“Good Afternoon Mrs. Jewell. It’s nice to see you again. I’m also not sure if my dad told you this but my mom is on her way over as well. She should be here in a few minutes.” Jax says, when Brenda turns back around to the counter. 

“Hi Jax! No, your dad didn’t tell me. Your mom actually called to let me know she was on her way.” He nods.

“She says you will be staying for lunch. So get comfortable. You all can either stay in the living room or go to Sean’s room for the time being. 

“I think the living room would be the best option. That way we won’t have to go upstairs to come right back down.” I suggest to the group.

“You are making a lot of sense my curly haired friend.” Jasmine says, patting me on the back.

“Okay then, now that that’s decided. Why don’t you show them to the living room and I’ll get us some snacks to hold us over till lunch is ready.” I needed a moment to catch my breath. I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and the longer my dad and Alpha Kaine stayed in the study, the antsier I became. 

“Sure, but the timer has a minute left on it.” She responded while holding up the timer I gave to her earlier. 

“That’s okay. Leave the timer there and I’ll do the rest. Then you won’t have to mess with the blast chiller at all.” She was already pushing Jax and his little brother out of the kitchen before I finished my sentence. 

“I knew you loved me more than him.” Jasmine sings as she continues to push the brothers out of the kitchen.

“Hey! I take offense to that.” Jax says standing his ground. 

“I’m the boyfriend your the bestfriend. They can’t be compared. They are two different kinds of love.” I agree with his statement and so does Brenda.

“It was a joke. Of course I know they are different. Sheesh! I might be a blond but I’m not dumb you know.” She crosses her arms, sticking out her tongue like the brat she is. Thankfully the timer goes off indicating that it’s time to remove the cupcakes from the oven. 

“Alright, I’ll get those and be out with the snack shortly. Why don’t you guys pick a movie to watch in the meantime.” Jax and Jasmine nod. Both leaving the kitchen one after the other. Hopefully they can pick a movie without arguing and killing each other. 

It takes me about ten minutes to take all of the cupcakes out of the oven and place them into the blast chiller. The doorbell rang.

“Sean honey?” Brenda turns slightly to face me. “Can you get the door please? I think that might be Luna Mable.” I was finished with what I was doing anyway. Nodding, I rush out of the kitchen to the front door. Before I open the door I take a deep breath to get my nerves under control. I have met Luna Mabel many times over the years but this is different. I’m currently her oldest son's boyfriend and also supposedly his mate. Bracing myself I open the door. To be honest I have absolutely no idea what I thought was going to happen. Luna Mabel’s bright smile was the first thing that I saw when I opened the door. In the next second she has me wrapped into a bear hug. 

“Hello sweet Sean! How are you doing today?” She says, still hugging me while rocking from side to side now.

“Hello! I’m okay. How are you?” She now has me at arms length, looking me over. 

“I’m great now. I’m also happy that you decided to give Jax a chance. He was very upset with himself over the way he treated you. It only got worse when he found out you were his mate.” I could hear the sadness in her voice. 

“Thank you for not rejecting him. I don’t know how he would have fared if you had. Which you had every right too but I’m happy you didn’t.” My face heats up. If I were a few shades lighter like the woman who gave birth to me, I'm very certain I would be red all over. 

“No need to thank me. If I’m being honest, I have always liked Jax. He was just very intimidating, especially after our initial meeting.” Thinking back all those years I think I forgave Jax way before he told me he was my mate. If I didn’t I don’t think I would’ve been able to truly give him a chance. 

“Hey love! You made it.” Alpha Kaine says coming up behind us, scaring me half to death. I didn’t hear him approach us, I didn’t even scent him. 

“Calm down sweets. He didn’t mean to scare you.” Luna Mabel says while rubbing my back.

“You big oaf, look at what you did. You better hope your son forgives you for almost scaring his mate to death.”

“Ahh, come on. We don’t have to tell him about this.” He says, waving his hands in front of himself.

“I’m sorry Sean, I didn’t mean to scare you at all. Please don’t tell Jax about this.” Alpha Kaine basically begs.

“Don’t tell me about what?” All of us freeze at that moment. Where the hell did he come from? I swear these alphas need to stop acting like spies. They are going to kill me. I found this entire scenario hilarious. Alpha Kaine looked just as shocked as I felt when he snuck up on us. Jax pulls me away from his mom, looking me over. 

“What shouldn’t you tell me?” Jax asks, looking straight into my soul. 

“How should I know that was a conversation between your parents. It has absolutely nothing to do with me.” I rush to say. Almost proud that I didn’t stutter over the quick lie. Still not understanding the weight of the situation. Was the Alpha being serious about not telling Jax what happened. Or were they messing with me? 

“How about we all head back inside?” Alpha Kaine suggests. Thank Goddess Jax didn’t ask any more questions and went back into the house, pulling me close behind him. He keeps a tight hold of my hand until we are in the living room. Jasmine and Bryce are laid out on the floor surrounded by pillows and cushions, watching ‘Grown up 2’. She even got our movie blanket from my room. 

“Was that Luna Mabel at the door?” Jasmine asks once she realized we were there. 

“Yes it was.”

“Great! Now we eat soon. I'm starving.” When is Jasmine never hungry. It still shocks me to this day how much she eats. I can’t even attempt to eat as much as she does. When she is on her heat or her menstrual cycle we have to have food ready all around the clock. If not she will throw the biggest tantrum until she gets her way. Her mom has always tried to monitor and limit what she eats during those times. 

My dad told her that it wasn’t healthy to do that but her Mrs. Wesley didn't want to hear any of it. It wasn’t until Jasmine’s dad found her passed out in the bathroom that he put his foot down. Mrs. Wesley was very apologetic and thought it best for Jasmine to spend her heats at our house. My parents didn’t mind, Jasmine was already seen as a part of the family. After experiencing her appetite during her heat, my dad set up a diet plan to keep her food intake in check without starving her. 

“Mom is here!” Bryce hops up, running past us towards the front door.

“She is in the kitchen bud. So slow down, you wouldn’t want to cause trouble. Right?” Jax calls out to his brother, who slows down before he gets to the door. 

“He has way too much energy for me. I don't know how you put up with it everyday.” Jax chuckles at Jasmine's statement. 

“He calms down after a while. He is just excited we didn’t leave him at home, like we usually would.”

Jax sits on the couch, pulling me down next to him. He puts his arm around my shoulders, hugging me closer to him. With the way he has been acting since he got here. I’m starting to think something happened that he isn’t telling me. Finding it hypocritical of myself if I were to ask him what he wasn’t telling me, after I just lied to him a few minutes ago. I let it go for now. With the movie as a distraction we all get pulled into the comedic commentary. Even though we have watched this movie probably hundreds of times, I still find it very entertaining. I mean come on, anything Adam Sandler touches is a work of art, ‘COMEDY GOLD’. Judge me if you want but you know I’m right. 

“Sean, Jasmine Jax! Lunch is ready.” My dad calls out from his place in the next room. Jasmine didn’t have to be called twice, she was already up and out of the room before dad even finished his sentence. 

“Is she always like this?” Jax asked, trying and failing to cover up his amusement. 

“I already feel sorry for her mate. Whoever it may be.” Not being able to contain his laughter anymore. He slapped his hand over his mouth, trying to stifle it. Slapping his arm, I too couldn’t help but imagine Jasmine acting the same way with her mate. Just thinking about it had me trying to stifle my laughter also.

“Hey! I heard both of you and I take every offense there is.” Jasmine says, appearing in the doorway pouting. We couldn’t hold it in anymore. Jax and I both look at each other and start laughing. 

“Come on Sean!! You’re supposed to be my bestfriend. You can’t gang up on me with your boyfriend. You are supposed to have my back at all times.”  She looks really upset. 

“We are not ganging up on you Jas.” I try to calm her down. My laughter is completely gone. Even Jax has stopped, looking from Jasmine to me. 

“I’m sorry if it felt that way.” I was starting to feel bad because she was so upset.

“Yeah you should be sorry that you couldn’t tell that I was joking. Got you!” She sticks her tongue out at us, smiling. 

“You little brat!” I go to chase her but Brenda’s voice stops me.

‘Sean, I took the cupcakes out of the chiller and put them back on the tray. Is that okay?’ She mindlinked me. That works, it makes it easier. They should have enough time to set before I can ice and fill them.

‘Yes that’s perfect. Thank you, I will finish them after lunch.’ 

‘Okay. We are eating lunch outside today, so you guys come on. Don’t make your dad call you all again. You know how he gets.’ She cuts the link after that. 

“Come on, let’s go before my dad comes looking for us.” Jax follows me once I get up.

“You wouldn’t want that. Trust me.” He nods and I lead the way to where everyone else is already waiting on the back patio. Surprisingly there are two seats left vacant that happen to be right next to each other.

“Why are you both just standing there?” Alpha Kaine says not even looking in our direction.

“If you don’t sit quickly, I will happily sit there.” Jax doesn't waste any time. He quickly walked over to the two chairs, holding onto them until I made it to him. Everyone, even little Bryce laughed at Jax’ antics. Jax pulls out a chair for me to sit like he does when we go to the library. It felt natural for him to do it now.

“Who knew my son was so chivalrous? Wonder who he gets it from?” Luna Mabel says, causing Jax to blush. She chuckles when she notices Jax’ embarrassment. 

“Okay, let’s leave the kids alone. They have been apart for a few days. Let them enjoy the time they have together.” My dad says. I’m sure my face looks as stuck as Brenda’s and Jasmine’s do right now. Did my dad really say that? Pinching my leg to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming. Even though I felt the pain, it still felt as if I were dreaming. 

“Well let’s dig in. I’m sure everyone is hungry.” Brenda says, visibly shaking herself out of the stupor dad put us in. Jax grabs my hand under the table, giving it a gentle squeeze. 

We have been out here for about an hour now. Everyone has eaten their fill. Now our parents were having a discussion off to the side while we cleared the table. Something is definitely going on. My dad is upset, his pheromones were so thick it’s giving  me a headache. Jasmine comes up behind me, resting her head on my shoulder. 

“Do you feel that too?” 

“Hmm…” I nod. What are they talking about that has upset dad this much? His pheromones have gotten even stronger now. It feels like I’m stuck in a thick smog, it’s getting a little hard to breathe. Jasmine realizes and pulls me out of the kitchen. 

“Wanna go for a walk? We can bring Jax and Bryce along.” Thinking it over for a second, I shake my head.

“We can’t leave, remember? They told us to wait in the house.” I remind her, secretly thinking about defying our parents and leaving the house. They had to know that we were suffering here. 

“Yeah but it’s becoming a bit much. I can barely take a deep breath here.” I feel her pain, but since we were ordered to not leave the house. We needed to do something before it affected us even more. 

“Let’s go upstairs. We can hang out in my room until they call us.” She doesn’t even hesitate to agree. 

“Okay. You head on up and I’ll grab those two.” She shakes her head. 

“Nope.. You stay here and I’ll get them. Your dad’s pheromones affect you more than me.” That is true but neither of us should go. Remembering that I had my phone in my pocket. I take it out, sending a quick text to Jax letting him know the plan. I also asked him to grab some snacks from the pantry on their way out. 

When they finally came out of the kitchen, they were loaded down. Jasmine and I rushed to help ease their load but both guys shook us off. 

“Just lead the way. We are already set, we got this.” Jax says, making his way towards the stairs. 

“When you get upstairs, his room is the first door on the right.” Jasmine calls after him, seeing as he continues on his merry way. 

“Come on sweet cheeks. Let’s get away from these stifling pheromones.” Before we even got to the top step I heard yelling coming from outside. What the hell is going on to cause all this chaos? Is this all because Jax and I are dating? Can that really be the reason for all of this craziness. I wish they would just talk to us. All this suspense is killing me and the fact that dad is upset, also tells me that something big has happened. Praying that whatever it is could be easily resolved, but judging on how dad reacted. There could only be one reason for him to be that upset. It has something to do with that woman. “MY MOTHER”