Craig, smart and sensitive for a human, realized immediately something wasn’t right. He set his coffee mug down on the table and came to stand beside his siblings. “What’s going on?”
Quinn leaned back. “That’s what I want to know. What did you do?”
Chrissten bristled. “I did what I wanted to do.”
Hank decided it was time for him to step in. “Chrissten and I are mated.”
Quinn glared at him, teeth bared. “You didn’t waste any time, did you? You bastard.”
Hank gently moved Chrissten off to his side to stand beside Craig just in case things got violent. But she didn’t stay there.
She poked her finger into Quinn’s chest. “It was my decision, not his. He wanted to wait.” Her cheeks turned an enchanting shade of pink but she didn’t back down.
Quinn heaved out a breath and clenched his hands by his sides. “You need time to recover. Time to decide what you want.”
A tiny kernel of guilt started to take root in Hank’s gut, but he ruthlessly squashed it. He and Chrissten belonged together. No other male would love her as much as he did. Hank knew he’d dedicate the rest of his life to making her happy.
But he also knew her family was important to her. He wanted to make things right between her and Quinn but knew it was something she had to do for herself.
Chrissten loved her brother so much. He was stubborn and opinionated and had a huge heart. She needed him to understand that she’d done what was right for her. She wanted his blessing. Didn’t want to fracture her family.
“This is right for me.” She put her hand on her twin’s chest and glanced behind him at Bethany, giving the other woman a beseeching glance. Bethany didn’t disappoint her.
“Congratulations to you and Hank.” Bethany pushed her mate aside and gave Chrissten a hug.
Quinn growled but not quite as loudly this time. Taking his cue from Bethany, Craig stepped up and gave Chrissten a hug. “Be happy.”
Chrissten sniffed and swiped at the corners of her eyes. “Thanks. I am happy.”
Quinn still stood as still as a statue. She reached out to him. “I need you to be happy for me.”
He raked his fingers through his hair and shook his head. “I guess I don’t have any choice.”
Not exactly the ringing endorsement she was hoping for but for now it was enough. “Thank you.”
Her twin turned his laser gaze on Hank. “Make her unhappy and I’ll kill you.”
Fear caught in her throat. How would Hank react to the threat? Would they fight? She tensed, ready to jump between them if necessary. She should have known Hank better than that, should have trusted him.
He gave her a reassuring smile before turning his attention to her brother. “I’ve got no problem with that.”
The tension slowly eased out of the room and Meredith jumped to her feet. “Congratulations to you both.” She pulled Hank into her arms before doing the same to Chrissten. She hugged them both long and hard. “We should have a party. To celebrate everything.”
Her suggestion was met by a round of cheers from the others.
“Well,” Chrissten began. “I want a real wedding and Hank has only given me a couple of weeks to handle the details.”
“Men,” Meredith groused. “They have no idea what goes into planning an event of that kind.”
“I’ll help.” Bethany glanced at Quinn. “Maybe I’ll get some pointers for when we have a formal wedding ceremony.”
Chrissten glanced at her brother and held out an olive branch. “We could make it a two for one. Have a double ceremony.”
Quinn shook his head in mock despair. She could see the slight twinkle in his eyes and relaxed. Everything was going to be okay.
“I can see I’m going to be outnumbered and overruled by you women anyway. So what the heck.” Quinn grabbed Bethany, dipped her over his arm and kissed her in dramatic fashion.
Everyone laughed and Craig gave a whoop and started hugging all of them. The rest of the pack joined him and Chrissten found herself passed from one person to another. They were all genuinely happy for her and Hank. Chrissten laughed out loud, feeling lighthearted for the first time in a long time. Things were going to be okay.
She watched Hank having his back thumped by Isaiah, Michael and the rest of the males. It looked to her like they were trying to see who could hit him the hardest. He returned the gesture and soon the men were ribbing one another and smiling.
This was Hank’s family. Which turned her thoughts in another direction. “I suppose we should invite Donovan Brody.” Chrissten turned to her brother who’d come up to stand beside her. She hadn’t given her father much thought since the night of her rescue and she felt a twinge of guilt over it. She knew he was still in the city and had called several times to ask Quinn about her, but she hadn’t spoken with him.
“I suppose we should.” Quinn put his arm around her shoulder. Their lives had changed so much in the past two years. But things were definitely on the upswing.
“Where do you want to live?” She wanted this matter settled.
Hank must have heard her question because he immediately left his pack mates and came back to her side. Quinn reluctantly let his arm drop away and Hank replaced it with his own, pulling her close to his chest.
Quinn reached out for Bethany and his mate wrapped her arms around his waist as if sensing he needed the contact.
Craig stuffed his hands in the back pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels. “I think we should stay.” He glanced around the club. “Not here, specifically. As much as I like everyone there’s simply not enough room for all of us.”
Meredith heard Craig and gave a cry of dismay. “You don’t have to go. You’re all welcome here.”
Chrissten sensed Hank’s tension, his dismay at hurting Meredith. The woman had been like a mother to him, had given him a home and an understanding of himself, of who and what he was. She didn’t want to take him away from that.
Craig smiled at the alpha female. “You’ve been more than kind and we’ll always be grateful for it. And I wasn’t suggesting we go far.”
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He unfolded it slowly and handed it to Quinn. “There’s a building not far from here with a small retail space on the ground floor and three apartments above. I’ve checked into it and it’s solid. It will need renovating, of course, but it would be a good investment, a good place to settle. We could try it for a while and see if it works. We could open a business or something or rent out the retail space to someone else.”
Chrissten was impressed with her younger brother. He’d been busy and had obviously put a lot of thought into this. She glanced up at Hank. “What do you think?”
“I’d like to see the building, but I like the idea. A lot.”
“You can still work here if you want,” Meredith told them. “We can always use waitresses,” she said to Chrissten and Bethany. “And Hank, you know your job is here for as long as you want it.” She turned to Craig and then Quinn. “That goes for you too. There’s always plenty to do in a place this size.”
The offer truly touched Chrissten. “Thank you.”
“We’ll help with any renovations,” Isaiah offered. Chrissten had a feeling the alpha would do just about anything to make Meredith happy and that meant keeping all her children, natural and adopted, close to her. It was obvious to everyone that Meredith didn’t want any of them to leave.
“Quinn?” It was Bethany who questioned her mate. Chrissten waited, barely daring to breathe.
He looked at all of them standing around him waiting for his reply. “Sure. What the hell.”
A huge smile broke across Craig’s face. “Good because I already put an offer in on the building.”
Chrissten burst out laughing. Quinn simply shook his head, caught their younger brother in a headlock and rubbed the top of his head. Craig laughed and the sound was beautiful to her ears. There was a time she’d feared she’d never hear such a wonderful sound again.