Chapter 146

After everyone had eaten, one of the hotel workers came in to clear up the plates and move the food into the kitchen attached to the room they were in. Avi stood up in front of everyone and cleared his throat once before starting. "So... First let me just start with this. I will be caring for Todrick, Alexander and Jake until Jake is strong enough to lead a pack of his own. He then will take Alexander under his own protection, and Todrick... Will pick somewhere to be, depending on his decision regarding his relationships. Moving on. Some of us need to have personal conversations with our own parents, and I'd like to take this time to do so." Kevin nodded, taking Todrick's hand in his own, and then he waved both his parents and Todrick's mother over to another table near the back of the room. Jake's parents came over to Jake, hoping to learn more about Alex. Avi sat at a table with his wife, her parents, and his father. Finally, Mitch sat beside Scott. Both of his parents sat beside Scott's father across the table from them. Scott leaned back for nearly one second, and in that second, Wyatt jumped up onto his lap. Mitch saw it happen, and giggled. "I knew he'd remember you." Scott smiled at Mitch, and as much as he wanted to hold him, he refrained because of how embarrassed he'd already been for getting close to Mitch. Scott glanced around the room quickly, making sure that everyone had begun their conversations. Todrick looked to be introducing himself in more detail to Kevin's parents. Alex was smiling at Jake's father, so Scott could only assume they were getting along. Avi was mainly speaking to Kirstie's parents about the pregnancy, probably because he didn't want to look his father in the eye. Scott turned back to Mitch's parents. "So. I..." He took a deep breath. "I am going to ask your son to marry me. He is aware of this. The, um... Element of surprise was ruined by my own carelessness." Mrs. Grassi was smiling widely at him, but Mike leaned forward skeptically. "Ruined? How so?" Scott blushed a little. "I, uh. Left the ring on my bathroom counter. He found it... Opened it... And the engraving on it kind of gave it away." Scott's dad tilted his head a little. "Your Omega was snooping through your things?" Scott resisted rolling his eyes. "No. I put it in plain sight. It was my own fault." Mike was thinking the same thing as Scott's father, unfortunately. "Mitchell... You went through your Alpha's belongings?" Mitch sat up a little straighter. "No, Dad. I wouldn't do that. I just... Saw a ring. And I thought... Maybe he wanted to marry someone else. I was just... Scared." Scott put his hand on Mitch's thigh underneath the table. "He had every right to look. That wasn't my point anyway. My point is... I would like to request your permission to ask your son to marry--" "Yes!" Mitch's mother jumped in, and then she covered her mouth. "Oops! I'm sorry. I'm just really excited. I'm so happy for you two!" Mr. Grassi chuckled at her, and then looked at Scott. "You have my permission as well." Scott smiled widely and turned to Mitch, who leaned over to hug him as tight as he could. Scott brought his arms up to hug back, but Scott's dad grabbed his arm. "Aren't you going to ask for my permission too?" Scott's smile faded a little. "No. Because you're going to say no." "That is correct. My opinion doesn't matter to you?" "No. I'm not asking your son for his hand in marriage." Scott snapped. Mike was confused about Scott's dad's behavior. "Why would you say no? They're clearly happy, and in love..." "Because I know exactly who I want my son to marry. And I'm sorry, but Mitch isn't it." Scott actually did roll his eyes this time. "Why on earth would I listen to you? I'll probably never care about someone as much as I care about Mitch. I'll never, ever love someone as much as I love him. So why would I toss him to the side just to make you happy?"