Page 74 of Volatile King (The Kings of Wayward Academy #6)

M yles

Why was I so nervous? Lip sat across from me in the limo, chatting away with Blake like he’d just downed four energy drinks.

No topic was missed, everything from school to animals, and even the newest Lego set that was out.

He loved building, and it didn’t matter if it was a spaceship, car, castle, or boat.

It was also the only time I ever saw him quiet.

He refused to use the instructions and built solely off the cover.

He became so focused that he didn’t speak for hours.

“You okay,” Ren asked from beside me. I nodded but gripped her hand tighter.

“Aye,” I said, but then looked away from her probing gaze.

We turned onto the O’Brien’s street, and the nervous jitters took a firmer hold. This was our first meal as a family, and even though I’d known them for years, it felt like I had to make a good impression.

When the limo stopped, Lip jumped out and ran for the front door like a miniature tornado.

He had been completely unfazed since learning about his extended family.

It was nothing but good news for him. I mean, who couldn’t love Ella?

She’d been a surrogate mother to me and Nash over the years, so much so that we might as well have just started calling her Mom.

I got out behind Blake and offered my hand to Ren. She looked so pretty in the snowy white sweater dress. She’d paired it with leggings, tall boots, and a coat that almost touched the ground. Ren was elegant and regal, even when she was trying for comfy. It always blew my mind.

I sucked in a deep breath of the cold winter air and found it refreshing, cleansing, and for whatever reason…calming to my overactive mind.

Mr. G was the last to get out, and we were quickly surrounded by a wall of guards who had been following us in another car.

How did he choose who would work as his meat shields? They had to be willing to give up their life for his, and it was mind-boggling that there were so many of them dedicated to that task.

Nash stood outside by his car. He’d made a stop at Volatile, so had come separately. Liam and Theo had stayed over last night to help with the meal prep, so they were already here. I stopped to talk to Nash while everyone else went inside.

“Are ya not goin’ in?”

“I’m waiting on a call,” Nash said. His eyes had held the same dark look ever since Mya bolted. It spoke of blood and violence.

“How’s the hand?”

He looked at the wound and shrugged. “It’s fine, far away from my heart. What’s wrong with you,” Nash asked, crossing his arms.

“Nothin’. Why does somethin’ have to be wrong?” He cocked a brow and stared at me. “Fine, I’m not sure what’s wrong. It feels like I’m being interviewed for a family, ya know? Like I either make a good impression or get sent packing.”

“Are you stupid?” Nash looked baffled. “No, seriously, are you stupid? That is the dumbest statement I’ve ever heard.”

“Shut up, man,” I growled.

“Ella and Ethan loved you like a son before this. What makes you think they would suddenly not want anything to do with you?”

“I don’t know.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Emotions don’t always make sense, ya know.”

“Ain’t that the truth. Look, you’re going to feel whatever you feel, but they are not going anywhere, and neither are you. Besides, you’ll always have me,” he said, smirking and making me laugh.

“I’m not sure that’s comforting,” I teased just as his phone rang.

His face went void of all emotion when he answered.

“Ellis.”

That had my eyebrows raised. Why was he in touch with the feds?

“You’re welcome, I hope you can see now that I’m not the enemy.” He smirked at something Ellis said. “I’ll be in touch when I need a favor.” He smiled, and I could hear Ellis cursing on the other end of the phone. “Don’t pretend that you didn’t know how this would work. Talk soon.”

“Nash hung up the phone and clapped me on the shoulder. Looks like I just got us a favor with the feds. I’ll keep that in my pocket for a rainy day,” he said.

“Do I want to know,” I asked just as the door opened, and Ella stood on the other side.

She smiled, then grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. She always smelled like sunshine, and her warmth was felt in everything she did. I held her a little longer than normal, soaking in the loving embrace from the woman who had been like a mother to me for half of my life.

Nash was right, I was stupid. My fears about Ella and Ethan were stupid. It didn’t matter how Lip came into this world. Ella was still her loving and understanding self, and it made me grateful not just for me, but for Lip. He deserved a mom like Ella.

When we pulled back, her eyes were filled with tears before she started to sign.

Come in, both of you, before you catch a cold.

We followed Ella to the dining room, and the small party sitting there made me smile. It was just the rest of the guys, Ethan, Mr. G, and Lip, but it felt like…home.

The seat between Lip and Ren was open, and I grabbed it while Nash walked around to the other side of the table.

Ethan stood as the food was placed by servers who had everything under fancy silver domes.

“I would like to say a few words before we eat, and I’ll try to keep this less entertaining than Thanksgiving,” he said. We all chuckled, and I was glad we could joke about it now.

“I appreciate that,” Mr. G said with a smirk. “I need to keep the record for at least one year.” The laughter was louder this time.

“Totally understand,” Ethan said, before he sobered and looked around the table.

“I just want to say that I am blessed and honored to enjoy this meal with all of you.” Ethan turned and looked directly at Ella.

“I love you with my whole heart. You’ve always been the guiding light in my world.

I would be lost without you. I know that I’ve hurt you deeply, and I will work the rest of our lives to earn back your trust. You are the love of my life. ”

Ella dabbed at her tears and then held her hand out to Ethan.

I instinctively grabbed Ren’s, needing her touch.

“I would also like to apologize to Theo and Blake. You know I love you both, and I never meant to lie to you or hurt you. One day, I hope we can move past this, but if not…I understand. As for Myles and Lip…” Ethan cleared his throat and looked between the two of us.

“Sometimes things happen in this life that we cannot plan for or explain, but from the day Ella and I met you, Myles, you’ve felt like part of the family.

You and Blake became best friends practically overnight, and we have seen you as a son ever since. ”

My throat was clogged, and I could feel the stupid tears forming. I quickly swiped at my eyes to be rid of them.

“Lip…you are one of those surprises that we didn’t see coming but feel blessed to receive all the same. Ella and I are thrilled to have you in the family. That’s why, and I promise I’m almost done…” We all smiled. “I would like to give you both something.”

Ethan stepped away from his chair to one of the decorative tables against the wall. He returned with two brown envelopes and held them out to me. Letting go of Ren’s hand, I took them both and then stared up at Ethan.

“What’s this?”

Ella smiled at me and signed to hurry up and open them as she walked over to stand with Ethan. All eyes were on me, but no one gave away what this might be.

“Open them, Myles, open them,” Lip chanted.

“Aya…cool yer impatient jets,” I said.

The room felt heavy, and the air was stuffy with the sudden attention.

I didn’t care about being in the limelight, but this was different…

it was unexplainable, but the nervousness was back.

The last person to hand me a brown envelope had been Nash, and the information in that one had rocked my world.

I unsealed the top and pulled out a thick stack of papers. I blinked once, then again. Air had stopped moving in my lungs. Flipping to the next page, I began to read and didn’t get through the first paragraph before tears clouded my eyes, and I could no longer see the words.

“Myles, what is it,” Lip asked, but I was so moved that I couldn’t speak.

I stood up and grabbed Ethan, holding him in a bear hug, so I didn’t fall completely apart. Ella was crying by the time I let Ethan go and hugged her, too.

“We…love…you,” Ella said. My world shattered around me, but it was healed with three little words that meant more than either of them could ever imagine.

“I don’t understand. Why is everyone crying,” Lip asked.

Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I stepped back from Ella and kissed both her cheeks before turning to Lip.

“Ethan and Ella have filed paperwork to adopt us, Lip.”

He looked confused for a second, and then his eyes widened.

“Both of us?”

I nodded. “They want us to be part of their family for real,” I managed, before everyone cheered, clapped, and raised a drink to toast the occasion.

Blake hugged me next.

“You’ve always been our brothers. We wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said.

I couldn’t remember a time I’d cried so many happy tears. When we all sat back down to eat, the early worry and stress had dissolved into nothing, replaced with a joy that couldn’t be named.

For years, all I’d wanted was a family to want me, a father to love me, and in a random mistake almost nine years ago, the seeds had been planted to make that happen.

No one ever knew, except for Ma. I glanced up at the ceiling and silently thanked her for leaving me that package.

It was like she knew I would need it one day, that I would need a reminder of what a real family was, and that I deserved it.

Ren smiled as I kissed her hard and tasted the salty flavor of our combined tears.

“I love ya, Snowflake.”

“I love you, too…so happy for you,” she said.

“Me, too. Me, too.”