Page 51 of Mates: Posy

"Who else is coming? Jayden only mentioned Lilah and Luke." I played with my fingers as tension tightened my chest.

"And Peri," Cole said, "so she doesn’t have to eat alone. Plus, she’s lousy at cooking."

"I thought she lived with your parents?"

"Mom and Dad and Mama and Papa took the heathens to Disney for two weeks," Wyatt explained. "That’s the only reason the horde didn’t descend at dawn to meet you."

"Heathens? Horde?" I blinked up at him in confusion.

"We have a lot of little brothers between us," Cole said with a smirk. "Poor Peri is the only girl."

"For now at least. I have a feeling Mom and Dad aren’t finished having pups yet." Jayden slung an arm around my waist.

"Which one of your parents are you calling Mom and Dad?" I asked.

"We have two sets of parents between us," Mason said. "Mine, whom we call Papa and Mama, and then there’s Wyatt’s mother, who we call Mom, and Cole’s father, who we call Dad."

He didn’t mention Jayden’s or Ash’s parents, and I decided I’d ask someone later, maybe Peri, so that I didn’t accidentally say something that would hurt them.

"After my mother and Wyatt’s father died in the sickness, Mom and Dad decided to become chosen mates," Cole explained. "They thought it would be the best thing to do for us kids as well as help solidify the new pack."

I couldn’t imagine being with someone without the mate bond, but it sounded like they were making it work. Jayden seemed to guess what I was thinking.

"They fell in love with each other and have made two adorable pups together so far. William is five and Winston, or Winnie, is three."

"I don’t know if she needs to meet those two. They’ll steal her from us!" Ash laughed.

Wyatt pulled out his phone and showed me the boys’ photos.

"Oh, they are so cute!" I squealed. "Look at their chubby cheeks! I want to squish and kiss them!"

"See?" Ash laughed again. "I told you."

"They’re cute," Cole agreed, "but don’t be fooled by their super sweet appearance. Those two are pure mischief."

I giggled.

"Okay, I really do need to get in the kitchen now," Mason said.

"I’ll help," I offered.

"No. I don’t need your help."

He made a move to leave, and his abruptness caught me off guard for a split second. Why was he suddenly shutting me out? Had I done or said something to upset him?

No, he just being Mason,Lark rolled her eyes.I tell Garnet—

I can handle it myself.

I cleared my throat, a little nervous, but slowly gaining confidence with these mates of mine.

"I’ll help," I repeated.

Confusion flashed in his eyes for a second, then realization. He came back over to me, laid one giant paw against the side of my face, and rubbed his thumb against my cheek.

"I wasn’t shutting you out," he murmured. "It’s my responsibility to cook today, and I don’t want you to work on your first full day at home with us."

"Well, I want to." I made my eyes go big and soft.

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