"Everything is so sweet in this house," groaned my uncle. "My teeth hurt."

My grandma smacked his side. "For such a large man, you sure whine like a child. Eat your cake and be quiet about it."

Darius rolled his eyes but did as he was told. Archer was staring at the two options. One of the cakes was vanilla and the other chocolate. The vanilla one was rather basic, while the chocolate one had two layers with ganache between them. It was much better, in my opinion, and I was going to enjoy every bite.

One-by-one people started to migrate into the living room. Archer watched them leave, holding his plate against his chest.

I finished my slice and went to get another. "The chocolate one is better." I used the server to lift up a piece. "Let me see your plate."

Archer offered it to me. I set the cake onto it before dishing myself one.

He swallowed hard. "It doesn't bother you that they make fun of you for liking this?"

"Nope." I took a big bite.

With a sigh, he tried it and his face lit up.

"Told you it was good. I'd crave my grandma's cake when I was at Bloodhound. She'd send me sweets all the time because, as you know, most werewolves don't like it."

"My dad would give it to me," said Archer. "My father would look disgusted whenever my dad and I would share a box of chocolates."

"My parents are the same." I wiped some frosting off the corner of my mouth. "So what are you thinking? They didn't traumatize you too bad, right?"

"They were nice." He cleared his throat. "Your grandma..."

"She's one of a kind," I laughed. "I warned you, though. She never let Xavier get away with anything and Darius is the same. She has all these alphas won over."

He smiled slightly. "I like her. She's refreshing."

I finished my cake and went to the fridge. Getting out the milk, I took off the lid.

"Saigon Perri," said a stern voice. "Get a cup now."

With a sheepish smile, I turned to my grandma. "I was just about to."

She went into the living room as I took two glasses out of the cupboard.

Archer was struggling not to laugh. "Saigon Perri," he chuckled. "She has you pretty whipped as well."

Shaking my head, I poured us a glass. "Well, she had to deal with my teenage years. I'm positive she's part werewolf and is fooling us all. She has the instincts of one. I could never get away with anything."

"That would be interesting." He grinned at me. "But, I'd believe it."

I leaned down to his level and Archer closed the gap. Our lips touched.

"Thank you for coming," I said.

"Sorry for being a pain in the ass to get here." He kissed me again. "It's not as bad as I thought."

I put my arm around his shoulders. "I'm more worried about your parents. Rupert still scares the shit out of me."

"I'm sure you'll do just fine." Lifting my chin, he kissed me and took it deeper.

I heard a creak in the entryway. My eyes shot to the small woman standing there, clutching her chest with a dreamy look on her face. Archer immediately turned away.

He cleared his throat. "The bags, they're still in the truck. We better bring them in." He hurried out of the kitchen and dipped past my grandmother.

Leaning over the counter, I watched him leave through the front door. "Thanks for ruining that."

She eyed me with a slight grin. "Don't be so sensitive. There are enough gay men in this family that it's nothing new. I find it quite adorable to see a bunch of werewolves turn to mush and be a little romantic for a change." She walked over and put the milk away.

"You just want grandpups?" I picked at the crumbles along the edge of the cake pan.

"You said it, not me." She threw away some of the used paper plates. "And"—she faced me—"I also really like Archer. He's a little quiet and reserved. I worry about Titus and Darius teasing him too much." She pressed a finger to her lips. "You should also know, Aden is trying."

"Trying?"

"He takes more after me than you think. My mama bear mentality has put plenty of alphas in their place, a daddy bear can be just as terrifying."

"He's still upset about what happened with Willow?"

"He won't say it," she replied. "But, I can sense some tension, so for Archer's sake, don't be joking around about your relationship. Don't complain that he makes you clean or take out the garbage."

"Grandma," I groaned. "What does that have to do with anything?"

She shrugged and started wiping down the counters. "I can tell you love him, but sometimes we complain about the ones we love. People don't get to know the whole story, only what we tell them. So don't paint Archer in a light that might make your dad think he doesn't care about you."

"I wasn't planning to." I glanced at the window to see Archer standing there with his head resting against the side of the truck. "Do you think he cares about me?"

My grandmother chuckled to herself. "If the last couple hours were an act, it was an award-winning performance. The poor thing looked sick for most of dinner."

"I've fallen for him, grandma."

"I know." She squeezed me to her. "So, don't mess it up with his parents or yours."

Letting out a deep breath, I hugged her back. "It's good to know you're rooting for us."

"He makes you happy, Saige, but I think he needs help with those bags." She shooed me out of the kitchen.

Hurrying outside, I jogged down the sidewalk and slipped up behind him. I wrapped my arms around his waist. "I thought you might have made a run for it."

"I'm trying to maintain my dignity, alright?" He let out a huff.

"My grandma thought it was cute." I kissed the side of his head. "There are more gay men in this family than straight."

He turned to me. "Your family is so different. It's messing with my head."

"A little bit." I lifted the bag out of the truck.

Archer snatched my wrist. "I just realized something."

"Hmm..."

His eyes met mine. "We'll be staying in the same room?"

I shrugged. "I can sleep on the couch."

He groaned. "No, that's stupid." Archer tugged at his hair. "We've had sex for god sake. I should've slept in your bed for a few nights. Now it's going to be awkward. Are we sharing a room with anyone?"

I shook my head. "No, Jagger and Raven have their own. Your parents will take one and my other grandparents go upstairs, so that leaves one for us."

"Are Daven and Jesse coming?"

"I'm not sure. They hadn't decided yet, but they'll go with Raven and Jagger or the living room. Because you know the moon thing is a pretty good reason why we can't be kicked out into the living room."

"You can't tell anyone about that, remember?"

"Half the people here already know," I said under my breath.

"And it'll stay that way."

"Sure." I picked up the bags.

Archer didn't move. He was looking sick again. The color had left his skin and he was breathing heavily.

"What's wrong?

"Someone is going to find out," he muttered. "It'll get back to the pack." He searched the sky as the stars and moon started to come out."

Dropping the bags, I hugged him. "If the pack ever found out, I'd put a stop to it."

"That would only make it worse."

I clasped his cheeks. "There's nothing wrong with you."

"The pack doesn't think so," he muttered. "I'm defective to them."

"You're not to me." I pressed his head to my shoulder. "We'll figure it out. Now, let's get inside before someone comes looking for us." Giving him an oversize grin, I rubbed his arms. "Perk up, pup. We'll make it through this, alright?"

Archer scoffed and glanced at the window where my grandma was standing with Storm. "But will I survive the embarrassment."

Sucking in my lips, I gathered the bag and took a deep breath. "We'll find out shortly."