Biting my lip against the pain, I looked over at the wall at the pictures. I used them as a distraction every time I was in here, sinking into memories and trying to relive those instead.

There were pictures from our bonding session, which we ended up doing in Thompson Park, ironically. And they were stunning. The other photos were darker and hotter, cropped so you couldn’t totally see they were us, but we’d done the shoot they wanted with a photographer Eva knew who did sexy photos for the stars and had a reputation for zero press leaks.

So far, her reputation was intact.

The full photos were in the house in various places. I couldn’t convince them to take them down, but whenever my mother came over, I managed to hide them.

In one photo you could see a tattoo peaking out on Rylan’s shoulder. It was the matching bonding tattoo I’d designed for them—a nautilus shell, but in my classic, chunky style of painting. The shape and colors were a little different for each of them, but they had my art on their bodies just like I had theirs.

I hissed, and Ben held my arm still. “Almost there. It looks great.”

“Okay. I’m talking to distract myself. Avery, do we have what we need to cook for Mom?”

“Yes, we do,” he said, coming to stand beside me. “Is there something you’re worried about?”

“No, just… trying to make conversation.”

Mom had been trying, and it was getting better. We had dinner once a week at either our house or hers. And predictably, every one of my pack had won her over. I was pretty sure she liked them more than she liked me now.

Avery leaned down and kissed my forehead. “You’ve got this, baby girl.”

I did have it. A few minutes later, Ben shut off the machine. “Done.”

“Really?”

“Really.” He grabbed a mirror and held it up so I could see the final product, and a laugh burst out.

It was a cupcake. So real it looked like he’d stuck it beneath my skin. Yellow cake, vanilla frosting, just like I’d wanted the first time I met him. “It’s amazing.”

“I know.”

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my pants, putting them on. “Aww, why?” Rylan asked. “I was enjoying the view.”

“You can have more of the view at home,” I laughed. “I have a question, and I need to be dressed for it.”

All of them looked at me, and I felt the sudden anxiety. Not about the question, but about whether I was okay. “I’m fine,” I answered, still not fully used to living with other people’s emotions in my chest.

It was strange, but it made everything better. There were fewer fights because we already understood where everyone was coming from, and it made sex absolutely unbelievable. And it had been amazing before.