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Em places her elbow on the table and rests her head on her arm. “Can I bring my toys?”
“Of course you can, and all your stuff,” Cammie says, a small smile teasing her lips.
“The dragons think this is a good place for a knight.” She nods.
“We think it’s a good place for you too,” I say, my heart filling with relief. That’s one-half of this jury.
All eyes turn to Ben.
It’s the return of the bouncer, his freckled nose scrunched and his brown gaze critical. “You mean to stay here and live, or bond and live? You guys said you’re mates. Mates bond, right?”
“Good question, Ben,” Reid says earnestly. I love that he means it. He wants Ben to get answers because he wants him to be comfortable.
Cammie shifts subtly in her seat, but when she answers him, her voice is confident. “Yes, Finn and Reid are my mates.”
Reid backs her up. “And we have asked your mom to bond. We’ll wait until after we court her a bit and get settled. Then we’ll host a bonding party. That means you’ll officially become part of Pack Camden, like your mom.”
“You guys can be part of the bonding ceremony too. We would love that,” I add.
“What’s a bonding party?” Emmaline asks, abandoning us to pet Waffles. She lies on the tile floor next to his dog bed and lets him lick her arm while she scratches his belly.
“It’s a party to celebrate mate and pack bonds. You would help by standing with us at the front so we can make you officially part of our pack,” I explain.
I want to join Em for cuddles but skip the dog slobber. After this conversation, I’m gonna need them. Em’s questions are easy, but Ben makes me sweat a little. All I really want to do is smother him in hugs until his heart is less broken.
“Okay. I’ll be part of your pack,” Em agrees easily.
“When?” Ben asks, voice still skeptical.
He needs receipts, just like his mom.
“The courting calendar we made for your mom has thirty days. That puts us at the end of June and the bonding party before the end of summer. But if there’s something we can do to help you feel more comfortable while we wait, we can make that happen,” I promise.
Ben looks around the table, and his brow relaxes. “A bonding party in summer is cool.”
I want to sag in my chair after the cross-examination. I settle for wrapping my arm around Cammie’s shoulder and tugging her closer. I flip the camera back around so we can see Reid.
“I think that means we passed, baby,” I whisper in her ear.
She leans against me, her head on my shoulder. “I think we did. Thanks for calling in, Reid.” Cammie presses a kiss to her fingers then the screen.
Reid smirks. “I’m not hanging up yet.”
“Can we eat pudding now?” Em asks.
“Not yet,” I sigh, taking Reid’s less-than-subtle hint. “It’s time to go see the surprise.”
“What surprise?” Cammie asks, her brow cocked. She’s curious and open, a smile on her lips. “I already opened my box today.”
“Finn built us something, and he got antsy pants about it,” Em supplies helpfully.
Reid’s chuckle comes over the line.
“No side chatter,” I scold him playfully.
“Get showing then, babe. I wanna see, and I need to get back,” Reid says.
“All right, all right. Let’s go.”
