Screw My Childhood Sweetheart His Alpha Brother Marked Me First novel Chapter 131

Mason let out a loud whistle and all of the conversations around us halted. “The buffet is now open. Help yourselves.”

River lowered me to the floor, and I turned to face Mason. “Thank you so much for doing all of this.”

‘You’re welcome, Senna.”

Knox stepped up beside us. “We’ve got all your favorites. Jase’s biscuits and gravy, waffles, scrambles. And I put in a last–minute request for an ice cream sundae bar.”

Crispin cheered at that last bit of information. “Can it be your birthday every day?”

‘If it were, none of this would feel so special.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment and then shook his head. “Ice cream’s always special.”

‘He has a point there,” Caspian said.

Mason cleared his throat. “Before we stuff ourselves silly, I have a little something for you.”

I stilled as he pulled a small box from his pocket and handed it to me. “This belonged to my wife. She would talk every so often about Knox’s future mate, wondering what they might be like. I know she would’ve loved you.”

My hand found Knox’s, squeezing hard. “I wish I could’ve met her.”

‘Me too,” Mason said with barely restrained emotion filling his voice. He handed me the box. “She was fond of jewelry of all kinds. I was looking through it the other night, searching for something to share with you, and this seemed perfect. Almost like it was meant

to be.”

I released Knox’s hand and moved to the box. My thumb grazed the velvet of the lid as I slowly opened it. Inside was a necklace. Hanging from the delicate chain was a rose gold star with five points. Each point held a small diamond, and in the center sat a larger one. My breath caught. “Mason, this is too much.”

He met my gaze, shaking his head. “It was meant for you. Like some part of her already knew you were coming.”

My throat clogged. Every member of my bond held their own wounds and losses. We carried them with us. Yet together, we were nore able to lift the burden. Not only that, we could hold the memories as well. Right then, I made a promise to myself. I would bring ill of our lost loved ones into the light. Lacey, Knox’s mom, Caspian and Vaughn’s parents. We would remember them all.

Thank you,” I whispered.

would cherish this always. Not just because it was a gorgeous piece of jewelry, but because it was a symbol of the true gift I’d been given. A family.

‘I’m so full I don’t think I can move,” I grumbled as I leaned back in my chair.

The rest of the pack had already left, moving on with their Sunday, but I’d been incredibly touched by their birthday wishes, cards, and even a few small gifts. The only people who hadn’t been present were Coby and Jaz. But that had been a gift in itself.

Knox kneaded the back of my neck. “You’re going to have to move for the next part of our day.”

1406

Screw My Childhood Sweetheart–His Alpha Brother Marked Me First!

Chapter 131

“I thought it was my yes day. If I don’t want to move an inch, I don’t have to.”

Anson’s green eyes sparkled with mischief. “Trust me when I say you’re going to want to move for this.”

That had me sitting up a little straighter. “What is it?”

“You’ll have to come with us to find out,” Caspian said.

River was almost twitching in his seat. “Let’s go now.”

I couldn’t hold in my laughter. He looked more like a little kid right now than anything else.

“Okay, we can go.” I looked around the table. “Thank you. I can’t imagine a better morning.”

The only thing missing was Vaughn. I hadn’t seen him since last night. Hadn’t felt him brush my mind. He was simply silent. I did my best to ignore the pain in my chest and focus on all the good around me. I’d have to get better at that because there was little sign that Vaughn would be changing his tune any time in the near future.

I pushed my chair back and got to my feet, groaning. The combination of biscuits and gravy and a massive ice cream sundae, all before ten a.m., might’ve been a little too much, even for me.

River rubbed my lower back. “You gonna make it?”

“Let’s hope so because I want to see this surprise.”

He pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “I can’t wait to see your reaction.”

Excitement bubbled through me as I tried to make mental guesses at what the guys had in store. But everything I could come up with didn’t seem right.

We headed outside and down the steps to Anson’s Range Rover. He moved behind me, lifting a scarf and covering my eyes. “So it’s a real surprise.”

“Seriously?”

“Just go with it,” Caspian chided, helping me into the vehicle.

I scooted into the middle seat, Caspian on one side, Knox on the other. As the vehicle started up and began to move, I tried to track the turns and figure out where we were headed. After the fifth turn, I had absolutely no idea where we were or even what direction we were headed in.

♡ (9)