3. I Love My Family

~ GENNY ~

I turned to my family, the smirk growing into a mischievous grin.

"Uh-oh. Aunty is being evil again," Mirabella announced as she tucked her hands into her baby-blue overalls.

Aribella jumped up and twirled in her pink princess dress as she giggled. "Yay! Aunty has an evil plan!"

Everyone just chuckled before my father asked, "What's going on through that devious mind of yours, cupcake?"

I looked at each of them before announcing, "They're here. The Ashcrofts have crossed the barrier." Then I paused, sensing another arrival. "It looks like their fan club just crossed as well."

My family grinned as nearby pack members snickered quietly. They all knew there was a reason the Silvercrest pack offered to host this year's mating ball. Everyone was ready to see justice served.

"Well, we should go and greet our guests. Charlie, are your parents and brother coming?" My mother turned toward my best friend and sister-in-law.

She smiled widely before answering, "Yup! They were going to wait until next week, but as soon as we found out about the early arrivals they rearranged their schedules. They'll be here tomorrow. My parents are hopeful that Edward will find his mate this year."

I hoped so, too. Edward is a good kid and he deserves to find his soulmate. This was his second mating ball. He hadn't been able to find his mate during his first one.

Charlie and I suspect it's because the pack that previously hosted the ball are a bunch of homophobic assholes who purposely failed to invite any wolves suspected of being queer.

We don't think that way. I mean look at Benedict and Gavin. They are perfect together and complement each other so naturally. And let's not forget how amazing they have been as part of my personal support system.

But I digress.

Just as everyone was about to head to the front to greet the guests, I called out to my father. "Hey, Dad! Wait a sec. I saw where the cracks in the barrier were and some were more concerning than I thought. They looked big enough for a mid-size wolf to get through."

"That's definitely concerning. I'll have Marcus meet us in my office after we greet everyone and have some guards check them out."

"Sounds good," I acknowledged.

As we made our way outside, I noticed that the girls had been picked up by two of their fathers. Theodore stood next to Charlie with his arm wrapped around her waist. I stood beside her, with my parents on my other side.

As the first group of black SUVs pulled into the driveway, I leaned over and whispered to Charlie, "You and I are going to talk later, missy."

She looked at me, confused, for a moment as my eyes flicked to her flat belly. When my eyes met hers, she smirked and gave me a wink.

I knew it!

I smiled at her before facing the fleet of vehicles. As soon as the doors opened, I schooled my face into a mask of indifference. But it didn't last long.

A genuine smile returned to my face as soon as I saw Aunt Mabel and Uncle Arthur emerge from their vehicle followed by the eldest Ashcroft son, Emmet, his mate, Allison, and their four-year-old son, Darren.

Darren couldn't help himself as he ran up the steps and slammed into my legs. "Genny! I missed you! Can you show me how to fold paper into more animals? I have a new shelf that is all empty."

I noticed four pairs of eyes staring at the scene in shock as they exited their vehicle. I guess they didn't know that their nephew was familiar with me.

The amused laughter of his parents and grandparents was hard to miss behind Darren. "It's all he talked about in the car. It's so good to see you," Allison said as she wrapped her arms around me.

As soon as she released her hold on me, Emmet pulled me into a brotherly hug. "Hey, munchkin. You holding up okay?"

I smiled up at him before responding, "I'll be fine."

He gave me an assessing look, not sure if he believed me entirely. Then he leaned down and whispered in my ear, "As soon as you have some free time, we need to talk. Don't worry; the boys don't know anything about where you've been. This is something else. It's important."

I looked at him with confusion on my face as he pulled away and gave me a tiny nod. "Okay, how about we meet in my dad's office after lunch. Do you want him there?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Emmet released me and moved over to greet Charlie and my three brothers.

As was their tradition, Aunt Mabel and Uncle Arthur pulled me into a three-way hug. After a few minutes, Aunt Mabel cupped my face. "You look amazing, sweetheart."

"Thank you, Aunt Mabel."

Uncle Arthur leaned in for another hug as he whispered, "Are you ready to give them hell?"

When he pulled away I smiled and gave him a subtle wink. My smile instantly faded when I looked toward the bottom of the steps.

The Ashcroft quadruplets. The four boys I once loved had been replaced by four men who abandoned me without a second thought.

A devious idea popped into my head as soon as I noticed that their heads kept looking back and forth between myself and the twins. This was going to be too much fun.

Sending a mind-link to my family, Charlie included, I started with a question. "Anyone notice that the quads look a little confused by the resemblance between me and the girls?"

Charlie caught on the fastest. "Ooh. If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, I'm so in."

"Look, Genny, I get it. Our daughters may look like miniature versions of you, but do you really think they could be that dumb?" Theodore asked.

"Yes, yes they are. I want everyone to know that I am so down with this and I'm going to tell the girls to play along as well," Gideon said.

We all started snickering as we heard Malcom and Gideon whisper the plan to the girls. The older Ashcrofts heard it too and I almost thought they wouldn't play along until I heard mischievous giggles from all around.

I guess some pack members heard as well and soon the word would be out. Everyone was going to play along. Let's see how long it takes them to figure it out.

My mother added, "Just make sure to tell them how to address everyone."

Malcom's gasp through the link almost shot down the whole plan until he commented, "Mom, I don't think we need to coach the girls on this. They caught on fast and are just happy to be part of one of Aunty's 'evil plans'."

I love my family.

The four brothers slowly climbed the steps, their gazes still going back and forth between myself and the girls.

After escaping from my brother's arms, Aribella ran over and stood between Charlie and me and shouted, "Mommy, look! They are just like me and Mirabella. They all look the same."

This girl is good. She had strategically placed herself between us before saying "Mommy" and let their minds do the rest of the work.

Charlie also caught on and without even thinking, we both reached out our hands to Aribella while we shook our heads. She instantly took both of our hands after turning to face the four brothers that stood frozen in place mid-step.

Dad's voice drifted through my mind, "Oh, this is going to be more fun than I thought!"

I smiled for a fraction of a second before letting it drop as I watched the brothers continue their ascension to the entrance. As soon as they reached our group, they greeted my parents swiftly and politely.

Alexander reached me first. Behind his gold, wire-rimmed glasses, his ocean-blue eyes locked with mine for a second. Then he smiled softly and held out his hand. "Guinevere, it's good to see you again."

Keeping my expression neutral, I gave him a small nod and replied flatly, "Alexander," ignoring the hand he expected me to take.

His face tightened at my refusal, and I noticed a slight tremble as he dropped his extended hand. Then he turned slightly and knelt down to be eye level with Aribella.

"Hello. My name is Alexander, what's your name?"

"I'm Aribella, and this is my mommy and my aunty," she said happily as she swung mine and Charlie's arms, never giving away who was who.

Alexander looked up at me with a slightly pained look and paused. Then he stood up, clasped his hands in front of him before politely nodding to Charlie.

"Hello, Charlotte. It's good to see you again."

Charlie raised an eyebrow at him before slightly nodding in return. Alexander cleared his throat before moving down the line to Theodore.

"Hey, Mon..." Clearing his throat to correct himself, Reid shoved his hands into his pockets. "Hey, Genny. You look well."

"Reid," I said, giving him the same treatment as Alexander.

He looked down at the ground and then back at me before moving on.

With a wide smile, Rowan approached me, coming a little closer than his two brothers had. I took a small step back, not giving him a chance to say anything. "Rowan, welcome back to Silvercrest."

He looked like he wanted to hug me. I didn't give him a chance; I simply turned toward the final quad.

Damien was staring at me with a restrained and hard expression. His fists were clenched at his side. He locked his ocean-blue eyes with mine before only saying, "Guinevere."

I didn't back down and stared him down with an equally hard expression. "Damien."

He stared for just a fraction of a second more before looking down at Aribella, who gave him a huge smile, and then he looked back at me before moving on.

As if sensing the veiled tension, Aunt Mabel spoke up. "I think we should all go freshen up. Celeste, I'm assuming we're in our usual suite?"

My mother placed her hand delicately against her chest and gave Aunt Mabel a look of mocked offense. "Of course you are, Mabel. You know that no one else uses that suite but the Ashcrofts."

The two women stared at each other before falling over laughing. Everyone but the quad joined in. They genuinely looked confused.

Considering they hadn't been here in six years, I'm not surprised. I guess they had no idea their family still visited regularly.

What I didn't understand was why they were there now. The rest of the Ashcroft family and the Arclaines have remained close all of these years. Yet the quad have avoided us the entire time.

What changed?