Page 24 of Holly Jolly Heat
"If that's what you need," Dex confirmed. "We can do that."
"Even though every instinct says claim, protect, keep?"
"Even though," I agreed. "You're worth overriding instinct for."
Michelle's scent shifted again, sweeter, warmer, with an edge of something that might have been hope.
"Okay," she said. "Okay, then. We try this. Slow. Professional boundaries. Time to figure things out."
"But we can stay? Here?" I asked.
"Mom already has you set up in guest rooms. Apparently, she and Dex have been coordinating." Michelle shook her head. "I'm not sure when my family decided to adopt you, but here we are."
"Your mom's been very... enthusiastic," Ro said carefully.
"My mom's a menace," Michelle corrected. "She's already planning our mating ceremony in her head, I guarantee it."
"We're not anywhere near that," I said quickly. "Slow, remember?"
"Tell that to my mom." But Michelle was almost smiling. "You know she's going to meddle, right? She's going to throw us together constantly. She's going to make none-too-subtle comments about pack dynamics and fated bonds and probably start knitting baby blankets."
"We can handle your mom," Dex said.
"Can you handle Josh asking you to teach him streaming? Because he's going to. Multiple times. At length."
"I'd love to teach him," I said honestly. "If that's okay with you."
"And Maya's going to interrogate you about pack dynamics," Michelle continued. "And Bill's going to try to feed you his entirerecipe collection. And you're going to be subjected to family movie night and probably board games and definitely my mom's running commentary on everything."
"You already warned us and we still came. Your family is part of you, Michelle. And I for one think it sounds perfect," I said.
Michelle blinked. "Really?"
"Really. We want to know you, Michelle. All of you. That includes your family, your childhood home, your stress-baking, all of it."
"Even the messy parts?"
"Especially the messy parts."
She looked at us, at her pack, though she wasn't ready to call us that yet, and I watched something in her expression shift. Not surrender, exactly. More like... possibility.
Like maybe, just maybe, this could work.
"Okay," she said again. "Stay. Get to know each other. Figure out if this is real or just biology."
"It's real," Ro said quietly. "But we'll prove it."
A timer went off in the kitchen, probably one of Michelle's stress-baking projects.
"I should—" Michelle started.
"Want help?" I offered.
She looked surprised. "You want to help me bake?"
"I want to spend time with you. Baking just happens to be the vehicle." I stood. "Plus, I told my viewers I was learning Bill's family recipes. Might as well start with yours."
"You're not streaming my stress-baking."
