Page 379 of Bride of Choice

Celuk grinned at my green jelly eyes and kissed me. “Rek want Carr-ree have place go, she needs it,” he murmured softly.

“I know she got him help. I know it’s not what it looked like— he did right by her— I know that now— but, damn it, don’t defend it. I need to quietly be a grump about it for a while and feel the fucking loyalty, okay?” Fidgeting in his arms, I sighed, the sound long suffering but too loud to sound like a real fuss. “Who did she end up shacking up with? Can- Can we trust them? Are they good to her?”

“Jo loves Carr-ree mate.” Celuk’s eyes twinkled as he stared down at me.

“Doogie?” I guessed.

Celuk snorted quite loudly. “Doogie be happy hear him ‘noying aunt-sissy loves him,” Celuk teasingly purred.

My hand smothered any further teasing from the lout. “You hush up now.” I shook a finger at him from my free hand.

His eyes crinkled at the corners, he smiled so wide.

Leaning in, I grumbled, “If I remove my hand, you’re going to tell me, yes? I’m too tired to play guess her mate.”

“Elle,” Celuk rumbled the second I lifted my hand.

“Elle what?” I mumbled.

“Elle take Carr-ree for Elle mate,” Celuk informed me.

A little niggle of happiness filled me. Elle had a mate! But just to double check, “This is a mutually agreed upon taking her for a mate? This isn’t a sitch where I’m going to need to distract Elle while someone extricates Carrie from the situation, is it?”

Celuk shook his head. “Elle make Carrie happy. All the smiles, all the times.”

“Yeah?” My lips kicked up at the corners. Elle and Carrie. Glancing from Celuk and back towards the left hall, I muttered, “Is it irrational to be nervously excited for Elle? Like, I don’t know how to kick protective big sister mode, but… On the one hand, I’m happy for her. On the other, if Carr-ree breaks my baby sister’s heart, the urge to kick her butt inward is strong. And that’s nothing to do with Rek or any of that. Does that even make any sense?”

Celuk let out a much softer snort. “Jes,” he said without needing a second to contemplate it.

Jeh-kal stepped from the hall to the right and into the main room we were quietly talking in.

Kirch followed him out, a large book I knew to be Zhuii’s fairytales in his hand. Kirch lifted the book with a soft smile. “Rek likes Zhuii’s drawings.”

Knowing Rosa must have had a hand in getting Zhuii to let them borrow his much coveted book had my throat tightening, emotions threatening.

“Can I- Can I go and see him now?” My gaze darted from Kirch, to Jeh-kal, to Celuk.

Celuk set me down and followed me over to Kirch.

Kirch nabbed me up in a bone crushing hug that only softened when I made a soft eep that had Jeh-kal and Celuk growling at him quietly to ease up.

“Rek be so happy him Jojomine’s back,” Kirch choked out. “Kirch happy Jojo back.”

“Thanks. I’m glad to be back too, Meanie’s bitch.” I found myself patting him on the back until he got ahold of himself.

Pulling back as he forced sniffles back with a vengeance, he frowned, leaned back in to sniff, to jerk his gaze down to my belly. A soft hoh of a noise of surprise left me. “Oh… Jojo,” he breathed.

He started to drop down as if he meant to give my stomach a sniff but I jerked back quickly.

Celuk stepped in. While motioning with one hand for Jeh-kal to muzzle the growl he let loose, Celuk’s free hand slid to my belly, urging me closer to him.

“No smell our Jo,” Jeh-kal grumbled.

Kirch stood quickly, nodded, and his hands shot up. “Kirch ‘pologize. No think. Happy Jojo has baby.”

“It girl. No smell,” Jeh-kal huffed and puffed at him.

Kirch’s eyes bugged and his lips parted. “Girl baby? Rek has girl baby?” His bug-eyed surprise turned into the happiest grin I’d ever seen on the male outside of the ones he shot towards his mate. “Kirch gets ‘nother girl baby?”

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