The Taste of Home

Chapter 37

As soon as the three of them entered the apartment, Miguel and Alejandro set to work doing everything they could to make Isabella comfortable. Her appointment with Dr. Wilkins wouldn't be until the morning, but in the meantime they'd drawn her a hot bath. A hot bath she'd filled with far too many lavender-scented bubbles.

"Sorry about the mess," Isabella said as she scooped the last of the foam into the sink. Even with her head dipped in embarrassment, she looked far more relaxed than Miguel had seen her in years. "I had no idea it was so potent."

"A dot does a lot is what mamá used to say." Alejandro tossed the empty bottle of bubble bath into the garbage. "Not that I ever listened. I've never met a single person who doesn't get a little carried away when it comes to bubble bath."

"Or a lot carried away," Miguel said with a laugh. "You should have seen how much I ended up using the first time I tried it."

"I could barely see him through the suds," Alejandro said. "If it weren't for his eyes peeking through, I would have had to dig to find him!"

"He was the same way when he was a hatchling," Isabella said. "Loved to bury himself in the hay. One time, our parents looked for him for hours. Thank goodness he snores, or else we never would have found him!"

She'd only been living with them for a few hours, yet Isabella had already shared a dozen stories from when Miguel was a hatchling, each making him increasingly glad chupacabras couldn't blush. He was only spared from the onslaught of embarrassment when Alejandro yawned. "You sure you're alright sleeping on the air mattress? I don't mind if you'd rather take the bed."

"I'm sure." Isabella curled up on the air mattress and pulled her share of the blankets over herself. "It's bad enough I have to impose on you like this."

"We don't mind," Miguel reminded her. Much like him when he'd first become packless, Isabella hadn't stopped apologizing for needing to rely on them. He was just happy she was actually letting him and Alejandro help. "Good night, Moonbeam."

"Buenas noches, mi amor." Alejandro chuckled as Miguel chirped. "Sweet dreams."

As soon as Alejandro retreated into his bedroom, heat rushed to Miguel's face as Isabella watched him with her hand over her mouth. Shit. He'd chirped right in front of his sister. Looks like he didn't need her to embarrass him after all.

"Did you just chirp?" Isabella asked as he settled down on the pullout couch, her lips twitching with amusement. "Never thought I'd ever hear you do that."

"What can I say? Alejandro really knows how to make me happy," Miguel said sheepishly. His Moonbeam always knew how to brighten even the darkest times. That was one of his favorite things about him.

"I'm glad." Isabella winced as she struggled to make herself comfortable. After a long stretch of silence, she whispered, "You have both shown me far more kindness than I deserve."

"You were just trying to look out for the pack. Stars know things have been hard for all of them." But especially Isabella. Months of running herself ragged, and all she had to show for it were scars and stress etched into her scales.

"I should have been looking out for you." The apartment's darkness couldn't hide her tears from him. "I'm sorry."

He longed to tell her that it was okay, that it wasn't a big deal. But Alejandro was right. She'd meant well, but she had hurt him. She couldn't take back what she'd done any more than he could deny there were parts of himself Saguaro Pack would never accept.

But even though they couldn't change the past, the future was their territory to claim. To shape as they saw fit not just as two chupacabras but as a family.

"At least we're together now." Miguel curled himself around his bear. The apartment felt even more like home now that Isabella was there with him, but the plush's fluffy softness still helped him relax like almost nothing else could. He just wished Isabella would let herself be comforted too.

"Yes. Miguel, Alejandro, and Isabella of..." Isabella's voice trailed off as she ground her back teeth together in thought. "Did you ever pick a name?"

"Not yet. Did you have anything in mind?"

She snorted. "You had time to come up with Moonbeam, but not enough to name your own pack? Because that's what this is, hermanito. Alejandro certainly can't lead it, and even if I had any interest in leading a pack again— which I do not— we could never be a pack without you. So tell me, what have you been thinking?"

"Well, we both think bluebonnets are pretty. Lavender smells really nice, like Alejandro's hair." Just thinking about it brought a rush of heat to Miguel's face. That was one of his favorite ideas so far, but even that wasn't quite right. "Ralph's been trying to get us to pick something hardy like yucca or prickly pear, but those feel wrong, too. I just... I just want to pick something that suits me and Alejandro. N-n-not that I don't want it to suit you too, but—"

"But he is your partner," she finished for him. "I understand."

"He means so much to me." More than he could possibly put into words.

"And that makes it feel like you are picking a name not just for the pack but for your relationship."

"Exactly!" Miguel clapped his hands over his mouth, startled by his own loudness. Only when Alejandro's familiar snoring rumbled from the other room did he let himself speak. "I have to do it justice."

"I am sure he will be happy with whatever you choose." She flashed him a smile that was all fangs and no lips. "With the way he looks at you, it would not surprise me if he would be okay with you calling us Hay Pack."

Miguel snorted. "Cow feed. Might as well go through the pantry while we're at it and call ourselves Plum Pack."

Isabella hummed softly. "Perhaps that's not such a bad one. You both like cooking, and the restaurant may as well be your territory."

"I don't like plums unless they're in duck blood soup. Too sweet. And juicy. Ugh, the stains!"

Isabella put a hand to her chest in mock horror. "Stars forbid you get any of that on you!"

"Alejandro doesn't like when I get it on my scales," Miguel explained. "That makes them stick to his stubble too much."

"Can't have that." Isabella chuckled. "What kinds of plants do humans like?"

"Most of them just seem happy anything survives out here. Texas isn't exactly the best place for plants."

Her question did get Miguel thinking, though. He'd been approaching their pack name like other chupacabras would, but they weren't just any pack. They were something entirely new, both chupacabra and human.

Their pack needed a name that suited its uniqueness, but what could possibly do both species justice?