Page 133 of Mates: Posy

We all rolled our eyes, and Cole linked our maintenance manager to send a repair crew over to the guest house.

"Nyx is on a whole different level of aggression right now," Ranger said as he shot a three-pointer. "Julian, too. He lost his temper right before you all came back into the room. Made Luke, Gisela, and me bow to him because I made a dumb comment. The other two didn't even do anything and he punished them. That's not like my brother at all."

Wow. I haven't seen that kind of reaction out of the king in a couple of years now,Cole linked us. Right, Mase?

Yeah, and that time was understandable, I replied.

What time are you all talking about?Wyatt wanted to know.Was it when the kush-taka wiped out that pack in Alaska?

Yeah, Cole said, and I was content to let him do the talking.I'd just stepped up as alpha, and you younger three were still in high school. The beta and the gamma betrayed their alpha, and were then betrayed themselves by the devils they made a deal with.

I remember you telling us about it when you got back,Jay said.The alpha was the king's uncle, correct?

Yes. When he discovered the truth, the king lost his temper and radiated so much power, we all went to our knees under it. Me, Mase, Ranger, the royal guard, even his father.

Dang! Thatissome heavy power,Wyatt said.

Wait untilyou'rethe one kneeling under it,I told him dryly.Then you'll learn what heavy is.

A few minutes later, Queen Lilah and our much calmer king joined us where we'd set up in the home office. We linked Ash to come back, and he and Ranger hit the showers before they returned to the house.

"Lunch is ready!" Jay shouted from the dining room. "Come eat!"

As we devoured sloppy joes, green beans, and French fries, we ended up talking about school, of all things.

"So Ranger, what did you get your degree in?" asked the queen.

"Finance with a minor in communications. Julian has his MBA, but I couldn't stand to do another two years of college. Four almost killed me."

Queen Lilah whirled on the king with wide eyes.

"My mate is so educated!" she crowed.

A line of pink scorched across his cheekbones, and we all laughed.

"An ignorant king wouldn't last long, would he?" he muttered, then more brightly, "Would you like to get your degree, darling?"

"Oh. Um. Not sure. I'll think about it. I don't even know what I'd want to study."

I felt a little tug on my shirt sleeve and looked down at Posy, who was seated on my left side.

"Did you go to college?" she asked quietly.

I hadn't even finished high school before I was installed as alpha. Dad, Mom, and Mama had tried to tell my father that the four of them could hold the pack together until all of us had turned eighteen, but Royal Price wasn't having it. I ended up finishing the last month of school online while taking over the management of a massive pack, and any thoughts of college evaporated as the workload grew more and more overwhelming.

She doesn't need to know all that drama. Garnet paced anxiously in the back of my mind.

I knew what was upsetting him; it upset me, too. She hadn't met any of the family yet, including my father, and Idreadedher seeing how he treated me.

"No. Haven't had the time. Maybe someday. What about you? Were you able to get your high school diploma?"

I doubted she had, but wanted to get the conversation off of me. She shook her head and I told her that she could go back to school in the fall if she wanted to. She didn't respond as I expected, though.

"Oh! That reminds me!" Her eyes lit up as she shimmied in her seat. She raised her voice a little to get my brothers' attention. "I've been meaning to talk to you guys about that. Why don't we have secondary schools here instead of going to the human one?"

"It costs too much," Cole said. "We looked into it, honey, and it would take millions."

"The nursery and elementary schools were already established when we combined packs," Jay explained, "but there was only one middle and one high school, and they're located in Ash's former pack's territory. Dark Woods is too far away, and most of the buildings there have been abandoned for what, Ash? Fifteen, sixteen years?"

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