Avery switched places with him, and I snuggled down in the middle seat. It was a big car, and it was still cozy with six of us in here. Not to mention it was a fucking parade of scents with all of us in such a close space.

Tucked in between Ben and Rylan, I sighed and closed my eyes. Just being near them made me feel better and more settled. I tried to tell myself it was only the scents and what they did to me, but that wasn’t entirely true, and I knew it.

“So what happened, exactly?” I asked. “It wasn’t long between when Eva found out I was going into heat and you all showed up.”

Avery glanced at me in the rearview mirror and smirked. “She called Ben and told us you were going into heat, and that you needed us even if you didn’t think you did. I think we were packed up within ten minutes.”

“Weren’t you guys… working?”

“I was the only one with an appointment,” Ben said. “Everyone else’s were later, and it wasn’t hard to tell the client there was an emergency.”

I bit my lip. “You probably could have finished. It won’t completely start until late tonight. Tomorrow if I get lucky.” Pausing, I let myself smile. “Or at least I would consider it lucky if I had to be alone.”

Ben kissed my hair, and suddenly the car was filled with purring.

We were pulling up to their house before long, and I was just as blown away as before. There were a few other cars in the large circular drive. Some had been here yesterday, but there was at least one I didn’t recognize.

Luke turned around from the front passenger seat. “Were you expecting Addison and Claire?”

He shook his head before looking at me. “Addison is my sister. She’s a Beta, and Claire is her Alpha partner.”

“Oh.”

“No, I wasn’t expecting her, but I bet I can guess why she’s here.”

I hid my face in his shoulder. “Is it because of me?”

“I might have told my family we were courting someone, but I didn’t tell them who. My sister,” he laughed. “I think you’ll like her. She isn’t one to wait for the answer. I told them I wasn’t ready to say who it was. Because I didn’t want you to be more exposed than you’re prepared for.”

“Thank you.”

“I can go in first and get rid of them.”

I gripped his arm. “No, don’t do that. I know I’ve been really… jumpy about all this. I promise I’m not like this all the time. There’s just been things that make me cautious. I want to meet your sister.”