17

Chapter 17

Kayla's POV

I was getting really nervous about shifting. All I wanted to do was go outside and train. My lycan told me to train as much as I could because shifting can be painful. I haven't even heard from my wolf yet, which makes me wonder if I even have a wolf. I was in the gym, punching the bag. I ran a few laps before coming inside the gym. I knew I needed to work my arms and legs, so I was kicking and punching the bag. I was so into it that I didn't hear the door open to the gym.

"Hey, if you're up for it, I can show you a few new moves I learned when I was caged up like an animal," I stopped kicking the bag to look at Vegas. I knew she was trying to fit in, and she was doing it well. She didn’t have to try so hard because everyone likes her here.

"Hey Vegas, sure, I would love to learn some new moves. But listen, you don’t have to try so hard, okay? We all like you being here, and we’re not going to kick you out," I said, looking at her marking spot. I noticed that Spike had finally marked her. Well, it's about darn time he marked her. I was starting to think that he wouldn't. I knew how hard it was when his first mate rejected him. He told us it was because he wouldn't quit the mafia, but I knew the truth. She didn’t want to be here anymore; she wanted to leave and join another pack—one that wasn't like ours. So when he told her he wasn’t going to leave, she rejected him and left. We haven't heard from her for years, but I keep thinking she's going to show up and start all kinds of drama. If she does, she's going to end up with a broken nose and a ripped-off head. She hurt Spike deeply, and it took him years to be okay. Now that he’s found Vegas, I hope she stays and doesn't hurt my uncle. I’ll have to intervene instead of just standing by watching. Sighing, I sat down for a second. My legs felt like jelly since I'd been kicking this bag for a few minutes.

“Listen Vegas, I need to say this before I end up going crazy. I hope you're not going to hurt my uncle. He already had a mate, and she rejected him because he wouldn’t leave us. So she did what she did and then she left. We hadn't seen or heard from her for years. I keep thinking she's going to show up here and start some trouble, but she never does. I hope she never does. Spike has been hurt enough.” I could tell she was pondering for a few minutes, then she started talking.

“Kayla, I know you’re worried. I know everyone is. Spike told me all about his first mate. He told me he loved her like no other. He's not much of a talker, I can tell. He's more of a businessman than anything else. I’m not going to hurt him, Kayla. What I'm scared about is that I might be the one who gets hurt.”

“Vegas, trust me. Spike isn’t going to hurt you. I know he is all business when it comes to work, and that's all he does. He trains and works. You've seen his house. You live together. In one room, there's nothing but training gear, and in another room, there's nothing but weapons. I've been in there many times; we trained together. He is one of many who trained me. I'm not the only grandchild, trust me. Just you wait for family dinners. Everyone comes for dinner on family night. You will meet everyone. There are so many kids and grandkids. Grandma and grandpa believed in a big family. So when you meet them, don’t be nervous; they will love you.”

“Hmm, so when is this family dinner?” I couldn't help but laugh. She wasn't prepared for this since my grandparents decided to leave for a while. It was up to Ava to take care of family dinner, and it's tonight. Oh boy, how am I going to tell her this? She looked nervous with her red hair and hazel eyes. I might as well tell her now.

“Well, actually, it's tonight. Mom is getting the cooks to prepare a good meal for everyone, so let's get going. I'm sure Uncle Spike will introduce you to everyone, so don’t be nervous.”

Vegas POV

What in the world? I bet she set me up meeting all the family tonight. I was already nervous because I'm not used to such a huge pack. I contacted my parents letting them know I was okay, that I had found my mate. I even talked to Spike about meeting them. He agreed, but I couldn't let them know we were mafia. I think they already knew when I told them about Mercury Black and Cheyenne; they knew all about them. But now I'm meeting all of their family. Just how many are there? I hurried home and ran right into my mate. I was heading inside when he was coming outside.

“I was just coming to look for you. Kayla mind-linked me and told me you were nervous about the family. Don’t be. It's going to be okay, I promise. Everyone is going to love you. I've already told most of them about you. There is Polly and Nicole, they are twins. Gabriella is Isaiah's twin sister; she's in another pack with her mate. Anna and her mate have two kids named Lexi and a son called Joseph. There's a few more, but you will get to meet them at the dinner.” I thought about this, I thought about running for the hills and not coming back until they're gone. But knowing Spike would come and find me, I was thinking about faking being sick. But then werewolves hardly get sick. Crap. I could simply say I just do not want to go. But I don't want to disrespect anyone. They've taken me with open arms, and Spike has been so kind to me. When he could have easily just rejected me and sent me on my merry way, but he didn't, he wanted me. I decided I would go. What could it hurt? I was just going to meet the family, introduce myself, and hope for the best. I think the one person I do have to worry about is his twin sister. I wonder why there weren't any brothers, just Isiah. Maybe they tried for a boy, but they just kept having girls. It's okay because they have mates that Isiah could hang out with. I went into the bathroom to take a shower. When I was done, I turned the water off and grabbed a towel to dry off. I hurried to get dressed in ripped jeans and a pullover blue shirt. I didn't have any clothes at all. So Spike took me shopping to get new clothes. He says I could get anything I want, with one option. I could not get anything that would show off my ass or my boobs. I could understand that because the only person that should be looking at my body is my mate. So I agreed to those terms. So I got a few things with shoes and everything else. I insisted that I didn't need that much, and he insisted that I did. After an hour of trying to tell him no, he ended up winning when he just started pulling things off the rack. “Okay, okay, you win, you win. Give me a minute, let me pick my size, will ya?” He started laughing as he hung the items back up and let me pick my size clothing. I decided to wear my hair down. I like to just put it in pigtails since it's short, so I like to do things with it. It was just over my shoulders. I wanted to cut it, but I decided not to. I want to see what I would look like with long hair. So maybe I'll let it grow until it got to my back and then keep it trimmed. Who knows? Looking into the mirror, I didn't look that bad. I put on light makeup, put my feet in my flats, and I was ready. I was so ready to get this done and over with. I was so nervous. I didn't know what they would think of me since Spike hadn’t had a mate for so long. He had told me about his first mate. It was a shame. Now I have him, and I'm not going anywhere. He's mine. And if she tries to come back, I’ll knock her block off. She won't want to mess with me. I'll kick her ass. After I was done, I walked into the living room asking if he was ready to go. He turned, facing me; his eyes went up and down as he walked toward me.

“You know what? If we didn’t have this dinner to go to, you would be on the bed screaming my name right now.” He leaned into my neck, inhaling my scent. I did the same to him. I knew he wasn’t playing when he said that because the last time he said it was two days ago when I dressed up for him. He pushed me down on the bed, and we walked out the door. I was more nervous now when I saw the cars pulling up and people piling out of them. So many people. Yikes. Well, here goes nothing. I just hope they like me.