Maddox and Tatiana broke the kiss and they stared at each other with foolish grins on their faces, unaware that Mindy was two steps away from them, shifting her weight from one leg to another while counting silently to ten.
When Mindy reached to ten, she pounced on the duo, wrapping her hands around both of them.
"I have the best sister-in-law!", Mindy exclaimed, ignoring her brother's glare. Mindy turned to Kalina and waved at her to come. "We are family now! Come! It's time for a group hug!"
Kalina smiled helplessly and walked to the trio, but she didn't join the hug.
"Congratulations. I am happy for you.", Kalina said and tugged Mindy's arm. "We should give them space so they can get to know each other. We can do hugging and everything else later."
Mindy bobbed her head. "They will get to know each other, alright. And while they are doing that, we should celebrate! Oh, I should call mom and dad and tell them! This is big news!"
Kalina put her hand on Mindy's shoulder and gave her a squeeze in a silent plea for Mindy to calm down. "Don't tell them because they will make a fuss and start with formalities. We should give them a few days to enjoy."
Kalina knew this very well. After only two days of bliss with Tony, he took her to the Lightclaw pack, and all the future-Luna commotion that waited for them there cast a shade on her happiness.
Mindy pressed her lips into a line. She really wanted to be the first one to tell their parents that her big brother found his mate, the Luna of the Blue River pack. But seeing Kalina's serious expression that spoke volumes, Mindy decided to hold back on it.
"OK. Then… Let's buy some stuff during our shopping and we can celebrate here, just us." Mindy turned to Talia and shouted, "Join us in planning! We need to accommodate changes for our beach outing this afternoon!"
Tatiana was jet lagging, and she was dazed by the newly found mate bond, so her brain was not as alert as normally. She blinked once, twice… Did Mindy call her 'sister-in-law', or did she imagine it?
But before Tatiana could make sense of her current situation, Damon and Talia approached them, and they were followed by Maya, Meg, Caden, and the others, everyone with smiles on their faces, ready to give hugs, shake hands, and shower them with congratulations and well wishes.
From inside the packhouse, Lisa observed the scene of Maddox and Tatiana kissing, and then Mindy giving them a hug, and then others gathered there as well.
Lisa already heard that Kalina's sister will be coming, and considering that Tatiana was the only unknown face, Lisa easily guessed which one was Kalina's sister. Why did she become the center of attention?
Lisa didn't like this.
Talia was too cozy by Damon's side, with Damon holding her close to him. Tony's arm was wrapped around Kalina's shoulders, and they spoke something with Maya and Caden and then everyone burst into laughter, Mindy, Nate, Greg, Paul, and Meg included.
Lisa had no idea what's going on, but she knew that the mood outside was good, and she was not included.
Even a total newcomer like Tatiana was accepted as part of that group while Lisa stood on the side like an outcast. Where is justice?
She couldn't hear what they were talking about, but she definitely heard when Mindy shouted how they will be going to the beach in the afternoon. That gave Lisa an idea.
When everyone congratulated them, Maddox turned to Tatiana.
"How about we sit there?", he gestured toward the table that was empty so far, and Tatiana nodded in agreement.
Maddox pulled a chair for her to sit, and she watched him as he dashed to the table with breakfast items.
Why did Maddox decide to get food without asking Tatiana if she was hungry? Maddox was not sure, but he had an inexplicable impulse to feed her. And it was more than just food; he had an urge to make sure her every need and want was satisfied, and that urge was maddening, so he hurried up, disregarding the fact that he didn't know her name at this point.
Tatiana couldn't stop staring at Maddox. That gray suit jacket was unable to hide his outrageously handsome body that captivated her attention completely as he filled two plates with food haphazardly.
One sausage bounced off the plate and fell on the ground and Maddox took a napkin to pick it up, instinctively looking at Tatiana and he froze when he met her intense gaze that had a dash of amusement in it.
Maddox panicked.
His Goddess was watching him!
Why did she see the moment when he dropped food?
He was never this clumsy!
Will she think that he was incapable?
Ah! There was no trashcan in sight!
What should he do now with that sausage? There was no way he will put it on the plate for his Goddess to eat.
Should he keep it on the table, or maybe stuff it in his mouth?
After a moment of hesitation, Maddox wrapped that sausage in a napkin and kept it in the pocket of his cargo shorts. He will deal with it later.
Now it was important to put enough food on plates because he can't allow his Goddess to go hungry!
From the other table, Damon sat next to Talia and his eyes didn't leave Maddox who was scrambling at the table with food.
Kalina, Mindy, and Meg were busy coming up with ideas on how to make their beach outing special. Mindy produced a pen and paper from somewhere, and she was writing down things that need to be added. Mostly food items.
Talia turned her attention to Damon because his emotions were fluctuating.
Playful, vengeful, mischievous… what's going on?
Talia noticed that Damon was looking at the newly mated couple and she poked him to get his attention. "What are you up to?"
"Me? Nothing.", Damon said innocently.
He knew that with Talia's virtuous personality, she won't participate in whatever mess-with-Maddox plan he was coming up with, and she will probably scold him also. Denial was the best option, or he won't get his fun.
Talia didn't believe him. "I can tell that you are scheming something."
Damon looked at the little woman by his side being all fierce and it turned him on.
"Are you hungry?", he asked.
Talia was surprised by this sudden change of topic, but she still responded, "No, why?"
"I see Max feeding his mate, so I wondered if I should do the same to mine."
Talia glanced at Maddox and saw him walk toward Tatiana with two plates that were heaping with food. "No need. You already fed me. I'm full."
Damon inched closer and whispered, "There is more than one way I can fill you up, kitten."
Talia jolted when he squeezed her thigh under the table, and her face exploded in blush.
She knew that he was being naughty and that was something she couldn't match him, but she still responded shyly, "You did that also."
"Mmm…", Damon hummed in approval. "I can do much more than that."
He kissed her cheek and then continued trailing small kisses closer to her lips while murmuring, "How about we go to our room for seconds? Or we can use one of the free rooms on the first floor..."
Talia turned and gave him a quick peck on the lips in an attempt to pacify him, before protesting in an urgent whisper, "People are watching."
"No one is looking at us, kitten…" And even if they were looking, Damon didn't care.
His hand landed at the back of Talia's head and in less than a second her defenses fell completely, and she parted her lips, granting access to Damon's tongue to deliver a toe-curling kiss that came with his addictive flavor of the dark chocolate.
Maddox was cutting food for Tatiana in bite-sized pieces and then he offered her a fork that had a well-proportioned piece of a dinner roll, egg, and sausage, to create a perfect bite.
"You said your name is Max.", Tatiana said before opening her mouth to accept Maddox's offering.
Maddox nodded, understanding that this is the part where they officially introduce themselves. He was ready for this.
"Maddox River, Alpha of the Blue River pack. Your mate." This last part was awkward to say, but it sounded so right that Maddox ended up smiling goofily.
Tatiana frowned a bit when he said that he is an Alpha.
Will he expect her to stay in his pack?
She has a business to run and shows to attend! However, seeing how docile Maddox was, resembling a cuddly bear, Tatiana was confident they will find a compromise.
