Last Female Sypher and Her Brother's Friends novel Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Kade

62

Dinner goes about how I expect it to.

Which is to say–loud, crowded, and full of wolves pretending they aren’t studying the human sitting at the

end of the table.

Our pack house dining room is long and warm, with a heavy wooden table that stretches nearly the length

of the room. Plates clatter, chairs scrape, kids whisper too loudly, and the smell of roasted meat and bread

hangs thick in the air.

Aria sits beside me, shoulders a little stiff but chin lifted like she refuses to look intimidated.

I respect that.

“Relax,” I murmur, leaning closer so only she hears. “They’re curious. Not hostile.”

Her eyes flick to me, then back to the table.

“I noticed.”

Across from us, Barric raises a mug toward her.

“Don’t mind the staring,” he says with a crooked grin. “You’re the most interesting thing to happen around

here in months.”

One of the older wolves, Greta, elbows him hard in the ribs.

“Don’t listen to him, dear. He’s got the manners of a raccoon.”

Aria laughs softly at that, some of the tension leaving her shoulders.

Good.

Ronan made it clear earlier–no pressure. No overwhelming introductions. Let people come to her in small

1/6

16:22 Tue, Sep 1

Chapter 19

groups.

:–

67

So that’s what happens.

After plates are filled and everyone starts eating, wolves begin drifting over one or two at a time.

Marcus and Eliza come first. Marcus is one of the younger males, recently mated, with big shoulders and an

easy smile.

“Hi,” he says, extending a hand. “Marcus. This is Eliza.”

Eliza waves with her fork.

“Nice to meet you,” she says.

“Liam talked about you a lot. So the feeling is mutual,” He smiles.

Aria shakes Marcus’s hand. “Hopefully good things.”

Marcus snorts. “Mostly about how stubborn you are.”

Aria shoots me a glance. “Sounds about right.”

“Well, here, stubborn is a good thing. It means you won’t easily be pushed around.”

My wolf huffs inside my head. She smells good when she’s happy.

I ignore him.

More pack members cycle through.

The older wolves–Greta, Harlan, and Victor–introduce themselves next. They’re polite but observant, eyes sharp with years of experience.

Then the younger couples.

Then the single males.

2/6

16:22 Tue, Sep 1

Chapter 19

Seven of them.

:.

Too many idiots in one place if you ask me.

My wolf growls faintly. Baring his teeth at his pack mate in a way that feels to territorial.

“Down,” I mutter under my breath.

Aria glances at me.

“What?”

62

“Nothing.”

Kids wander by, too–two little boys and a girl–staring at Aria like she’s a zoo exhibit until their mom drags.

them away.

Through it all, the mood stays easy.

Welcoming.

Exactly like I knew it would.

Because Liam is a pack.

And anyone Liam cares about gets our protection.

No questions asked.

After dinner winds down, Aria leans back slightly in her chair, looking around the room as wolves keep talking and laughing.

“You guys really like eating together,” she says.

I chuckle.

“Yeah. Pretty much every night when everyone’s around.”

3/6

16:22 Tue, Sep 1

Chapter 19

“That’s… unusual.”

“For humans, maybe.”

She tilts her head.

“So it’s a shifter thing?”

“Yeah.”

I rest my forearms on the table.

:

ཉྙཱ6?

“Shifters are social creatures. We like being around our pack.”

Her gaze moves across the room where Barric is arguing with Marcus about something dumb.

“Just… hanging out?”

“Pretty much. Eating. Talking. Training sometimes. Pack runs.”

She raises an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

For a second, I forget she’s human.

I rub the back of my neck.

“Right. Uh… that’s when we all shift together.”

Her eyes widen a little.

“All of you?”

“Usually, yeah.”

I nod toward the back windows where the forest stretches out beyond the property.

“We head out into the woods and let our wolves run.”

4/6

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify