Page 65 of Miles's Pact
Twenty-Four
Miles
"Okay?" I asked Duckie as he glanced around at the crowd, and he nodded slowly, though his grip on my hand tightened.
"Yo! Mateo!" Cam called out from somewhere, and Mateo glanced over at us, brow raised.
"Go on," Duckie said, and Mateo smiled before racing off to find Cam.
"There's Alex," I said, sensing it would be best to start with someone Duckie knew.
Alex stood at the edge of the crowd, dressed in one of their oversized hoodies as they leaned against a tree and watched everyone mill around.
We walked over to them, and I saw them stiffen a moment before they glanced up, relaxing when they saw Duckie and me.
"Hey, Alex!" Duckie greeted with a smile that they cautiously returned. I hadn't spent all that much time with Alex, but I knew Duckie and they had grown close over the weeks.
"Hey, Duckie. Did you just get here?"
"Yup. Have you been here long?"
Alex shrugged, then glanced over at the food table where Noel, Duckie's mom, Papa, and Jai were setting up all the food. While everyone was welcome to bring some food with them, Noel, Papa, and Jai usually did most of the cooking.
"Not really. Jai came over earlier to cook, but Raph and I arrived about fifteen minutes ago."
"Jai cooked? Awesome!" Duckie enthused, making Alex smile.
As they chatted, I glanced around, and realized almost everyone had shown up. The younger Presley siblings were missing, which made sense since it was a weekday. Penny would be at her job, and Dean probably had classes. Dr. Griffin and their mate weren't here either, but they rarely attended the get-togethers even when they were in town.
Raiden's announcement had to be what had drawn everyone here, but I was glad to see them all anyway. Despite the fact that we lived in such a small town, it could be months before I saw some of them. These parties were a way to circumvent that, and I'd always take the time to come to every one of them for as long as they took place.
After a while, we moved on from Alex, leaving them with Paxton, who'd drifted over a few minutes ago. He'd been hovering awkwardly, and I'd gotten the feeling he wanted to talk to Alex.
"Is there anyone in particular you'd like to meet or talk to?"
Duckie pursed his lips thoughtfully, scanning the crowds, then turned to me. "What about the cat shifter you told me about? Is he here?"
It didn't take me long to spot Ollie, and I led Duckie through the throng. Of course, we got stopped by more than one person on the way, and I introduced Duckie to them, then extracted us from the conversation as quickly as I could.
"Ollie," I greeted once we reached him, and he smiled, his hazel eyes going from me to Duckie.
"Hey, Miles! And you must be Duckie! It's nice to meet you."
"Hello," Duckie said with a soft smile, his eyes flicking from Ollie to his mate, Devon.
"This is Devon," Ollie said, patting his mate's chest, and Devon nodded at Duckie, shifting his long, black braid to his back.
Ollie drew Duckie into a conversation about his time as a duck, so Devon and I passed the time talking about the car he was currently restoring.
"Everyone!" Raiden called, and his magic amplified his voice so it rang out loud and clear over the many, many conversations. "If I could have a moment, please."
Since everyone knew about the announcement, a hush fell over the crowd instantly, and Raiden cleared his throat, his voice lowering as he spoke. "As you all know, our four remaining eggs hatched almost a month ago, and we now have five healthy baby dragons."
Cheers filled the air, making Raiden smile. His gaze slid to his side where William, his mate, stood, and the two men shared a look so fond it made my heart squeeze in my chest. Would Duckie and I still look at each other like that years from now too?
"Thank you, everyone," Raiden said, and the cheers went quiet. His smile slowly disappeared, and he blew out a breath. "We can't safely raise the kids in town, so William and I will be moving to my place in the Rocky Mountains with them."
Silence hung in the air, and then Uncle Raph broke it with a "What the fuck?"
