“I knew I picked the right one,” I smirked at Bailey who was sitting next to me in the truck as we pulled off the highway, taking the Austin exit.

“Oh, yeah?” he replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Damn straight.”

“And why’s that?” he asked.

“I mean; you can cook your ass off!”

His reaction was priceless. A combination of pride, shock and anger. “Wha—what!?”

I reached over and gave him the world’s biggest cow bite on his knee. “I’m kidding!”

He burst out laughing and tried to wriggle away from my grip. “No! No! Stop! Uncle, uncle!”

I made him squirm a little more before letting him go, then snatched him by the head and pulled him in for a kiss.

“You are bad,” he told me.

“You have no idea,” I replied. “Just wait until I’m healed.”

“You seem to be much better today,” he said, nodding to my arm. I realized I’d just grabbed him with my wounded right arm without even noticing or feeling any pain. That was a good sign.

Shifters recovered from things much faster than humans, alphas especially, and I couldn’t help but wonder whether having Bailey by my side was helping me recover even faster.

The world just seemed…brighter when I was with him. Knowing he was by my side made me feel complete in a way I never even understood to be possible. There had been a piece missing in me, a piece that was now filled by him. I was completed and I felt like I was ready and able to face anything. All I needed was him in my life. And the best part? I knew he felt the exact same way.

“I think you have strange healing powers,” I told him as we closed in on my parent’s taco stand. “Are you a witch or a Wiccan or something like that?”

“Do they even have guy witches?”

“You tell me,” I joked as the stand came into sight.

“Oh, boy,” Bailey sighed as I slowed the truck and pulled into the back parking lot.

“What’s wrong?” I needled him. “Nervous?”

“Uh, yeah!”

“Don’t be,” I told him, rubbing his leg comfortingly. “My mom is…intense. But my dad is chill. They’ll be happy for me. I wouldn’t worry about it. Besides, it couldn’t be worse than when I met your dad.”

“My foster father,” he quickly corrected me.

“Right. I’m sorry.”

I kissed him and pulled open the door, then went around to his side of the truck and opened his door for him. I don’t know why—I was feeling romantic. This was a big moment in my life, and even though I’d told him not to be nervous, I definitely was.

There was a good chance my mom’s head would explode when I told her the news. If anything, she’d be expecting me to be with Francis. But by now she would have heard the news—if he was working today. In a way, I hoped he wasn’t. That could be awkward.

“Here we go,” I told him, taking his hand and walking to the stand.

The lunch rush hadn’t started yet, and there was only a small line in front. My father was serving a group of kids from some sort of youth sports league and their coach. I waited until he was finished giving out their orders before knocking on the door.

“Hey,” I said with a smile. My mom turned to me and as always, her eyes lit up like a couple of spotlights.

“Hijo!” she cried out, quickly cleaning her hands with a wet rag. She brushed past my father, pushed open the door and threw her arms around me.

“Hey, ma,” I grumbled, grinning at Bailey, who was shuffling around nervously beside me.

“What a big surprise!” she cried out. “How are you today?”

“Good, ma,” I smiled. “Hey, pop!”

“Hey, son,” he called back as he washed off his hands.

“How was your date?” she asked, a mischievous look in her eyes. “Were you hit by the spark of love?”

“Well…sort of,” I replied slowly.

“Ah, hijo!” she exclaimed, tossing her hands in the air.

“But, not in the way you might think,” I quickly interrupted her. I turned and nodded to Bailey, who looked like he was about to faint from anticipation. “Mom, I’d like you to meet Bailey, my fated-mate.”

My mom froze like she was a robot and someone had pressed her pause button. She looked at Bailey, then at me, then back to Bailey, who waved sheepishly.

“H—hello.”

“What!?” she blurted out as my father stepped out of the taco stand. “Hijo, what are you saying!? Who is this person? Where is Francis? What is going on?!”

“Calm down, ma,” I laughed, putting both hands on her shoulders. She looked up at me with confusion but also tremendous excitement. “I met Bailey when Francis and I went swimming. He was on a…date too. But I knew it was him. I knew the second I smelled his scent.”

My mom’s face almost fell off. Her jaw dropped and her eyes turned as big as tennis balls. I burst out laughing and pulled her in for a big hug.

“Aren’t you happy for me, ma?” I asked her.

“Gah!” she shouted, breaking away and throwing her hands up like she had just won the lottery. “Of course I am, hijo! Oh, come here, you!”

Turning to Bailey, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close like she’d already been his mother for his entire life. I grinned at Bailey as my mom tried to squeeze the life out of him. My father slapped a congratulatory hand on my back then shook my hand.

“Congratulations, my son,” he told me.

“Thanks, dad,” I nodded. Dad was never as invested as my mom in seeing me get hitched up, but he could see I was happy and that was important to him.

I looked back at Bailey, whose eyes were welling up with tears, and it was the first time I actually realized what meeting my parents meant to him.

He’d never had a family, and had probably bounced around foster care his entire life. Now, my parents were his family. My pack was his family, and he finally had a place to belong.