Cricket (Cricket Kendall Book 1), page 35
I’ve barely finished buckling my seatbelt, and Theo hasn’t even turned the key in the ignition yet when I start crying. Fuck, it makes me feel worse and more humiliated for the guys to see me like this. Theo jerks his head up in alarm. When he realizes I’m crying, he trembles angrily and punches the steering wheel.
“I change my mind.” He growls viciously. “I am going to fucking kill him.”
He gets out of the jeep and roughly slams the door closed. I watch as he storms back up to Hawthorne’s house, heading straight to the backyard.
Hollis reaches forward to unbuckle my seatbelt. He gently grabs me under both arms to pull me into the back so I’m sitting squished between him and Cas. They hug and comfort me, but I can’t stop crying.
“Please don’t cry, baby,” Cas whispers. He kisses the top of my head and rests his head against mine.
“I just feel so humiliated. I really want your family to like me, and I thought they did. I don’t want them to look at me like how everyone else does.”
“Our families completely adore you. You might not have picked up on it, but our moms were fighting over you. Everyone knows Rylan is an idiot.” Hollis holds my hand and rubs his thumb over my knuckles soothingly.
I wipe the tears from my eyes, trying to focus on their consoling words. “I think I freaked them all out with my magic, too.”
“So, what?” Cas shrugs. “We fucking love your magic.”
“You make us so much stronger. We’re incredibly proud you’re a part of our pack. It might sound stupid, but we want to show you off to our families.” Hollis squeezes my hand reassuringly.
I smile shakily until I realize they’re still shirtless. I let my eyes wander over them, and I lean against Cas with a sigh. “I was having so much fun with you guys. I just can’t believe Rylan had to ruin everything.”
Hollis’s eyes are glued to my legs, and he lightly runs his fingers over my thigh, just under the hem of my dress. “Well, if Theo doesn’t beat the shit out of him, Hawthorne probably will.”
Cas nuzzles the top of my head and groans. “I can barely smell you underneath all the chlorine in your fucking hair now.”
I laugh in surprise. Hollis grins and leans forward so he can nuzzle my hair too. He snickers at Cas and smirks. “I can still smell her.”
Having them sniff me tickles. It makes me giggle, which only encourages them more. They sniff me all over my hair, face, and neck. I squeal at them. “You guys are so dumb!”
“You love it though.” Cas gives me a lopsided smile.
I can’t deny it. I’m smiling like crazy.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Theo
My wolf trembles in anger as I slam the jeep door closed. I grind my teeth, forcing myself to remain calm. As calm as fucking possible, anyway. Cricket cries all the time over dumb shit, like cheesy movies or the guys and me doing anything remotely cute with her. But I’ve never seen her cry because someone hurt her fucking feelings.
I’m going to fucking kill Rylan.
When I walk into the backyard, everyone seems on edge. Cas’s mom stands face-to-face with Hawthorne as she snarls at him. “Tell us what you’re hiding right now!”
Hawthorne looks irritated, but I don’t give a shit. If he wants to keep information from the pack, that’s his problem. My eyes scan the backyard until I spot Rylan hunched near the door on the patio. I bare my teeth and rush over to him using my wolf’s speed.
He flinches the moment I appear in front of him, and I snarl viciously. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
He shakes his head, a pitiful whimper escaping his throat. I want to shift so fucking badly. Instead, I punch him in his stupid face, forcing him to stumble back.
“You made Cricket cry, you motherfucking piece of shit!”
“I’m sorry!” Rylan yelps, lowering his eyes and hunching his shoulders further. “I was only joking around.”
His refusal to defend himself, to submit so easily to me, only makes me more furious. My vision is practically fucking red as I punch him again. My wolf is so close to the edge. If I shift, I know I’m going to tear him apart.
“She was already nervous. How would you feel if I humiliated your mate in front of a group of strangers?” I ask, my voice rough from growling.
Rylan winces and holds his hands up. He knows he’s outmatched. “I wasn’t thinking! She didn’t seem nervous, and you guys were acting so fucking nuts with her! Besides, you don’t really know for sure she’s your mate, do you?”
God, why won’t he shift? I can’t put him in his place fully unless he does. And I can’t shift first. He’s weaker than I am, practically an omega. I punch him again.
“That’s enough.” Hawthorne growls at me, using his alpha voice.
“Make him shift!” I turn to glare at my uncle, using my alpha voice in return.
He walks over to me quickly, putting himself between me and Rylan as he bares his teeth. “Don’t forget your place here, pup. You’re not alpha of your own pack just yet.”
I breathe angrily through my nose, not backing down. “Please, make him fucking shift.”
“No. You know it’s not a fair fight,” he says. He looks at Rylan, taking stock of his injuries. He has a split lip, a black eye, and some bruises forming along his jaw. He deserves way fucking worse. Those injuries will heal within half an hour. Hawthorne must agree because he growls threateningly at him. “I’ll finish dealing with you later.”
Everyone else has been quiet since I returned to the backyard. There are a few tense seconds of silence until my mom speaks up. “So, it’s you? Cricket is your mate?”
Violetta stands up angrily. “We were told she was the mate of one of our sons. There’s no reason it can’t be Hollis. She’s perfect for him!”
“You can’t be serious.” Althea scoffs. “She obviously has the most chemistry with my Cassian. You all saw how protective he was of her!”
“And you also just heard her using an alpha voice on your precious Cassian! What does that tell you?” my mom says scornfully.
Are they fucking serious right now? Our moms are fighting over which of us is her mate? Do they not even care that our mate is in pain, crying because of the way she was treated here? I snarl, capturing everyone’s attention. They may not realize it yet, but I’m the strongest wolf in this fucking yard right now.
“Cricket is our mate. All three of us.” Let them fucking argue or say a word against her again.
While everyone gasps and stares at me in shock, I meet my dad’s eyes, challenging him. I haven’t spoken to him since I heard him talking disrespectfully about Cricket and my pack brothers. He lowers his gaze, submitting to me.
“Is that even possible?” Sumner asks Hawthorne.
“It’s not entirely unheard of,” Hawthorne says. He crosses his arms and stands taller to appear more confident. “I found a female elder from a pack in Jasper, Alberta who’s seen wolves with multiple mates before. She’s asked to visit us so she can meet Cricket and your sons for herself on the girl’s eighteenth birthday when it’s most likely for her mate marks to appear.”
Hope blossoms in my chest. This is great fucking news. I can’t wait to tell Hollis!
Hawthorne gives me a look that makes me second-guess myself, and I raise my eyebrows at him.
“She says Cricket will need to make a choice when the time comes.” Hawthorne sighs. “Aurora believes this is why her visions are becoming more unclear and sporadic concerning the four of you.”
No. No, no, no. That can’t be true. That can’t happen. Cricket loves all of us. I know she does.
“She’s going to choose all of us,” I say. Our moms start bickering again, saying it’s impossible and will never work. I growl until they’re silent. “You don’t get it. It’s so easy, so natural with her. I love Cricket, and I trust Cas and Hollis with her. Like right now, I know she’s upset. I left her in the fucking car, crying. But I know Hollis and Cas are better at comforting her than I am, and I trust them to do that.”
I glance at my dad again. He’s frowning, and I try not to show how much that hurts. I swallow the lump in my throat and continue, “When she’s away from me, I miss her. But if she’s with one of them, that makes it so much easier to bear. And sharing her between us? She doesn’t even have her mate marks yet, but already I feel my connection to Cas and Hollis getting stronger too.”
My dad clears his throat. “My son, Hollis, and Cas have always been closer than most pack-siblings. When they were growing up, we assumed it was because they were so close in age. But I think this might be the real reason.”
Does he really mean that? Has he changed his mind about accepting my mate and relationship with the guys? Or does he just feel guilty for pissing me off?
“Do Hollis and Cassian feel the same?” Hollis’s mom asks. “They’re okay with this if this is true?”
“Hollis feels the same,” I say. I hesitate briefly and add, “Cas has been a little more reserved when it comes to his feelings for Cricket. We’re going to wait to tell him until Cricket’s birthday.”
Althea glowers, crossing her arms haughtily. “Even if Cassian goes along with this insanity, there’s no guarantee Cricket will choose to be mated with three different males.”
I don’t know how to make them understand. But also, there’s a tiny voice in the back of my head telling me maybe she’s right. Even Hawthorne, Aurora, and this mysterious elder female seem to think it’s a longshot Cricket will choose three mates.
Rylan clears his throat, surprising everyone. He’s been quiet since Hawthorne broke up our fight. “I know my opinion is worth shit, but I’ve just gotta say, I agree with the kid. I don’t think witchy girl can choose between them.”
“What makes you say that?” Hawthorne asks calmly.
“Well, before everyone got here, Cricket was hungry. Theo and Cas got into a scrap in the kitchen over which of them was going to feed her. They each made her a sandwich and fucking begged her to eat theirs first. And you know what witchy girl did?” Rylan smiles and claps his hands together dramatically. “She fucking smashed the sandwiches together and ate ‘em both at the same time.”
Sumner and my dad laugh in surprise. Violetta pats her hair down with a nervous gesture and asks, “Hollis didn’t make her a sandwich?”
Rylan shakes his head in amusement. “Nope, he sat back and enjoyed the show with witchy girl leaning against him. And he got her something to drink.”
I grin at him, and Rylan smiles back. He takes a few steps closer to me. “Seriously, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to humiliate her. Honestly, I was trying to embarrass you guys more than anything. She’s fucking cool, dude, and I meant it earlier when I welcomed her to the family!”
Hawthorne sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You welcomed her to the family? Do you realize she still has no clue about any of this? She has no idea what it means yet to be a part of a pack.”
“Everybody here wants her in the family, right?” Rylan spreads his arms out in bewilderment.
I look around the yard. Judging by everyone’s faces, Rylan’s not wrong. They might not all be fully on board with us sharing a mate, but it’s obvious everyone likes Cricket and thinks she’ll be a good addition to our pack.
“I’m sorry for punching you,” I say to Rylan. Now that I’ve calmed down, I know I shouldn’t have pushed him. What he said about Cricket was out of line, but he obviously didn’t mean anything by it.
Rylan grins broadly. Everyone else continues staring at me, but I don’t have anything else to say to them. They’ll either support us or they won’t. I meet my dad’s eyes one more time, and he stands up straighter with a slight smile. I hesitate, wanting to say something.
But Cricket’s waiting for me. I’ll talk to him later.
Cricket
While we’re waiting for Theo, Hollis and Cas keep trying to make me laugh. They ask if they can come over to Aurora’s to watch a movie before they go home for the night. Fifteen minutes later, we look up in surprise when Theo opens the driver’s side door.
He peers at us and chuckles. “Fuck, you guys look really cute together back there like that.” Theo doesn’t take his eyes off me, and he holds his hand out towards Hollis. “Give me her phone.”
Hollis hands my phone over, and I smile when Theo holds it up in front of us. Cas tickles my side at the last second, so I’m laughing when Theo takes the picture. He hands me the phone with a soft smile on his face.
“I punched Rylan a couple of times before Hawthorne stopped me. Everyone was really pissed off at him. You’ll still come back over here another time, right?”
“Of course,” I tell him genuinely. “I really like everybody. I just, you know, I don’t want them to think I’m some weird, slutty witch trying to corrupt you guys.”
“Little witch, I promise nobody thinks that.” Theo scrunches his nose at me while Hollis and Cas laugh. He starts the jeep and turns around to smile at us again. “Alright, where are we headed?”
“Let’s get her some ice cream first,” Hollis says. “She said we can go back to her place to watch a movie after.”
Theo nods and backs out of the driveway. Downtown Emery Ridge looks busy with lots of people walking up and down the sidewalks. Theo parks across the street from Flora & Feathers. I pout when the guys pull their tee shirts on before getting out of the car. It’s seriously a travesty. It should be illegal for them to cover up their abs like that. Hollis hands me my sandals out of my bag. I think it’s the cutest thing ever that he’s been keeping track of it all day. I definitely would have forgotten my stuff at Hawthorne’s house.
Theo threads his fingers through mine and swings our hands back and forth as we make our way down the street to The Sweet Spot. On our way there, we pass a group of kids I vaguely recognize from school. A guy and two girls.
The guy grins in surprise when he sees us. He’s tall with smooth, light brown skin, freckles, crazy long eyelashes, and wavy black hair. “Yo, what’s good?”
“Not much. Just going to get our girl some ice cream!” Theo fist bumps him and holds my hand up between us while giving me the cutest smile.
Mr. Eyelashes gives me a radiant smile. “It’s Cricket, right? I’m Ralph.”
I can’t help but smile back. He’s cute. Nowhere near as attractive as Theo, Cas, and Hollis, obviously. Theo introduces me to the girls. Ariel, Ralph’s sister, and Keira, Ralph’s girlfriend. Ariel has similar features as Ralph with curly black hair, freckles, and the same rich skin tone. Keira has light blonde hair with pink and blue streaks throughout it, and pretty blue eyes.
“We’ve been wanting to introduce ourselves all week, but we weren’t really sure how to approach you,” Ariel says nervously.
Keira nods and glances at the guys behind me. “Your entourage can be kind of intimidating.”
I laugh and glance at Theo, and turn to grin at Hollis and Cas behind me. “Who, these guys? Nah.”
The girls giggle, and Ralph looks back and forth between me and the guys in amusement. Ralph turns to his girlfriend and sister. “Feel like getting some ice cream too?”
The girls agree, and their group walks down the sidewalk beside us. Theo tells me Ralph is a senior, and he’s on our school’s hockey team. The girls are in Theo’s Yearbook Class, and they’re in the grade below us.
When we step into the shop, I look around to see if Brennan is here. There are a few people in line at the ice cream counter and at some tables. I spot Brennan and Erin sitting at a table in the corner by the candy counter.
I run over to them and put my arms around their shoulders, lowering my head between theirs. “Fancy seeing you here!”
They seem surprised and extremely excited to see me. Brennan jumps up and pulls me into a hug. “Oh my god, we were just looking at the picture you posted on Instagram. So freaking adorable!”
Ariel and Keira come up behind us, and Ariel giggles. “Right? We were just talking about it before we ran into Cricket outside!”
Brennan gives the girls a weird look and pulls me protectively against his side. He motions to himself and Erin dramatically. “Back off. Cricket is our new best friend.”
“Actually, Cricket is our best friend.” Cas scowls darkly. Hollis nudges him and gives him a look. Cas sighs and rolls his eyes. “But I guess you and Erin can be her number three and four.”
“Who are one and two if there are three of you?” Erin tilts her head and furrows her eyebrows in confusion.
Theo gets a goofy grin on his face and points to himself, Cas, and Hollis. “The three of us are her number one, and her brothers are both her number two!”
God, they’re so dumb. No wonder I freaking love them so much.
Erin, Brennan, Keira and Ariel giggle. I give the guys a tender smile and glance at Ralph, who’s standing next to Hollis. He’s totally checking out Brennan, letting his eyes wander over his body greedily. When he catches me watching him, he flinches. He turns away from me and wraps his arm around Keira’s shoulders. She smiles in surprise, and he pulls her into a passionate kiss.
Nobody else even seems to notice. I bite my lip and glance around at everyone. Hollis raises his eyebrows at me, silently asking me what’s wrong. I shake my head and let it go. If Ralph’s in the closet, or if he’s crushing on Brennan and doesn’t want his girlfriend to find out, that’s definitely not my business.
Brennan pulls his phone out and shows me the screen. I smile when I see a picture of me with Hollis and Cas in the back of Theo’s jeep. I look so incredibly happy, and the guys are smiling at me instead of at the camera. I raise my eyes to Brennan and chuckle. “I haven’t seen this yet. Theo took it on my phone. I didn’t realize he’d posted it already.”
