A/N: I've taken on a challenge of writing a story of at least 10K words in August. Instead of starting a new story though, I'm putting the 10K in WATA. What does that mean for you?
Instead of the four chapters I planned to upload this month (one each weekend), you'll get at least six WATA updates in August!
Enjoy :)
PS: Chapter dedicated to CHLOERedWolf. Thanks for the comments! x
*****
All of my relatives turned to look at us as we walked into the kitchen.
"Everett was here earlier. He..." My youngest brother began, but mom cut him off:
"And since when do we start a conversation like this?" She scolded at him. "Good morning, Rhys, Riley. How did you sleep?"
Whatever Everett had been here for, it wasn't to tell them what had happened between him and his son. My mother wouldn't be smiling so genuinely at my mate and me if he had.
"Good morning. And well, thank you," Riley was first to reply.
"Good morning, mom," I also greeted before kissing her on the cheek. "Dad." I nodded as two toasts jumped up the slots of our toaster.
He nodded back.
"The bacon will be ready in a couple of minutes." He jerked his hand and the meat flipped before landing back in the frying pan.
"Butter, Riley?" Mom asked, holding one of the toasted bread slices.
"Yes, thank you."
"You don't have to say 'thank you' after everything, dear. Everett was here earlier and he told us about the meeting," she added as she turned to me.
So I'd been right; he wasn't here to talk about Alec.
"You mean, he told you and dad about the meeting." Kennedy crossed his arms over his chest. "Carter and I don't know anything."
"You know there are no developments, right?" Mom asked and my youngest sibling nodded. "So you know something," she concluded.
He groaned and uncrossed his arms. His bright gaze fell on my mate and Kennedy tilted his head to the empty chair beside him in a silent invitation. Riley had barely set down when the younger boy whispered something into his ear. I could hear the sound, but I couldn't make out the words, not from where I was standing and while in human form.
Nevertheless, I was sure he'd asked whether I'd given Riley more information about last night.
"Kennedy!" The warning inflection in my mom's voice told me she'd come to the same conclusion.
"I want to know, mom! I'm a part of this pa..."
My heart skipped a beat.
"Community," Kennedy quickly corrected himself. "I have the right to know."
I opened the fridge and rummaged inside it to hide how Kennedy's almost slip-up had startled me. Not wanting Riley to get suspicious, I exhaled slowly to collect myself and took out a bottle of tart cherry juice to serve as my reason for suddenly ignoring him.
"You know almost as much as the adults do," mom insisted. "Which isn't much at all. What you don't have to know is the details, Kennedy. Believe me, they are not pretty." She placed a plate full of buttered toasts in front of Riley. "How is the bacon coming along, Tom?"
"Done." My dad reached for another plate and placed the fried meat in it.
"Riley, do you want to eat with Rhys here or in the dining room?" Mom asked.
Instead of giving her a reply, my mate posed a question as well:
"Aren't the rest of you eating with us?"
"We already had breakfast; this is just for the two of you."
My mate's eyes went round as he looked over the piles of bread and bacon. There were also a few hard-boiled eggs.
"You didn't have to make us breakfast, Mrs. and Mr. ... Jackie and Tom." He noted, still looking intimidated by the amount of food before him. "We could've done it ourselves."
A couple of white strand fell in front of my mother's face as she tilted her head to the side and smiled at my mate.
"Let us spoil you a bit will you, Riley? You make our Rhys so happy."
My cheeks flushed and I asked myself - for a hundredth time perhaps - whether I'd ever be able to control my own skin's coloration. I was in my twenties, for the Great Spirits' sake; I should be able to!
"I think we'll eat on the porch, mom." I turned away from my family - my youngest brother was grinning at my reaction - and towards my mate. "If you'd like that."
"Sure. You bring the juice and glasses." Riley suggested as he hopped up from his seat and grabbed the food.
"I'll take out a couple of plates and forks for you," Kennedy offered, with too much enthusiasm for his intentions to be pure.
"I'm not telling you anything about last night." I narrowed my eyes at the nosy boy. He'd had a point when he'd said that as part of the pack he had the right to know more about the murders, but we had our reasons - good, solid reasons - not to tell the young ones anything more than we already had. I couldn't comprehend why they persisted in their inquiries. Common sense should already be nudging far away from the investigation.
"Sheesh! Can't I do something nice for you without you thinking I want info?" He pretended - almost convincingly - to be insulted by my accusation as he opened a drawler and took out the utensils.
"You are being suspiciously nice," I pointed out.
"Maybe I just want to pamper Riley. He makes you so happy after all." He repeated mom's words, imitating a woman's voice. The action earned him a slap on the back of his head.
"Ouch! Mom!" He reached to rub the spot. "You said the same earlier."
"I didn't slap you because you repeated what I said; I slapped you because you tried to imitate me. And very poorly at that," she added as if the last part was what had vexed her most.
"Only a little." Kennedy retorted from the hallway.
"Come on." I nodded towards the door and my mate and I followed my baby brother outside.
A car with three of my neighbors honked as they drove past us while Riley and I sat what we carried on the table on my family's porch. I waved at them in greeting. My mate's gaze followed the vehicle before rolling over the nearby houses, the people who walked about and the children who played in the yards.
I'd hoped that the first time he'd see my neighborhood, it will be under cheerier circumstances. The news of the murder had spread and even though my pack tried to go about their daily lives, a sense of heaviness hung in the air, reflecting the somber weight in their hearts and minds.
Kennedy went back inside and my tongue darted out to moisten my lips before speaking to my mate.
"So, what do you think?" I pointed around us. "The community's spirit isn't at its peak because of... You know... But this is us."
"You are very..." He mused on his answer, a lump forming in my throat as I awaited his response.
Bleak?
Grave?
The Silver Bullets were obviously upset at what had happened last night, but would those words be the ones to pop up in Riley's head?
I looked away to hide how nervous I was and my mouth formed in a smile as two familiar - and thankfully not depressed figures - approached us.
"Good," I muttered. "I wanted you three to meet."
My mate also turned. He studied Kelly and Steve with curiosity, a spark of recognition lighting his eyes as soon as they landed on the former.
Wonder where he'd seen her...
"We are not interrupting, are we?" Kelly chirped, her relaxed tone a balm to my ears.
"We were about to have breakfast." Kennedy chose the moment of my reply to rejoin us, a chair in his arms. "Do you want to join us?"
"Thanks, but we already filled our stomachs." Kelly patted her toned belly.
All Silver Bullets were encouraged from a young age to keep in shape - we needed to in case we had to fight a rival pack or vampires - but Kelly was especially diligent in her workouts. Partly due to her job, partly because she enjoyed the feeling that a good, thorough exercise routine brought, the stress in the muscles that led to a sense of personal achievement, of tackling on and winning over a physical challenge.
"So, you won't need more chairs?" Kennedy asked in that suspiciously helpful and demure tone.
"Nah, we just came to meet Riley and we'll be on our way," Kelly replied.
"Okay, but if you are ever short of a seat, you can always use my lap."
I shook my head at my youngest brother, while a tiny part of me wished I could be as cool around my mate as he was around the opposite genre.
"Oy, that's my wife you are talking to, you little devil!" Steve cracked his knuckles suppressing a grin. "And don't forget she has a gun."
All of us save for Riley laughed; he looked amused, albeit somewhat startled by Kennedy's cocky proposal. My youngest brother winked at us and headed inside.
"And is a pretty good shooter," I added to Steve's previous remark, looking down at where he sat in his wheelchair.
"Just pretty good?" Kelly raised an eyebrow at me.
"Really good," I corrected myself, placing a hand over my chest before turning to the guest of honor.
"Allow me to properly introduce you to Kelly and Steven Smith. You two already know who Riley is."
I couldn't help the proud smile as I introduced my beautiful, caring mate to my two friends. He blushed and shook Kelly's hand before stepping down from the porch to greet Steve in the same fashion. Riley turned to me with an unspoken question once he noticed the scars on the man's left arm, no doubt comparing them to the ones on my face. The similarity was striking for a reason; both of us had received them in a fight with a shifter in their wolf form.
"Nice to finally meet you," Kelly said as means to distract him.
It worked; his attention was now on her.
"You as well; I've seen you on TV."
So that's why he recognized her!
"You too, Steven; it's nice to meet you," he added.
"Steve would do," my friend nodded at him and then angled his wheelchair to face me. "We were just at Everett's house. I told him the parts for his car arrived yesterday. I'll bring the old girl back to life in a day or two. I'm a mechanic," he spoke to my mate again. "Got a repairs shop next to our house. Good thing my girl doesn't mind the smell of oil."
He playfully slapped his wife's butt and she looked down at him with all the love a mate could wish for.
"What can I say? Some girls have fantasies about the delivery boy, others are into firemen and I've got a thing for sweaty, grease-covered men." She pecked him on the forehead.
This time Riley laughed with us, the melody of his merry guffaw bringing a bright smile to my face and melting away some of my worry of whether he could feel as one of us. Introducing him to people like Keri, Kelly and Steve was a good start; they were friendly, inviting and easy to get on with.
"You sure I can't tempt you with some juice?" I lifted one of the bottles and lightly shook it, the red liquid swirling around the plastic with a slush.
"Nah, hubbie has to work on your brother's car and I..." Her bones cracked loudly as she stretched. "I need to get some sleep. I really don't know how Callum does it! He works hard at the office, he takes work home and even though he looks tired all the time, he's not half asleep during a double shift."
"Years of practice," her husband offered the obvious explanation.
"I guess. The guy's got a lot of flaws, but being a slacker isn't one of them," his wife agreed with a shrug before she moved behind her spouse's wheelchair and placed her hands on the handles. "Anyway, we got to get going. Hope we'll be seeing you around, Riley."
"What did she mean when she mentioned Callum's flaws?" My mate asked once Kelly and Steve had left us on our own.
"He smokes too much, drinks too much..."
Wasn't exactly happy to find out we exists...
"Which do you want? This chair or the deck one?" I asked, pointing to the two seats available.
"Doesn't matter." He took the chair my brother had brought as it was closer to where he'd been standing.
"Callum is also not what you'd call a people's person," I continued, sitting down as well. "And he's got one very colorful vocabulary, completely unsuited for children. Kelly has been stepping in when he gives interviews as he might punch the reporters. It won't be the first time."
"Some of them are begging for it!" He snorted and I nodded in agreement; they always went for a sensation even if they had to anger a few people to get one.
"How many strips do you want?" I questioned, lifting the plate with the bacon.
"I can serve myself," he muttered, shyly, red creeping into his cheeks.
He looked adorable.
I was sure I looked like a drunkard when I blushed, but Riley looked adorable.
"Let me do it for you," I almost begged, wanting to do something nice for my mate, even if that was a small gesture like putting some food on his plate.
"Three. And two eggs but... I only like the yolks. Can I have those?"
"Of course." I laughed as I served him bacon. "It works out perfectly as I don't like the yolks and only eat the rest."
"Really? Don't you get nauseous from that?"
He began pouring us drinks and little tingles played in my stomach.
This felt nice. Like a couple who had a routine and worked together.
"I always get nauseous if I eat the whole egg instead of just the yolk," he added.
"That's strange. And I feel just fine." I put the bacon back on the table and reached for the other large plate. "Toast?"
"Two." He pushed one of the glasses my way. "So why did you want me to meet Kelly and Steve?"
"Actually, I wanted you to meet each other." I began cutting his bacon. Maybe I was overdoing it, what I'd thought a sweet gesture bordering on creepy now, but I needed something to distract me from the giddy and slightly guilty feeling that replaced the tingles at what I was about to tell him.
"To be honest... To be honest I wanted to show you off."
My hands halted and I took a deep breath as I looked up at him.
"Does that sound bad?"
*****
A/N: Serving Riley: sweet gesture or too much? What about cutting his food?
Any thoughts on Steve and Kelly?
What about Rhys showing Riley off? Too possessive?
Any comments on Kennedy's attempts to gain information?
Please support this chapter with a VOTE in you enjoyed it and have a great time wattpadding!