Calli

The rest of the afternoon Finn spent giving me a tour of the pack. I was impressed by not just how beautiful it was, but functional. There was a small grocery store, hair salon, hospital and two schools. Finn took me to the one for the younger children and let me wander. Since it’s summer, there were no students, but by the look of the classrooms you wouldn’t be able to tell it was a school for werewolf children. It looked exactly like my and Penny’s classrooms. Math tables on the wall, different verb conjugates, a model of the solar system. If I agreed, I would basically be the principal of this school. Finn showed me what would be my office and I could already picture myself there, resolving conflicts between students, praising them for good work, molding and shaping them into the adults they would become. My heart filled with hope and pride at the thought and I nearly agreed right there.

“So what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?” I asked Finn as we walked the dirt path around the pack hand in hand.

“Well, tonight is dinner with my family.” He looked at me sheepishly, like he thought I might be mad.

“Like, your…”

“Parents. Yeah.” He says. “Penny will be there too. With Cam.” He adds and that makes my stomach unclench just a little.

“Meeting the parents. I can do this.” I mutter to myself and Finn chuckles, folding his arm around my shoulders and pulling me into him so he can kiss my temple.

“They will love you.” He says honestly.

I hope he’s right.

We walk for a few more minutes up to a two-story white home with red shutters and a large front lawn. I can just picture a little Finn and Cam in the front yard, playing catch and wrestling. Finn pulls me up the stairs and walks right in the front door.

“Ma! We’re here!” He calls out while slipping off his shoes. The house is warm and bright, lots of original wood details and cozy colors. Dinner smells amazing and a touch of longing for my own mom hits me.

“In the kitchen, Finn!” I hear a feminine voice call out.

Finn smiles at me and grabs my hand again. He leads me into an eat in kitchen where a beautiful woman with blue eyes and hair the same color as Finn’s is standing at the stove. She looks up at us and smiles.

“There you are! We’ve been waiting for you!” She says as she comes to hug Finn. I look around the room and see Cam and Penny sitting at the table. She waves at me with a smile and I wave back. Sitting a few seats down from Cam is a large man with eyes the color of Finn’s and hair a shade darker.

“Calli, this is my mom, Julie and my dad Blake.” He says pointing out his parents. “You already know Cam.” He adds and Cam flashes me a mischievous smile and waves. I wave back and turn back to Finn’s mom.

“Calli, it’s so nice to meet you.” She says and comes forward to give me a hug, which I heartily return.

“So,” She starts. “How do you feel about pups?” Cam groans while Finn sputters.

“Ma! What is wrong with you?! We haven’t discussed this yet!” Julie shrugs and looks back to me.

“I’m just curious.” She looks at me with an expectant smile.

I’m getting the impression that there’s only one correct answer to this question and my mom always told me ‘go big or go home’. Well, she also always told me to pee after sex to avoid a UTI, but that’s not the point right now.

“I’m gonna need a beer for this.” Finn says popping the top of one and taking a long sip as he sits down across from Cam.

“I’m thinking at least six.” I say in a matter of fact tone.

This causes Finn to choke on his beer and spit it all over Cam’s face, which causes their dad to burst into laughter.

“Ugh, what the fuck Finn? That’s disgusting!” Cam calls while Finn continues to sputter.

“But maybe eight. I know I definitely want an even number.” I continue and Finn turns to look at me like I just asked him to buy me an island. Finn’s mom, however, puts her hands on my shoulders and rubs them gently before looking at Finn.

“Why haven’t you marked this girl? She’s perfect.”

“Are you only saying that because she wants to give you a baseball team worth of grandpups?” Cam asks while lifting his shirt off of him and using it to dry the beer off of his face.

“No.” Julie says with a warm smile for me. “She’s a good soul. I can tell.” She gives Finn a hard look and points at him. “But much too pretty for you, so you better mark her before she comes to her senses.” Blake chuckles while Cam mumbles something about borrowing one of his shirts.

“Yeah, Ma. I know. I know.” Finn says and turns back to his beer.

“I do have one question though.” I say and lower my voice as I angle myself towards Julie. “So these pups. When they’re born are they… actual pups? Like wolves?”

Julie and Blake both break out in raucous laughter and Finn looks like at me like I’m crazy while Penny sits rapt in attention like she’s been dying to ask this same exact question.

“No, sweetie they’re normal babies. They don’t shift until they’re fourteen.” She explains while Blake wipes tears from his eyes.

“I need to go to the bathroom before I pee myself.” His says and stands as Cam comes back to the table.

He gives Penny a wide grin and she looks at him questioningly.

“God damnit Cam!” Blake calls from the bathroom and Cam erupts into a fit of giggles. Blake comes charging down the stairs and points at Cam.

“You’re cleaning all of that up.” He says sternly.

“What did he do this time?” Julie asks.

“Saran wrap on the toilet seat again.”

“Oh for the love…” Julie exclaims.

“Never gets old.” Cam chuckles while Penny smacks his shoulder playfully.

“I was hoping finding his mate would calm him down a little.” Julie says.

“Oh, I’m not exempt from his ridicoulousness. He put food coloring in our hand soap the other day. My hands were blue for days.” Penny says as Cam barks out a laugh.

“You looked like an adorable smurf!” he cries, and I can’t stop my chuckle, even if it is at Penny’s expense.

“Ma, where’s Soph?” Finn asks and I just realized his sister isn’t here.

“Preparing for the big science fair. She and her partner have a lot of work to do on their project. You know how focused she gets. She can’t wait to meet your mates though. Said something about her brothers giving her something her parents never did.”

“What’s that?” I ask.

“Sisters.” She smiles warmly and I smile back.

“I always wanted a sister.” I say quietly.

“Hey, what am I, dog food?” Penny asks incredulously. I laugh at her expression and round the table to hug her.

“Oh, stop. You know I love you. And now we’ll be sisters for real.” I say quietly and kiss her head as she hugs me back.

“Oh, yes. Shall we talk about joint mating ceremonies?” Julie asks and all three men groan in unison.

The rest of dinner passes uneventfully, and Finn pulls me away as quickly as he can. I’m guessing to avoid his mom bringing up any other embarrassing topics. They all hug and kiss me like they’ve known me forever and make me promise to come back soon. It’s the warmth of a large family like I’ve always wanted and my heart aches at how full it feels. Sure, leaving my life as I know it would be a sacrifice, but I’m not just gaining Finn if I do. I will have a job, a clear purpose. One that I’m passionate about. I’ll have Penny and this large, loving family.

The option is starting to look better and better.

“So what’s next?” I ask Finn.

“Well, Alpha and Luna invited us to breakfast in the morning but, right now we’re going back to my place.” He says as waggles his eyebrows at me in an attempt to be seductive, but just ends up making me laugh.

“Oh yeah?” I ask as I wrap my arms around his neck. He swings down to scoop me in his arms and carries me towards the packhouse.

“And what are we gonna do there?” I ask him, purring in his ear.

“Well, I was thinking some Yahtzee.” He answers in a sarcastic tone.

“Oh really?” I tease.

“Yeah. If you want.” Then he lifts me in his arms until his mouth is right next to my ear.

“Or I could fuck that sweet pussy of yours until you come all over my hard cock as I sink my teeth into that pretty little neck of yours and make you mine forever.” I shiver against him and feel my heart rate kick up and a wetness build between my thighs. I try to answer but nothing comes out.

“You’re a sucker for dirty talk, right?” Finn asks obviously pleased with himself.

“Just get me home.” I say. “Now.”