Coming up to my house was simple, getting inside was going to be the problem. Especially since we had no clothes. I could only imagine the worst, Tina and Beth staring in horror as I strolled awkwardly, naked into the kitchen.

‘Why didn’t we just take an Uber here,’ I said with a bit of annoyance.

‘Oh yeah, great plan, Remy! Just take an Uber when we’re under house arrest. You’re lucky we could even make it out of there without getting caught. All thanks to me, you dummy,’ River snapped back.

‘Whose fault is it that we’re even under house arrest in the first place?’ I said. No reply was given. ‘Still, we can’t just walk butt naked in the house. My parents will think I got abducted or on drugs or something. Plus they’ll see you know—’ I hinted at our hidden secret.

‘Dude, you're doing the most.’ He groaned in aggravation. The wolf doubled back to the back of the house, shifting back into human form. There were piles of garbage bags near the side. A bit of summer cleaning probably took place this week. The low hum from the large, bulky air conditioner was a distraction as I tried to figure out what my wolf was planning on doing next. Naked, River sorted through the piles of bags, tossing them to the side before finding a small brown plastic. In it was a change of clothes.

‘How did you—?’

‘I’ve told you I’ve done this before. If you stay ready, you ain’t got to get ready.’ River huffed as he dressed in one of my favorite grey hoodies with a long-forgotten pair of basketball shorts and some house slides.

‘So that’s where it’s been.’ I thought I'd lost that hoodie. River quickly got dressed. I hoped none of our neighbors could see us.

‘Hey ummm I think…,’ I couldn’t figure out where to even begin with him. ‘I think we should talk about—’

‘Remy, let’s just go inside,’ he cut me off. With a soft smile, he handed control back over to me. I stood still, staring at the faded siding of the house, annoyed that he was avoiding me again.

‘I promise any questions you’ll have for me I’ll answer. Let’s just eat something before the pups go crazy.’ The wolf jokingly walked away from our conversation. He had a knack for that, wiggling himself out of any hairy situation and now of all times, he decided to acknowledge the fact that we were pregnant. He was cunning, aiming at my weak spots in order to save face.

‘Fine.’ I shrugged my shoulders before I adjusted my clothes. Whatever he had planned to say, I just hoped it would be the whole truth and not some cooked up lie for the bizarre situation that just occurred. I deserved to know what I was getting myself into and at least anticipate what could happen to us.

Hopping up each step of the creaky wooden porch, I could already tell this summer was going to be a lot to handle. It wasn’t even July and shit was already heating up.

The screen door made its usual whine as I held it steady with my shoes. My keys jangled as I unlocked the door.

“Remy? What a surprise!” Beth held the door open, her blue eyes sparkling with delight as I made my way inside.

“Hey,” I said. Already making a beeline to the kitchen. I must have had the moon goddess on my side as I walked in to find Beth cooking. The room was filled with the wonderful scent of fried chicken, a batch of buttery biscuits ready on the island, and the oven filled with mouth-watering side dishes. I could no longer contain myself, grabbing a flaky biscuit and chowing down on it. Beth let out a little snort as she walked to the white cabinetry where our dishes were held.

“Well, I didn’t expect you to be here today, but I’m glad I made second helpings.” She set the table for another seat, making it five total. “Especially with Kash and his bottomless pit of a stomach. That boy definitely eats me out of house and home,” she complained. She clutched her lacey apron as if this was some sort of tragedy for her, but I knew she secretly loved it.

“Hmm, I didn’t know he was here,” I mumbled my thoughts out loud. I had made my way over to the chicken, grabbing a breaded drum to munch on.

“Yeah, James and Kash showed up quite a while ago, though they didn’t explain why. But you know, the more the merrier around here. Especially since someone doesn’t come to visit anymore.” Beth shot me a disappointed look, making sure to play up the grieving parent. She acted as if I abandoned them when honestly, that wasn’t even true. I was literally here last weekend. Granted, she was right that I’ve been spending more time with the Alphas, but it wasn’t too much.

I mean, we weren’t going overboard were we?

Beth shooed me out of the kitchen. The woman didn’t like that I had made a home at the stove, but she let me get away with my early dinner snacking. My stomach thanked her. At least I could make it through the next few minutes before I needed to eat again.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” Tina had emerged from her office. The scent trail of Beth’s home cooking had pulled her out of her work. “Can’t believe I get to see my son again.” She teasingly poked me.

My eyes rolled naturally, which made the two laugh. It was nice to be around my family again, especially after the day I had.

“Remy!” James chirped. The boy sported a platinum blonde dye job with the most neon green shirt he could possibly find with slim black biker shorts. He had the whole Y2K aesthetic down for sure as he rushed over to hug me.

“Yo, what’s up?” Kash filed in right behind him, in one of his anime graphic tees and khaki shorts, he always dressed like he was ready to go to his favorite Comic-Con. We did our silly fist bump he was always bent on doing before Kash took his turn to hug me.

“Cool, now that you’re here, Remy, we can finally finish Naruto and start watching Boruto!” Kash gave his silly grin before he continued his rant. “And then we can watch Demon Slayer afterward and maybe start Hunter x Hunter.”

“All in one night?” I questioned him. Knowing this guy, he would definitely try to accomplish such an impossible feat.

“That sounds like a fine time for you boys but y’all better do the dishes before you get to watching any TV,” my mom said firmly. Beth didn’t need a dinner bell to rally the troops. All of us gathered, ready to eat. It was just like any other night, all five of us together again.

I missed this. It really had been too long since I had a night where I could just worry about myself and not the Alphas or the pack affairs.

Just a chill night with the boys.

“Well, I did the dishes last time, so it’s James’ turn.” Kash sat down at the table, right beside me.

“That’s not true. I did it last time,” James rattled on as he gave everyone their drinks. Tina gave me a look, sitting across from me that made a small chuckle escape my lips.

“Then Remy should do it,” James and Kash concisely decided.

“Yeah, I’m not doing that. Nose goes.” I placed my pointer finger on the tip of my nose. James was quick, to secure his safety, followed by Tina and Beth who copied me, leaving poor Kash for last.

“Aww, come on, that’s not fair. James cheated.” We all laughed at Kash’s griping. There was no point in him trying to fight his way out of this, he had lost.

The dinner was nice to relax and catch up with some of my favorite people. It made me quickly forget about the council, my uncle, and the Alphas who still hadn’t bothered to message me or send a mindlink. Tomorrow would just be another day for more problems to pile up, but at least right now I could get away from everything.

Edited by ArcisOne & Patroklos

A/N Hey guys hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remy still doesn't have the answers he wants but at least he is in a better place. After such an intense chapter before, I wanted to end this one on a good note. Gotta love our boy Kash always being the comic relief (LOL). Thanks for reading!

-Otaku_rose🥀