Chapter 38

ISABELLA

We get out of the car and Asher joins us to get our things out of the car. He approaches me as I get out of the car.

"How was the drive?" He asks before kissing me.

"Very well, thank you. How about you?"

"Like a drive with my mom." He tells me with a smile. "If you're more comfortable, you can stay in the outhouse alone or with me."

"I agreed to spend the night with Jax tonight."

"Okay." He nods. "I think sooner or later, we'll have to think about an organization to make it fair."

"Wow, that sounds really weird." I frown; I'm not some vulgar toy passed from hand to hand. "I won't hold it against you this time, but don't ever say something like that."

"Yes, I'm sorry. I should have thought before I spoke." He replies before taking me in his arms. He grabs my travel bag and carries it inside.

"Well, you know that's the first time I've heard him apologize?" Knox says before walking around me and into the house.

I enter the big house in turn, and the interior reflects Maggie's personality quite well. It's all over the place... the floors are covered with carpets of different shapes, colors and patterns, and the walls are virtually all covered with photos and paintings. Some of the paintings look more like children's drawings and collages than works of art.

My eyes linger on a drawing of a rabbit in a blue jacket, which I recognize as Peter Rabbit from Beatrix Potter.

"I did that one." Knox says proudly.

"It's very well done." I answer honestly.

He hugs me from behind. "I loved these books. They were the only ones I finished in my life." I laugh at his confession.

"I can't believe you lived here. At your place everything is so white and impersonal while here it's..."

"A giant catch-all?" I nod. "Well, you've got your answer. We were surrounded by too many things, colors, patterns and stuff that didn't go together that we opted for a more minimalist style."

"Minimalist? You mean impersonal and boring as hell." Maggie cuts us off, rolling her eyes. "Come on, gorgeous, I'll show you the guest room and one or all three of my sons can join you later."

My eyes practically pop out of their sockets at her words and Knox stifles a laugh. This idiot must find this situation very funny.

After settling into the room and enjoying a nice breakfast outside with the most offbeat family I've ever seen, Maggie suggests I go shopping with her in town and I accept because I'm well behaved. From the looks on the boys' faces, I can read the disappointment on their faces. It seems they had other plans for this afternoon.

"Well, I'll leave you girls to it and I'll take the opportunity to go for a run and take a dip in the lake." Knox announces before standing up.

"I'll go with you." Jax tells him. They kiss one after the other before heading back inside the house.

"I'm going to take this opportunity to check out Alpha Mark. I've got some business with him. I'll join you when I'm done." Like his brothers, he kisses me and heads back inside.

ASHER

Arriving at the pack house, I pass a few acquaintances with whom I exchange a few words before running into Maya, the pack's Luna.

"Alpha Asher, it's been a long time since we've seen you."

"I plan to be much more present in the future." She simply nods without asking for further explanation. My eyes drop to her rounded belly. "I'm no expert, but it looks like it's coming soon."

"The term is in three weeks. According to the doctor, it's more likely to come late than early. " She tells me with a smile. "If you're looking for Mark, he's in the park out back with his sister and the orphans."

"How many are there right now?" I ask her, frowning.

"There are twenty of them. We're the only pack in the east of the country to have set up a home for these young wolves so we get some from other packs."

I nod. This project has always been close to my father's heart, and my brothers and I have always been aware of the problem. When a cub loses both parents and has no close family, it's very difficult to get adopted by a werewolf family and he can't integrate a human foster home.

I apologize to Maya and go outside to join Mark and Nicole.

ISABELLA

Maggie really does have more than one trick up her sleeve. She wanted to go shopping because she had an idea in mind to get us to accompany her to a barbecue this evening. A giant barbecue, since the whole pack is invited to the lakeside. She urged me to choose a pretty summer dress, which would show me off to my best advantage - her words, not mine. And if by advantages you think she meant my breasts, you're absolutely right. And after deciding we'd seen enough of the boutique, she ushered me into a tea room for a snack.

As we settled down at the back of the room, we were approached by one of the women who was in the kickboxing class. She and Maggie launch into a discussion about the barbecue and the singles who'll be there. I can't contain my laughter at Maggie's outspokenness.

While the two women are deep in conversation, Asher enters the tea room and I wave for him to join us. In jeans and a T-shirt, he could look like an ordinary man, but there's nothing ordinary about him. Every time I look at him, I'm blown away by his beauty and presence. He bends down to place a kiss on my lips before taking a chair at the empty table next to ours. Silence reigns in the shop and everyone looks at us.

"Well, if I'd expected that." I hear someone talking a little further away.