We’ve already got a solution.”
“Well, you better get over there and spill it, then,” Gerald said. “Sun will be down soon and then it will be time to run.”
My stomach twisted. When the moon rose, I was going to try for my first shift. The last few hours had already felt like so much. Meeting all these people, getting used to being part of a pack, having to come clean about what was going on with the stone. I wasn’t sure I could handle a whole lot more. Though, I suppose, that was about how my life was. I was rarely ready for the new things I tried. I made them up as I went. Sure, I had a ton of scars, but I’d survived all of those things and I was going to survive this too.
I lifted my chin and turned to Xander. “We can do this. We have a plan. It’s not bad news, it’s just a warning. A message about caution until things are fixed.”
Xander smiled. “I’m glad I have you by my side through this.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said.