Page 97 of Shifter Omegaverse AU

Although their outfit was still muted, there were at least two patterns, and their blouse and shoes were navy blue, not black. With a little coaxing from Ethel, Milo had agreed to go visit Anabelle’s grave for the first time since the funeral. They had pushed back against going next week, wanting to give Ray lots of time with Ruben before he left, but in two weeks, they would all four make the journey across town. Ethel had said the grave site was beautiful this time of year, with all the flowers sprouting along the hillside overlooking the city. Milo had apparently been the one to pick the location because of the colorful flowers.

“Okay, so Raina has shoulder-length hair and is probably going to be splattered with paint, and Riley’s hair is down to the middle of her back. Your alpha ma is taller than your omega mom, and I’ve met Ruben, Ray, and Troy,” Milo recited, their rocking reaching frenetic levels as Rowan turned into the familiar driveway.

“I’m sure they’re going to introduce themselves, baby. There won’t be a quiz.”

Milo nodded, even as their fingers clenched in their flowy white pants. “Right, but you also said things can get chaotic, so I just want to make sure I have my bases covered.”

Rowan shifted the car into park, and since his hand was already there, he gently nudged Milo’s knee with his pinky. “I think you’re more than covered.”

“Okay,” Milo said. Their hands clenched until their knuckles turned white, then they let out a loud breath and released their pants. “Okay, we’ve totally got this. No problem. Probably won’t even be hard.”

They threw open the door but somehow forgot to take off their seatbelt and ended up half falling out of the car.

Rowan’s hawk drew a wing over his face so he didn’t have to watch.

“I’m okay!” Milo called, managing to unhook themself and tumble to the ground.

Thankfully, no one was hanging around the front of the house. In fact, all the blinds were drawn in the front sitting room, which probably meant they were out back.

Maybe they could get settled in without having to do the awkward stuck-in-the-doorway-and-crammed-into-the-front-hall introductions. Rowan had never brought home a significant other before, but a few members of the chess team had come over, and Raina had brought home a boyfriend or two over the years. She and Troy had actually met up with their moms in the city between their second and third dates, sparing him the full meet-the-family shebang until after they were already mated.

He was a little surprised Ruben hadn’t opted for that as well. Milo had said it was probably Ray’s idea. Rowan just hoped he was ready for the full Rangecroft family treatment.

Once Milo managed to pick themself up off the ground with lots of grunts, a few curses, and a lot of promising that they were “totally and absolutely fine!”, they gathered up their bags and headed inside.

Rowan and Milo had been assigned to his and Ruben’s childhood room for the weekend. The old bunk beds had been replaced with two full-sized beds on opposite sides of the room. No matter how much it stung, the room assignment made sense. His moms would never ask him to share a bed with someone they thought was just a friend, and a relatively new friend at that. Ruben and Ray had been given the actual guest room, with the ornate queen bed and plush pillows. Riley and Raina would be in their old room tonight, and Raina would join Troy in the study tomorrow, making good use of the Murphy bed Rowan had loved to play with as a kid.

“Oh my gods, it’s so cute,” Milo exclaimed, spinning in a circle in the middle of Rowan’s old room. “Did you use to have boy band pictures all over the walls? Or maybe girl bands?”

“Both, as well as some shirtless football players and busty cheerleaders,” Riley said, stepping into the room only far enough to rest her shoulder against the doorframe.

She gave her usual chin raise to Rowan, and he gave it back. “Milo, I’d like you to meet my second oldest sister, Riley.”

Milo looked between the two of them, stars practically visible in their shimmering gray eyes. “It’s so great to meet you! I’ve heard a lot about you, and your place is beautiful–I mean, your apartment building, which I have obviously only ever seen from the outside because I’m not a creepy stalker, even if this sounds exactly like something a creepy stalker would say,” Milo said, their voice rising steadily until their final few words were little more than a breathy shrill.

Riley raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow.

“I pointed out your building from my apartment,” Rowan said, and Riley’s eyebrow dropped back down.

“I see,” Riley said, but her tone was light. “I would say you and Rowan are welcome to drop by and say hi, but I’m rarely there.”

Milo managed what could roughly be called a smile and ducked their head. Rowan’s hawk let out a cry, and he walked over to Milo’s side, pressing their shoulders together until Milo lifted their head, their smile a little more genuine this time.

“I just wanted to tell you that Raina’s here. She’s out back, and Ruben called mom to say he’s around the corner,” Riley said, with a signature older-sister eyeroll. “Like we need time to roll out the red carpet.”

“Sorry to say, I think I left mine at home,” Rowan said.

Riley gave a very Ruben-like smirk. “How unfortunate. So did I.” She turned to Milo, her expression softening. “Would you like to grab something to drink before the chaos starts? I was going to get some lemonade.”

Milo looked to Rowan, and he tried to give his best encouraging smile. “Go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”

Riley turned and headed down the hall, and with one last backward glance at Rowan, Milo disappeared after her. Rowan spent a few final moments of peace arranging his things, using the toe of his shoe to slide Milo’s bag next to their bed so they wouldn’t trip on it the next time they came in.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he could just barely hear Riley asking Milo about thrift shopping before the front door flew open. The door handle slapped into the rubber stopper Ma had installed when they were kids to try and keep Ruben from doing exactly this and destroying the wall.

“You’re right, darling, we definitely should have stopped for snacks. I’m fucking starving,” Ruben said, dropping his backpack on the floor by the door. “My moms usually have lots of food, though. You’re welcome to anything in the house.”

Ray was clutching a small duffel bag, and they looked back and forth between the discarded backpack and Rowan. “Should we…take our things upstairs first?”