Page 130 of Mates: Posy

I'm talking to my mate right now, weak pussy. Leave me alone.

Fine by me, petty bitch. I don't want to talk to you anyway.

With a grin, I looked around to check on Ranger. I couldn't see him and wondered if he'd left the room. The king, on the other hand, sat on the couch with the queen on his lap, his face stuffed in her neck and her hands undoing his man-bun so she could play with his long hair.

"That's one way to calm him down," Luke snickered.

"Better than the horse tranquilizers we were using," I chuckled.

"Um, hello again," came a little voice from the doorway. "Would anyone care for a drink or snack?"

#

Lilah

I escaped Julian's arms, ran over to Posy, and wrapped her little bitty self up in a tight hug. The poor girl's pink nose was all the evidence anyone needed to know that she'd been crying, and the tight skin around her eyes showed how much the panic attack had drained her.

"Are you okay?" I whispered in her ear as I squeezed her.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Don't be sorry." I leaned back and briskly ran my hands up and down her arms. "And it's okay if it happens again. No one's angry, okay?"

"Okay."

Her red face and lowered eyes spoke volumes on how embarrassed and ashamed she was.

"Don't feel bad, Posy. We all care about you, and we're here for you."

She nodded with a sniff, then her mates came in the room and carefully edged me away so they could drop little kisses on her head and temple and cheek. My heart melted at their gentleness with her.

"Posy, if you are agreeable, I'd like to hear the whole story of what happened this morning."

Julian came up to stand against my back, then slid his arms around my waist. Kestrel and I both purred quietly at the pleasure of his big body surrounding us, then she went back to Onyx. He'd been ... upset ... since Ranger linked Julian before breakfast, and Kestrel had been talking and singing to him to help Julian keep him from rampaging.

Or at least under control enough that he didn't kill anyone.

"Of course, your majesty," Posy said, "and I apologize for delaying everything."

"No apology needed, luna. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I am." She gave him a small nod and a smaller smile.

So we all sat down, and Julian called Ranger back in the room. I didn't know where he'd disappeared to or why, and Julian wasn't telling me, even though I'd asked him twice through our link.

Wait. You didn't punish him, did you?

No, darling. Making him bow to me was punishment enough. He doesn't want me to tell you where he went.

Oh.I didn't know what to say to that, so I left it alone.

Ranger came in and flopped on the chaise lounge, which was as far from Julian as he could get and still be in the same room. I tried to read what he was feeling, but his face was carefully blank. Shrugging it off for now, I turned to the five alphas as Julian asked them to explain what happened this morning.

I bit back a chuckle when I saw how they'd arranged themselves.

Posy sat on the couch in Alpha Ash's lap with his hands on her hips. Alpha Wyatt held her hand on one side and Alpha Jayden linked his arm through her elbow on the other side. Alpha Mason and Alpha Cole stood behind the couch, each laying a hand on one of her shoulders.

At first, I had my doubts when I heard she had five mates, but now I was satisfied that my friend was fine. The alphas were closer than brothers, and Posy had them all wrapped around her delicate little fingers. Anyone with eyes could see that those boys were going to cherish her for the rest of their lives.

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