38

Tino's POV

"So what are you telling me? You're leaving?" Q's face held so much sadness as he stared at me.

Koa and I came back to the packhouse not too long ago. Much to my dismay, we couldn't stay in our bubble for too long. But I thought it best that I tell everyone about our plan. Koa thought it would be too soon, seeing as we still had things to figure out but I didn't care. I couldn't hold this information in.

I'd rather them all be prepared.

"Yeah, I'm going to give Vincent the Alpha title and I'm just going to be the Luna."

We were sitting on the couch in the entertainment room, a random movie playing in the background. But the tension between us was still heavy.

"I'm only going to be two hours away. You can always come visit, and I of course will come here. It's just that Koa and I need this. A fresh start, and he needs to be with the rest of his pack. But also I think I need this too. Somewhere new."

Q sighed and leaned his head back on the couch and turned to look at me.

"Hey man, I understand. If this is what you need to do then, do it. I support you." Q clapped my shoulder with his hand and a soft smile appeared on his face. "When are you going to tell your parents?"

Part of me didn't want to say anything to them. I just wanted to kind of disappear. Not that they would care. They aren't super present in my life so would it matter if I was no longer on the territory?

But I knew I had to. But first I needed to talk to Vincent and see if he would take the title, and then I would have to tell Victoria. Then we would have to tell all of Koa's family. This would mean Kona would stay here and be Luna and the rest of her family would leave back. Who knows if that's something she would want to do?

All of it caused my head to hurt. Too many moving parts to consider and it made leaving an even harder task.

"I will at some point. This weekend Koa and I are going to visit his pack and he is going to show me around. And take us to his house, the packhouse." I told him truthfully.

"You know, Lycans live lavish. Everything they have is madly expensive."

"If they are anything like Koa, I wouldn't expect anything less." I slightly chuckled.

It wasn't just Koa and I, but I didn't need to tell him all the details. It was actually, me and Vincent plus the whole Mickaya crew. We were going to meet the rest of Koa's giant family and have dinner with them. Which I was nervous but also incredibly excited for.

"When do you plan on moving officially?"

"Two months? Possibly sooner if we find out that I'm pregnant. Which is fucking crazy of me to think about and say." I huffed out and groaned slightly at the thought of having a child. "We want to be settled in the pack, you know for the kid and all." Q nodded in understanding and slowly stretched out.

"I can't wait to be an uncle." We both chuckled at that. I knew there was a grand possibility that I was pregnant right now, so I will be taking precautionary measures to make sure the babies are healthy. If they are there.

"I don't mean to ruin the mood, but I have to ask. What happened to Alcander?" His eyes were facing the ground as if he was embarrassed to even ask me. But he had no reason to be. I understood why he wanted to know.

"He's gone."

Q's body went stiff as he let out a shaky breath. I didn't tell him all the details but he did know he was caught and what he was planning on doing. He just nodded and turned to me with a small smile.

"Good. That's good."

Q and I spent the rest of the afternoon watching kid movies and eating snacks. It was nice to have this time again. And who knew when the next time it would be? I was just happy that it was happening.

Apparently that Dieter's werewolf was still here and he and Koa kicked it off. They were...hanging out. Like as friends. Koa told me that they were sparring together in the training room for fun.

I got a good look at the guy when he first walked and talked to Koa. He was huge and scary looking, especially with that scar on his face. But I could see why they would get along. Dieter didn't talk much, from what I could tell. And he was big and brawny like Koa. Both had long hair too.

But I was happy for Koa to make a new friend. He needed it. Sometimes I wondered if he was ever lonely. It was also nice that Dieter's territory was not too far from here and they would be able to visit each other.

"Tino!" Her all-too-familiar voice rang in my ears as she stomped into the room. Her arms crossed and her bright eyes stared back at me. "Where the fuck have you been?"

"Vic, I was on my way to see you after we finished the movie," I told her truthfully, but I could tell she didn't believe me.

"Fuck you!" I sat there and just smirked at her outburst. I knew she didn't mean it, I knew she just missed me. "You and Vincent have been fucking MIA. Do you fuckers hate me? I'm sorry for slapping you but damn. You bitches can't even come to say hi? To enwrapped with your mates and their family that you forgot about me?"

"You want to join?" I asked her and motioned to the empty spot next to me. Her attitude was still going strong as she squinted her eyes at me. But it only lasted a second as she sat down next to me and pushed herself right against me.

I let out a soft chuckle as she took my popcorn from my hand and started eating it. But before I could even focus on the movie, Jonah walked in and cuddles up next to Q. Then Vincent walked in and joined us on the now full couch.

"You gotta start the movie over," Vincent said as he squeezed himself in right next to Victoria.

I groaned and rolled my eyes in annoyance as Jonah and Victoria agreed. I grabbed the remote and had it replay.

And that is how I spent the rest of the day. Relaxing and cuddling up with my family. Talking about nonsense, old memories, and sharing stories. It made my heart full but it also made it ache. Knowing that once I move I wouldn't have access to this 24/7.

But I was okay with that. Because it made me savor these moments even more. And for the next two months or for however long I would be here, I would continue to create more moments like this.

I'd have to make sure Koa and I's new house can hold everyone when they came to visit. Not only our little family we are creating but our extended family as well.

For once the future didn't look and seem so scary.

****

"You should have been there, Tino."

Koa and I were currently packing for our trip tomorrow. He came back from his hangout with a huge smile on his face and has been talking about it ever since.

"Dieter is a fighter. He taught me all these new moves. And he was quick on his feet. He almost pinned me down a few times too. Got a few licks in. It was nice to fight someone as big as me. Also, the guy is hilarious. You wouldn't think so because he barely talked before. But once we got comfortable with each other we couldn't shut up."

Koa had been trying to fold the same shirt for the past ten minutes. He was too focused on his story to do anything else. I had never seen him like this before. It warmed my heart to see.

"Sounds like a bromance is brewing," I told him as I gently grabbed the shirt from his hand and folded it for him.

"He's real cool, Tino. You'll like him when you meet him." I smiled at him as he sat on the bed. "I got his number, and we are already planning the next time we hang out."

"What's his pack like?"

"Huge. Guy has like a thousand or something members. Bout as big as mine. He told me how he trains them and Tino, I might have to take some tips from him. Their training programs are intense but extremely efficient. I'll have to talk about this when I get home tomorrow. I think it'll help us." Koa let out a sigh of contentment.

I loved seeing him like this. And if Dieter made him this happy, then he can come around as much as he'd like.

"Enough about me, what did you end up doing today?" He stayed laying on the bed unmoving. I guess I was going to be the only one packing for the both of us.

"I just watched movies with Vin, Vic, and Q. It was nice," I told him as I finished putting the last things away.

"I talked with Q a bit about how if I am pregnant I should take precautions these next couple days. Like no drinking..." Koa sat up on his elbows.

"Well then get ready for everyone to know. When my whole family gets together we always play a drinking game called 'Madness'."

I groan out in annoyance, of course, that would happen. I mean I don't know if I'm pregnant but I also don't want to ruin anything if I am.

"Maybe we can bring a vodka bottle, fill it with water, and I just use that," I suggested but Koa just laughed at me.

"I wish it were that easy baby. But that's not how the game works." I anxiously bit my lip as I thought of a way to get around this. Koa noticed and he stood and walked toward me. Putting his hand on my hips and pulling me to him.

"It'll be okay. We can also always say you don't drink. Or that you're feeling sick." He said trying to reassure me. But it was only working slightly. "And they do notice, we just tell them the truth. We don't know, we're just being careful. And if you want. I won't drink either."

I ran my hands up his chest and wrapped them around his neck and sighed.

"No, it's okay. You can have fun with your family. I will be just fine." I leaned up and kissed his lips quickly. "How many people will be at the dinner?"

"It's not so much a dinner, but a cookout. At least that's what we call it."

"A cookout?"

"Yeah. It'll be outside, we get chairs and tables all setup. My grandpa and uncles grill. So does Dad sometimes. My mom and aunts all cook too. My cousins are out running around playing games. Like spades and spoons."

"Spades? Spoons?" I have never heard of any of these games before in my life.

"Don't worry I'll teach you. You'll be fine." I nodded trusting what Koa was telling me.

"It will be both sides of my family, but my mom's side is so big it'll seem like it's just them. But my Dads family will be there too. My grandparents him, and then his sister and my two cousins on that side."

"My goddess, you have a big fucking family. And all lycans..." Now, I'm getting nervous.

"Tino, I see your worry." He gently squeezed my sides. "You will fight right in. They all will love you I promise."

"Are we going to be the only gay couple?"

"No, Kendall and Tay will be there of course. And then my Uncle Raymond and his mate Uncle Chris will be there." I nodded in understanding and took a deep breath. "You worry too much. You're going to love them. They are going to love you. I promise."

He leaned forward and kissed me yet again. It was soft and chaste, but that's all I needed right now. My ass was very sore. Excruciatingly sore.

"What's the plan for the morning?" I asked quickly changing the subject.

"We will head out around eight, and we will of course all be driving separately. Then I will show you the house. And then take you around the pack to meet people if you're up for it. Then the next day is the cookout which starts around twelveish."

He pulled away and grabbed the suitcase and zipped it up. Then he moved it right beside the door.

"Will we have some alone time?" I thought I was being smooth with my question but he smirked at me and leaned against the wall.

"I will make sure that we have more than enough alone time."

I felt my face heat up, I can't believe I am still getting nervous and flustered around him. He smiles at me and that smile melts me from the inside out.

Fuck. I love this man.

"I should tell you, Cristoff will be joining." I scoffed at him and rolled my eyes.

"Of course he is."

"He's part of our family now, you're going to have to be nice to him at some point."

"I can be cordial, Koa." I huffed out and Koa had an amused look on his face. "What? Didn't think I knew big words?" I teased.