Page 90 of Shattered Trinket
I like him, though. And despite the rocky beginning between the two of them, he and Ridge get along better than I think either of them expected to. We’re starting to feel like a real family now.
Not that we weren’t before, but something about the inclusion of Micah and Jeremiah has made everything feel… complete. We thought the absence of an omega was our issue, but the reality is we weren’t just missing our omega. We were still missing brothers, and now that they’re all here, everything feels right.
When we all sit down for dinner, I wait until everyone’s made their plates before dropping the news that we’ll be going to my parents’ this weekend. The guys love my family, but I know Zeke always feels a little uncomfortable because all the women like to fawn all over him, and my two youngest sisters that recently presented as omegas are the worst about following him around.
“Ye’re sisters wonae be there will they?” he asks with a grimace.
“You know they will be.Mamáhas already called everyone that’s close enough. They’re all excited to meet Cozy,” I say with a shrug, looking over at her with a wink and a smile, which she returns. “The twins will leave you alone now that you have Cozy, so things shouldn’t be so bad. You’ll just have to deal with the tías and my abuelas,” I snort, taking a bite of the steak Ridge and Jeremiah cooked for us tonight.
Zeke sighs, and Cozy looks at him quizzically.
“Ah, dinnae get me wrong, love. I adore Manny’s family. His aunts an’ grandmas just like tae dote on me a bit much. An’ his twin sisters, Marisol an’ Ileana have been followin’ me around since the first time I met them. When they presented as omegas, theirattentionsonly got worse. Ye’ll keep the stalker-y omegas away from me, wonae ye, Ducky? ”
Zeke pouts impishly and tries to look helpless as he turns in his seat to look at Cozy, but instead he just looks ridiculous. And yet, our omega still blushes and grins at him, patting his burly chest with her small hand.
“I’ll do my best,” she teases, her eyes sparkling like gems.
Appeased that he won’t be accosted by my sisters, Zeke goes back to eating, and I tell Micah, Cozy, and Jeremiah as much about my family as I can.
“¡Ay, hijo mío! Estás en casa. ¡Te he extrañado mucho!”my mother exclaims when we walk through the door, rushing to me and gripping my cheeks before kissing me all over the face.
Oh, my son! You’re home. I’ve missed you so much!
I laugh and pull away, and she immediately heads for Zeke and Ridge, giving them the same attention and love as me. When she notices the three newcomers behind us, she gasps and pushes past us to get to them, stopping in front of Cozy first, gripping her hands in hers and kissing her rosy cheeks.
“Dios mío. Eres un ángel precioso y hermoso, hija mía.”
My god. You are a beautiful, precious angel, my child.
“Gracias. Es un placer conocerte,”Cozy responds, telling her it’s nice to meet her, and my mother looks back at me with a beaming smile and raised brows.
“Ah, ¿y ella también habla español?”
Oh, and she speaks Spanish?
“Even more perfect than I imagined,” my mother murmurs, before looking over at Jeremiah and moving to stand in front of him.
It’s almost comical, the way my mother, who’s only slightly taller than Cozy, stands in front of Jeremiah with a stern look onher face. Jeremiah looks uncomfortable and fidgety, a look I’m not used to seeing from him, and I can’t help but grin.
“Tú, joven, me comerás de una casa y de un hogar.Tell me, do you like arroz con pollo? Tamales? Menudo?”
You, young man, will eat me out of a house and a home.
“Ah, yes?” Jeremiah responds, his answer coming out more of a question as he looks over at me in alarm, and my mother hugs him, surprising him even more.
“Bienvenido a casa, hijo.”
Welcome home, son.
I watch as his eyes glisten slightly, though he blinks quickly to hide his reaction, and he hugs her back, despite how uncomfortable I can tell he is. Knowing some of his history now, I realize I should have warned him that my family is… well, they’re a family. They love my pack, and now that Jeremiah, Micah, and Cozy are included in my pack, it means they love them, despite not knowing them yet. My mother is about to show him exactly what it means when your mom is a Latina. She’s going to feed him, dote on him, and call him on his shit if need be. But she’s also going to love him, just like Mama Valley. They’re very similar, which is why they get along so well when they get around each other. He won’t know what to do whenthathappens.
Micah is grinning when she makes it to him and before she can say a word, he speaks, surprising her even more.
“Resulta que me encanta el arroz con pollo y tamales. Mi mamá me prepara tamales frescos cada vez que voy a cenar.”
I happen to love arroz con pollo and tamales. My mom makes me fresh tamales every time I go to dinner.
“¡Oh! ¡Otro! ¿Me traes dos nuevos miembros de tu manada que hablen español, hijo? Estoy impresionado,”she mutters to me before looking back at Micah with a motherly smile. “¿Tu madre es de México?”