“We are.” Esme’s words were careful. “But I was… nervous. For obvious reasons. You know exactly why, Mom. Don’t pretend you don’t.”

Ben cleared his throat. “When I met your daughter, it was clear we were compatible. I immediately showed her scent to the rest of the pack, and we agreed it was something we needed to pursue. It was instant and strong. We would have pursued her sooner, but we didn’t have her contact information.”

Eleanor looked around the table. “Might I ask why you didn’t think to come to me first?”

I looked at Esme, whose wine glass was halfway to her lips, her eyes closed in exasperation. “Because the way most packs court is by asking the Omega, Mom. Not jumping through hoops of a matchmaker. And they asked me. When they told me they wanted to court me they asked me if there was anything special they needed to do, and I told them no. So if anyone’s to blame, it’s me.”

“I’m not blaming anyone,” Eleanor said.

“Mrs. Williams,” I said, drawing her eyes to me. “I’m unfamiliar with the interview process you must have been doing for other packs, but we’re happy to do what you need us to.”

She stood and walked out of the room abruptly. We all froze, but she was back in a few seconds with some file folders in her hands. “No need. I had my matchmaker produce files for each of you with the information she could find. I hadn’t looked at them yet, because I didn’t want to give myself unnecessary bias.” She glanced at Ben. “Otherwise I would have known whose son you were. I’ll look through them and let you know my decision.”

Esme’s mouth dropped open, and she looked at all of us. This was about to spin very badly, and we only had a few seconds to pull it back.

Luke cleared his throat. “My apologies, Mrs. Williams. I want to clarify one thing about what Avery said. We’re willing to do what you need us to in terms of getting to know us. We have nothing to hide. But what we aren’t doing is asking your permission to court Esme.”

The words fell heavily into the silence.

“I see.” She smiled, but it wasn’t entirely real. “In that case, tell me about yourselves. Beyond your job description. I’m sure it will be more interesting than reading it.”

Esme breathed, body relaxing, and the atmosphere eased too. Not nearly enough, but it felt like there was air in the room again.