Page 20 of His Pretty Omega (Sweet Alps Mates #7)

Chapter Fourteen

Seth

So far, I wasn’t making a good impression. I was late. Really late.

I had gone to my apartment to change after work, and I couldn’t find anything that was suitable for meeting my mate’s family. My clubwear wouldn’t do, and my regular clothes all felt too tight.

Because a cold front had moved in, I finally found a pair of black leggings that stretched enough over the small swell of my baby bump, and an oversized, white fluffy sweater.

The material was soft, and the neckline drooped nicely around my neck.

It was also long enough and large enough to cover both my belly and my ass.

Which, according to my mirror, was growing twice as fast as my baby bump .

It was important I make a good impression on Alex’s family. It was clear from our conversations, and the way he spoke about them, that his family was a huge part of his life. I wanted them to like me. I wanted them to think I was good enough for Alex.

Turning onto his street, I let out a low whistle at the amount of cars in front of his house. And down his street.

He had told me to park in the garage, but there were cars parked in the driveway, so that wasn’t an option. Finally, I found a free spot about a block down from his house and walked.

The low vibration of music, and snippets of voices in conversation drifted on the wind, a mixture of both Spanish and English.

Walking into the yard, the house was lit up from the inside out, the curtains all open, offering a view inside.

My heart sped up when I saw a handful of women in the kitchen, but I didn’t see Alex.

Watching as one of the women carried a platter of something outside, I figured I’d probably find Alex in the backyard, with most of the people all these cars belonged to.

Opening the side gate, I turned to latch it, when I realized everyone had gone eerily silent. Turning slowly, I was in a sea of people I had never seen before, all staring at me.

Where the fuck was Alex?

Well, this was uncomfortable .

“Hey,” I waved, plastering my brightest smile on my face. “Is Alex here?”

A woman who looked a lot like Alex cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “Alejandro!”

“Carmen, I’m right here,” Alex came out of the door leading from the garage, carrying a case of beer.

His eyes lit up when he saw me, and he handed the beer to the closest person, and hurried over to me. Folding me in his arms, he kissed me, and all my trepidation disappeared.

“Sorry I’m late,” I whispered, clinging to his shirt. “Nothing fits. Or wasn’t appropriate, or both.”

He stepped back to take in my outfit, smiling. “You look beautiful. But you always do.” He ran a finger over my cheekbone. “No makeup?”

Nibbling on my lower lip, I shrugged. “I wasn’t sure…Some people don’t…I wanted to make a good first impression on your family.”

“ Carino , they will adore you no matter what. Don’t be afraid to be yourself.”

Closing my eyes against the onslaught of emotions his words hit me with, I nodded. “Next time.”

“You look beautiful, with or without the makeup.”

He grabbed me by my hand, and I clung to him tightly, afraid for him to let go. I had never met anyone’s parents before, not anyone I cared about like I did Alex, and I was terrified they wouldn’t like me .

Alex nodded his head, and like magic, the stares turned into smiles and nods, and the conversation started around us like it had never stopped.

“We’ll go inside and I’ll introduce you to my immediate family,” he told me.

“Are all these people your relatives?” I whispered, as we went inside the house.

“Pretty much,” he nodded, “some are family friends. But when we say cousins, we could mean first or twenty-fifth. It’s all the same to us.”

“ Madre, Padre ,” Alex called, over the din of chatter in the house, “come meet my Seth.”

My Seth.

I didn’t think I’d ever been anyone’s mine before.

My cheeks flushed at his words, and warmth bloomed in my chest. Before I could dwell too much on my feelings, an older Hispanic couple stood in front of us, smiling warmly.

“Seth, this is my madre , Claudia,” he introduced his mom, but when he pronounced her name he said it like Cloudia instead of how Americans pronounced it. “And this is my padre , Eduardo.”

Claudia wrapped me in a hug, and I automatically hugged her back. When she pulled back, she studied my face, then said something to Alex in Spanish I didn’t understand. So, I just smiled, and told myself I needed to start having Alex teach me Spanish .

“Alejandro,” a quiet voice called, “Tráemelo.”

“My abuela wants me to bring you to her,” Alex whispered in my ear. “She doesn’t speak English very well. Just a few words, so I’ll translate for you.”

“What did your mom say to you?” I asked him, as he led me over to the flurry of activity in the kitchen.

It smelled wonderful, and I was super hungry. Hopefully there were some dishes that weren’t too spicy. Since I had gotten pregnant, my spice level was like a minus fifteen and it was annoying.

He grinned at me, “She said you have beautiful eyes.”

“ Abuela ,” Alex stopped in front of a tiny omega, who had to be at least eighty years old or even older. Her brown skin was lined with age, her hair white, and braided in one thick braid down her back. He must have introduced me, but the only word I understood was my name.

She stared at me intently, from the top of my head to my feet, taking me all in. I tried not to fidget and clung tightly to Alex’s arm.

“Seth, this is my abuela , Isabella.”

“It’s so nice to meet you,” I said, and listened as Alex translated. She nodded, then gave me a warm smile, so I smiled back, feeling a bit more at ease. Even if we didn’t speak the same language, a smile was universal.

“And what about us?” The woman that had shouted for Alex asked from behind us, standing with her arms folded and looking all kinds of annoyed .

There were four more women with her, all wearing the same expressions. They each looked enough alike, and resembled Alex, I figured they had to be his older sisters.

Alex smirked, “I didn’t want you scaring him off. I like this one.”

They started speaking in Spanish to each other so quickly it almost made my head spin, before they turned to stare at me.

“He’s very pretty,” one of the ones in the middle of the pack finally said, this time in English.

“His eyes are stunning,” another declared.

“He can hear you.” I gave them an amused smile but blushed a little at their flattery. Especially since I had foregone my usual make up and just styled my hair.

I had deliberately not shaved this morning, and dark stubble decorated the lower half of my face. Some people needed to ease into my fabulousness a bit at a time, but I always felt blah when my face was without at least eyeliner on.

“Oh, we know,” another one said with a smile, and I decided I liked them all.

Alex chuckled good naturedly and pulled me closer to him. I loved it when he did that. It made me feel…well, it made me feel all the things.

Subtly, so not to be obvious, I breathed in his scent, letting his musky earth smell wash over me. He kissed the top of my head, and I swear there was a collective sigh of “awe’s” from his sisters.

“Okay,” Alex pointed to the one on the left, “we have first born, Claudia.”

“Like your mom?” I questioned.

“Just like. It’s not uncommon in our culture for daughters to be named after their mothers,” he explained, “though many will go by their middle names.”

He gave his sister a pointed look. “Claudia just likes to be a rebel and refuses to do so.”

“Tell me, Seth,” she turned her dark eyes to me, “do I look like a Miriam?”

“Uh, well, no?”

“Good answer,” she beamed at me. “He can stay.”

Alex snorted, “Next we have Carmen, the loudmouth that bellowed my name earlier.”

“It’s the only way to be heard over all of you,” she defended.

“Third born we have Araceli, followed by Veronica, and last, but not least, Elena.” Alex introduced them all, and I just hoped I would remember what name went with what face.

“There’s going to be a pop quiz later,” Veronica warned me, her brown eyes sparkling.

“Bring it on,” I sassed with more confidence than I felt. That was a flurry of names and they all looked so much alike it might take a minute to figure out who was who.

Alex glanced around, then called, “ Madre, Padre , bring abuela . We have some news.”

Standing close to Alex, as his immediate family, minus his brother-in-laws, and assorted nieces and nephews, gathered around us, staring intently, my stomach fluttered with nerves.

“What is it, Alejandro?” his mom looked worried, as she took a seat on the sofa next to Isabella. Eduardo sat next to his wife, holding her hand.

Alex looked at me, his gaze so warm, so dare I say loving , that I couldn’t do anything but stare into his eyes.

Nothing else mattered but the two of us. The way he made me feel. I was aware we were living in a bubble full of fated mates pheromones, but I didn’t care. I would gladly stay in this bubble forever, with Alex.

“Seth isn’t just my boyfriend,” Alex told them. “He’s–we’re–fated, like you and Padre .” He directed that towards his mom.

There were collective gasps throughout the group, other than his dad, who was quietly translating to his grandmother.

“And,” Alex put his hand on my stomach and I saw every set of eyes follow the movement, “we’re expecting a baby. At the end of July.”

The group exploded in a chorus of congratulations and hugs. Isabella, after understanding what was happening, stood in front of me. Grasping my cheeks in her hands, she stared at me for several seconds, before she patted my cheeks, giving me a warm smile and a nod of her head.

“We’re so happy for you,” Mama Claudia, as I dubbed her in my head, dabbed at her eyes.

“So happy. When is the wedding? You are going to mate claim him, aren’t you, Alejandro?

There are so many things to plan! July will be here so soon!

” She lightly slapped his arm. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner! So much to do.”

“ Madre , stop,” Alex chided, “we haven’t made any of those decisions yet. Seth is going to be moving in with me, but really, that’s as far as we’ve gotten. We hadn’t been dating long,” he urged me with his eyes to go along with his story, “when we found out we were expecting.”

Yeah, he was definitely fudging the timeline and truth, but I didn’t blame him one bit.

“We’re still in the getting to know you stage.”

“Bah,” she fussed at him, throwing her hands up. “You knew each other well enough to make a baby.”

My stomach growling saved us by the bell, and then I found myself fussed over more than I’d ever been fussed over in my life.

Before I could blink, I was sitting at one of the tables set up outside, next to a portable heater, with a plate piled high of all kinds of delicious smelling food.

Alex had overseen what his sisters put on my plate, so that nothing was too spicy, explaining that while I had loved spice before, the baby was not a fan. I was really hoping that changed before too long.

Finally, I had my fill, and leaned against Alex, rubbing my baby and food belly.

“I could seriously eat a pan of that rice, but I’m so full I can’t eat another bite. That was all so good.”

“That’s our madre’s cilantro lime rice,” Veronica, or maybe Elena, told me. “You think this is good, wait until you try our abuela’s tamales.” She made a gesture of a chef’s kiss. “So good, and no one in the family can make them as good as she does.”

Yawning, I self-consciously covered my mouth with my hand. “Sorry, it’s been a busy few days.”

“And you’re pregnant,” Claudia said, “that alone will exhaust you. Alex, take your man to bed. We’ll kick everyone out and clean up.” She winked at me. “I’ll make sure the leftover rice finds its way into the fridge for you.”

Alex pulled me to my feet, his arm around my shoulders.

“You just got moved up to favorite sister.” I winked at her.

“Wait, who was your favorite?” Araceli demanded to know, looking slightly put out.

“I’ll never tell,” I called, as Alex gently pulled me into the house, which was surprisingly quiet and void of people.

Stopping, I turned in his arms, looping my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. “I like your family. ”

He brushed my hair back from my forehead. “They like you too.”

“Will you teach me Spanish?”

“If you’d like.”

Another yawn escaped, and tiredness slammed into me like a Mack truck. “Alex?”

“Hmmm, carino ,” he murmured into my hair.

“Take me to bed.”

“Always, mi amor."