Page 75 of Pucking the Enemy

“We were thinking about just coming for Christmas Day for the meal. Would that be all right? We would stay the night, but the last thing I want to do is take Hazel away from her nest.”

“Smart man. When I was pregnant with you boys, I hated the idea of leaving my nest. I became so overprotective of it. Of course, you can just come for the meal and some presents, obviously!”

“Thank you, Ma. We’ll also be bringing a friend, Sebastian.” I smiled at Hazel as I spoke.

“Don’t thank me. I should be thanking you. I’m finally getting a grandbaby! Who’s this friend? I’m excited to meet him.”

“You talk like I’m an old man. Sebastian is Hazel’s best friend.”

“Well, sometimes, you act like it. Go look after your omega, and I will talk to you soon, my sweet boy.”

She hung up the phone, and I turned to Hazel, who was giving me a peculiar look.

“She took that alarmingly well.”

“My mother is a terrifying and unique creature, and I love her dearly. You are aware you are going to receive a million baby items for Christmas?”

Hazel laughed, resting her forehead in her palm. “I mean, it’s not like we don’t need the stuff!”

After the phone call, Hazel shoved me out of the nest, insisting she needed to study, and I would just be a distraction.

While that was true, I still thought she should have let me distract her. Why should she study poems when I could be studying her?

Sebastian was sitting at the kitchen island. I nodded at him as I strode over to the cabinet where we kept our protein bars, digging around until I found the cherry chocolate bar I had been addicted to as of late.

“How are you feeling after your fire junk situation?” I asked, closing the door and taking a seat opposite him.

Sebastian snorted. “After several very intensive showers, the itching has just about stopped. My poor junk will heal… my reputation, not so much.”

I winced. The social media posts about Sebastian had been rather hilarious, albeit brutal.

“Yeah… that’s going to take a while.”

“As far as hazing goes, it could have been worse. Cormac has been downright nice to me ever since.”

“Oh, yeah. He feels guilty. He did it before realizing you were a useful ally when it came to Hazel.”

“At least he got it out of his system. I’m just hoping some of the rash will go down before my next practice, because I will be ridiculed if the guys see it.”

“When’s that?”

“A few days away. I told the coach I had a virus to get out of a few sessions. I figured I could relax a bit, study. Maybe, if I have time, I’ll take Hazel to that new bookstore in town—she couldn’t stop talking about the place when it opened a few months ago.”

I took a bite of my protein bar as I studied Seb. The poor fuck looked exhausted. We hadn’t been the nicest to him, and he’d been sleeping on the floor, so his body probably ached.

Still, he took everything we threw at him without complaint.

All for Hazel.

“When are you going to admit to Hazel that you have feelings for her?” I asked.

His head shot up, wide eyes meeting mine, like I had caught him doing something he shouldn’t have been doing.

“I mean… uh… I,” he stammered.

“No guy would go through all the hell we are putting you through if they weren’t in love.”

Seb sighed, closing his mouth, a look of defeat on his face. “It’s not important. She’s got you guys now, and it’s pretty clear you guys are crazy about her.”

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