Page 25 of Their Knotty Pack
"Well now Iknowyou're lying." Archie smirks.
Before I can refute that completely true statement, my parents are coming up the stairs and sweeping both Miles and I into a hug. "Bethy-bear!" Dad wraps his arms around the two of us, smacking a kiss to my forehead. His black stubble lightly scratches my forehead, his equally black hair pushed out of his face. There's quite a bit more gray than the last time I saw him, but he wears it well.
Miles gives me a gleeful smile and mouths "Bethy bear" at me.
Fucking cheeky omegas.
"Oh, honey, you look so good!" Mom takes my face in her hands and turns it from side-to-side as if inspecting me for damage. Mom's eyes, the same pale blue as mine, sparkle as she looks me over. I haven't seen them since I went to visit in Florida seven months ago. "Your eyes are clear, your cheeks aren't so hollow anymore…"
"Gee, thanks Mom," I mutter as she squishes my cheeks together.
"And this must be Miles," Mom says, completely ignoring me as she turns her attention onto my mate, a strand of blond hair falling out from behind her ear. "Oh, so handsome! What a perfect match for our Bethany."
"He's smart too." I smirk at the fact all my parents' attention is now on Miles, a situation he doesn't seem to know what to do with, if his wide-eyed expression is anything to go off. "He's aphysicsteacher."
Dad's eyes widen, "Imagine thebrainsof the babies these two—"
Well, my own fucking around backfired on me. "Dad, that's not—"
"You don't want kids?" Mom frowns at us, and I roll my eyes. I love my parents to death but I completely forgot just how overwhelming they can be in person.
"It's not something we've talked about yet, okay?" I say gently, squeezing both my parents arms. "So can we take a step back?" My parents nod, both looking properly chastised until I clear my throat. "I meant that literally. You're suffocating him."
Mom and Dad take a hasty step back, immediately giving Miles more space. "We're sorry, sweetie," Mom says to Miles. "We get a little ahead of ourselves sometimes. You can call us Mama and Papa Thomas like Lanie does, or our first names. I'm Penelope, but I go by Penn, and this is Glenn."
Miles can't help but crack a smile. Hell, I've had twenty-nine years to get used to it and I still giggle inside every time I hear "Penn and Glenn".
"Yes, haha. We rhyme. So funny." Dad deadpans and I have to fight my smile.
"Where is that Mattie of yours?" Mom turns and asks Archie, who had just been sitting back and watching this whole thing play out.
Traitor.
Miles tucks me into his side again as Archie leads them down the porch and steps over to the…bar. Yes, there is an open bar set up in this backyard.
"That was…" Miles trails off, trying to find the right word.
"A lot?" I venture, looking up at him.
"Kind of nice, actually," he says with a small smile, looking down at me. "I haven't seen my parents in so many years, it was nice to be…fussed over. Your brother looks just like you, by the way. Except the eyes."
My mouth drops open. "How dare you."
"Bethany!" A shout comes from the yard, and I look up to see Cady standing by the bar with Ollie and Simon.
I grin and grab Miles' hand, leading him down the stairs of the deck and towards my sister-in-law.
"Let me guess," Miles says into my ear as he follows me closely from behind, "the blonde is Ollie, and the one with the glasses is Simon?"
"You have glasses too," I smirk, "should I be worried about people assuming you're a doctor?"
Miles' chuckle tickles my ear. "Well, probably not, considering I just used the process of elimination to figure it out, not the fact he has glasses."
We reach them right as he finishes his sentence and Cady sweeps me into a hug. "How are you? Is this him?" She pulls back and looks at my omega.
Before I can answer, Ollie takes a step towards me, arms outstretched. "Bethy-bear!"
A small growl rips out of Miles as he steps in front of me, and we all look at him, shocked.
