Chapter 244

THE CRESCENT BROTHERHOOD PARTY

~ Doris ~

I stood quietly at the edge of the ballroom, gently swirling the wine in my glass as I watched the lively crowd. The grand hall was packed with people, music, and laughter.

The mood was filled with celebration. Roman had finally fought back, reclaimed his territory, and officially rejoined the Brotherhood.

As I looked across the rows of tables, I saw the leaders of every pack gathered in one room.

The Alpha of the Rain Pack sat comfortably with his family at their table.

Nearby, the Alpha of the Cloud Pack laughed with the members of her pack. Then there was Roman, the Alpha of the Sun Pack, sitting proudly beside his wife and young son with his head held high. He looked like a completely different man.

Beside him sat the Alpha of the Thunder Pack—my own brother. I had missed him so much, and seeing him finally take his rightful place filled me with pride.

And finally, there was the table of the Alpha of the Moon Pack.

But as I looked toward his table, his seat was empty. Where on earth was he? I searched the room, letting my eyes sweep across the crowded dance floor, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Looking for me, baby girl?”

Ryder’s deep, teasing voice came from right behind me.

Before I could turn around, I felt his lips brush gently against my neck. He placed a trail of slow, soft kisses along my skin, sending a shiver through me.

Heat rushed to my face, and I could feel my cheeks burning.

I was blushing.

After all these years, Ryder still knew exactly how to make me blush like a lovestruck teenager.

I cleared my throat, trying to regain my composure. “I wasn't looking for you at all,” I lied, taking a slow sip of my wine.

“Really?” Ryder chuckled. “So my baby girl has started lying to her Alpha now?”

A playful smile spread across his face as he slipped his arms around my waist from behind.

With gentle ease, he turned me around to face him.

His eyes slowly traveled over me, making my heart skip a beat.

Then he smiled.

“I think it’s time we took a vacation,” he said smiling. “Just the two of us. Somewhere quiet. Somewhere far away from everyone.”

He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

“What do you think, love?”

I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

“You’re definitely planning something, Ryder.” A smile tugged at my lips. “And besides, I can’t just leave our children right now. If we disappear without warning, they’ll never forgive us.”

“You don’t really mean that, do you, Mom?” Jason called out with a laugh. “Please don’t use us as an excuse. You and Dad deserve to enjoy all the years you missed because of everything you’ve been through.”

I quickly turned toward the voice.

Jason was walking over with a wide grin on his face, his fingers tightly intertwined with Kiara’s.

Close behind them came Jasmine and Marcus, walking side by side with their hands linked, both smiling as they joined us.

“See? Now you absolutely can’t say no,” Ryder teased, a smirk flashing across his handsome face.

I rolled my eyes dramatically, still refusing to give in.

“Everyone here has a partner except Gab,” I said firmly. “I can’t just leave him alone while we all go off on vacation.”

I placed my empty glass on the table and crossed my arms tightly over my chest, giving Ryder a smug look.

In my mind, the argument was already over. I had won.

“That’s a completely silly excuse, Mom,” a familiar voice suddenly cut in.

I turned and saw Gab walking toward us, flanked on both sides by Mom and Dad.

He was in the middle, holding both of their hands.

And he was smiling.

It was the brightest smile I had seen on his face in eighteen years.

I let out a long sigh and threw my hands up in defeat.

“Okay, fine!” I said. “Since all of you have clearly teamed up against me, I guess I don’t have a choice.”

The moment the words left my mouth, the entire group burst into loud laughter.

“You both should go and have the time of your lives,” Dad said, his eyes crinkling with a warm smile. “We will all stay back and take perfect care of the pack in your absence.”

Before Ryder could slip in another teasing remark, a sudden loud screech of microphone feedback ripped through the air.

The music cut off instantly.

Every head in the room turned.

“Can I please have everyone’s attention, everyone!” a voice echoed loudly through the speakers.

Our entire group turned toward the main stage at the front of the hall. Standing right under the spotlights, grinning like a pair of mischievous conspirators, were Sabestine and Ivy.

Mom shook her head slowly, a fond but exhausted sigh slipping from her lips.

“What on earth are those two up to now?” she murmured.

“Sabestine and Ivy are always cooking up some sort of trouble whenever they are left together,” I said, smiling at their antics.

“But I promise you, today it won’t be trouble.”

I gasped and whipped my head around at the sound of the familiar voice. Standing right there was Henry. With a joyful cry, I threw my arms around him, hugging him as tightly as I physically could.

“Henry! I have missed you so incredibly much!” I teased, pulling back just enough to smack his chest playfully. “You couldn’t even bother to check up on your sister for a whole day, right?”

“You know that’s not true at all,” he said, laughing  as he rubbed his chest.

Before we could catch up any further, Sabestine and Ivy’s booming voices interrupted us again from the stage. Henry smiled and stepped past me, reaching out to hold Gab’s hand as the two of them struck up an immediate, whispered conversation.

“Let’s welcome my wonderful brothers and sister to the stage to perform for us tonight!” Ivy shouted excitedly into the mic.

“Jason and Jasmine, please come up to the stage right now!” Sabestine called out, waving them forward. “And big brother Gab, please come join us up here too!”

Julius chuckled from beside us, leaning over to tease the kids as they froze in surprise. “You all are in for a mountain of trouble up there.”

Despite their sudden nerves, the three of them shared a look, laughed, and began walking up the steps onto the stage to join Ivy and Sabestine.

“We all have a very special song to sing to you all tonight to entertain the Brotherhood!” Ivy and Sabestine announced together, prompting the entire crowd to erupt into loud applause and cheers.

Kiara leaned over toward us, covering her mouth as she laughed at the sight of her boyfriend under the stage lights.

“Jason and Jasmine absolutely cannot sing to even save their lives. They are going to end up completely embarrassing themselves up there!”

“And please don’t think Ivy and Sabestine are any better!” Marcus added merrily, causing us to laugh.

Suddenly, everyone in our circle stopped laughing and turned their eyes slowly toward me. From the collective, knowing looks on their faces, I knew exactly what they were trying to say.

I put my hands on my hips, defensively shaking my head.

“Oh, please! You all should stop giving me that exact look. Gab can’t sing a single note either!” I countered, which only caused everyone to laugh even louder.

“Well, regardless of how it sounds, this is going to be so much fun to watch,” Ryder said, laughing deeply as he wrapped his arm securely around my waist, drawing me close as we both looked up at our beautiful, chaotic children standing together on the stage.