“Alright, if you all will come with me.” Alyce shot me one last glare before scooping Rian up into her arms and leading the group around to the back of the pack house. We paused there for a moment and Tristan pulled out two blindfolds.
“This first surprise is for Jake and Faith, and Alyce has insisted you two wear these before we go any further.”
“Really Aly?” Dad gave her a look that said he was not thrilled, but would do it for her if she insisted.
“Yes, really. Put them on. Brandon and Kami will guide you so you don’t run into anything.”
Dad sighed, but gave in, putting his on while Mom giggled at him and put her own on. Brandon and Kami took their hands, guiding them down the path towards the house we had prepared for them. Alyce and Tristan had taken the lead, Cedric and I bringing up the rear.
I grinned when we stopped at the house and Alyce opened the door, headed in and moved off to the side as the rest of us wandered in behind her. Once everyone was settled she set Rian down next to Tristan and walked over to Dad and Mom. She took hold of the blindfolds, loosening them just enough that she could pull them off easily. “Ready?”
“Yes.” Dad said.
“Ready!” Mom laughed.
Alyce pulled the blindfolds off simultaneously as she exclaimed, “Ta-Da!”
They took a moment to process what they were seeing. Mom looked over at Alyce, “Is this… Is this for us?”
Alyce grinned and nodded. “Yes ma’am! I know it’s a little sparse, but I also know you prefer to make your space your own, so I didn’t get anything other than the basic necessities. It’s also smaller than what you had-”
Alyce was cut off by Mom pulling her into a hug that caught her off guard, followed by Dad hugging them both. “It’s perfect Alyce, thank you!” Mom laughed a bit at Alyce’s worries.
“Besides, they don’t have to put up with me anymore. At least not in the aspect of living under their roof.” I smirked a bit.
“And it’s still close enough to the pack house that we can get there in no time if necessary.” Dad murmured, more to himself than anyone in particular, the strategic side of his mind and his protective nature kicking in.
I looked at Alyce and rolled my eyes a little, opening a mind link to her. *Do you think they’ll ever treat us like adults?*
*You? Maybe, in like 5 years. Me? Probably not. Too much time spent looking after me in Red Moon. I’ll be getting ‘mom’ talks when I’m 118, much less 23 or even 30.*
*Pfft, we’ll both be getting ‘mom’ talks until the day she joins the Goddess. It’s gonna be a long, long couple hundred years.* I closed the mind link as she and I broke into laughter, the rest of the group looking at us like we were nuts.
Mom and Dad shot us both knowing looks, which just caused us to laugh harder.
“Care to share with the class?” Mom gave us that questioning mom look, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Nope.” Alyce and I said in unison, laughing even harder.
Mom shook her head at us and Dad hid a grin. Alyce gave those who had not been in on this surprise a brief tour of the house and explained to us about the pack fund when Mom started to question whether or not she had used her money for all this. Knowing that set Mom at ease and we rejoined the others.
“Onto surprise number two!” Alyce giggled in excitement.
Tristan picked Rian up and Rian snuggled into him as they joined Alyce at the head of the group. She led us out of the house and into the pack house. Cedric and I were greeted by some of the pack members as we made our way through to the stairs. We stopped there and some familiar blindfolds were produced.
“Mat and Cedric’s turn!” Alyce snickered a bit as she pressed the call button for the elevator. At least she wasn’t going to make us traverse the stairs blindfolded. Cedric and I both gave her a confused and curious look before putting on the blindfolds. Brandon and Kami once again taking on the roles of guides.
I heard the ding of the elevator's arrival a moment later and we were guided onto it. Someone, I’m assuming Alyce, pressed the floor button and the doors slid shut and we were off, or rather up. The ride was short and when the doors opened again, we were led out and down a hallway. It was a short walk and then I heard a door open.
“Almost there.” Kami said as once again we were moving, through the door I heard open if I had to guess.
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I heard everyone shuffling through the door, and I felt Alyce come up behind us as the others spread out a bit. “Ready?”
“I was ready the minute we had to put these things on. You’re torturing me now, Red.”
“Don’t think I won’t beat you just because you’ve been gone a few days.” Alyce growled at me.
I heard Cedric snickering beside me and I couldn’t help but laugh too, “Alright, alright. Stop torturing us and show us what the surprise is.”
“I don’t know, maybe I’ll torture you a bit longer.” She took her time loosening the blindfolds so she could easily remove them at the same time.
“Ok, on the count of three.” Kami giggled a bit before counting. “One…. Two…… Two and a half…..”
I groaned at her, “You’re as bad as Aly!”
The whole group laughed and Kami exclaimed, “Three!!”
Alyce pulled the blindfolds off, revealing the suite of rooms that they had prepared for us. Cedric gasped and I reached over pulling Alyce into a tight hug. “I knew you were planning to put us in a permanent room while we were gone, but this is above and beyond Aly. Thank you.”
She squeezed me tightly, Cedric joining us for a group hug. “Of course. No reason to have you guys crammed into a single room when we could give you a small apartment. It even has a small, but functional kitchenette so long as you don’t need a full size oven.”
She took one of my hands and one of Cedric's, dragging us through the rooms to show us what they had put together for us. Her last stop was the kitchenette she had mentioned. Cedric’s eyes lit up at the site and I smiled at her, thanking her without a word.
“Just don’t let Mattie in here unsupervised if there’s any actual cooking involved and you’ll be ok.”
I scoffed, “I’m not - that - bad. I can manage toast, frozen pizza and macaroni and cheese.”
Alyce rolled her eyes at me, “That’s not really cooking Mattie.”
“What about your french toast?”
“Ok, so you can cook french toast, but how many pans did you ruin learning?”
I huffed, not wanting to answer that. “No comment.”
Cedric laughed, patting my arm gently. “Don’t worry, I’m sure I can teach you.”
I smiled at him and we headed back out to the others. Mom and Dad were the first to head for us, engulfing us all in one big group hug. The others eventually joining, even Rian who wiggled his way through our legs to reach Alyce.
“Thank you Alyce, everyone. These were wonderful surprises and very thoughtful.” I heard my mother’s muffled voice coming from the center of the group.
“It’s the least I could do. You all have done so much for me over the last 10 years. Besides, that’s what family is for.”
There were some murmured agreements on that sentiment throughout the group and then we all stepped back, ending the group hug. Cedric pulled me into his side and I laid my head on his shoulder.
“And what a wonderful family we have.” Tristan murmured against Alyce’s head as he kissed the top of it lightly.
“Couldn’t have asked for a better one.” She smiled up at him before flashing her dazzling smile at the rest of us. “Best family ever.”
“We need to get Cedric’s truck unloaded. Anyone want to help?” I asked, eyeing them all.
“We will!” Kami volunteered herself and Brandon, who rolled his eyes a bit and grinned at her.
“Why do you think you can always boss me around?” He laughed as she dragged him out of the room, heading for the stairs.
“Oh quit your whining and be useful.” We heard her fussing at him as they left.
“I’m always useful!”
About that point we lost the conversation. We were dying. Alyce and Tristan swapped a knowing look, and I arched a brow at Alyce. She grinned at me with an innocent shrug. My eyes widened when I finally realized their line of thinking. She grinned as I caught on. I laughed, the others looking at me like I lost my mind as I said to Alyce, “Oh, that would make so much sense.”
“Wouldn't it though?” Alyce responded.
Mom and Dad just chuckled at us as they left to go to their own room. They had their own stuff to move.
“I’ll send a couple of Omega’s to help you guys. Alyce and I have some things to deal with.” Tristan offered as he picked Rian up.
This drew my attention to Rian and then to Alyce, “Fill me in later?”
Cedric smiled, “Thanks, appreciate the help.”
“Sure will.”
“If not, there will be 2am gossip!”
“If you do, there will be death!”
Cedric and I left the room laughing as we headed down to help the others unload our stuff. Tristan and Alyce headed the opposite direction, heading for their room.