Page 61 of Mates: Posy

"He's going to be fine," Jayden said. "Just needs some seasoning, but he has all the instincts and the drive."

"Too bad you didn’t get here a few weeks ago, Luke." Ash gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"What happened to your old beta?" I asked at the same time as Luke said, "I heard the king has a new one, too."

"Everett Breckenridge was killed a couple of months ago," Ash answered me first.

Jayden’s eyes suddenly burned gold and didn’t subside, and all my boys grew more and more tense the longer Quartz fought to ascend. Then Jayden began to tremble.

"Jay? Not here, man. Not now," Cole said in a firm, quiet voice.

Jayden’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the edge of the table, and he shook harder.

Luke half-rose from his seat, inching toward Lilah, and Wyatt held up one hand to stop him.

"Very slowly now, sit back down," he murmured. "We don’t want Quartz to see you as a challenge or threat."

"That’s right," Ash also spoke softly. "Everyone, sit still and quiet until Jay gets his wolf under control."

We all sat in frozen silence for several long moments, then a low rumble shook the floor under our feet and made the dishes on the table jump with a clatter. I put my hands over my nose and mouth, worried for my mate.

Jayden not going to win this one,Lark fretted.

Standing up, Mason pushed out a wave of alpha power so strong that we all bared our throats.

"Quartz. Down.NOW!"

I trembled under the weight of his power-filled tone and absolute authority, and it wasn’t even directed at me. Watching Jayden, I breathed a sigh of relief when his eyes lost the wolf glow and returned to their normal beauty. He slumped forward with a heavy sigh.

"I’m so sorry," I whispered. "I shouldn’t have asked—"

"Hush, sweetness." Jayden smiled gently. "Was my fault. Caught me off guard. Didn’t realize he was still holding on to that."

I pressed my trembling lips together, wanting so badly to go over and hug him.

Do it,Lark said.

Is Quartz talking to you?I asked her in surprise.

Not talking, no. Grieving. He grieving, Posy. Whatever happened was bad.Realbad.

I jumped up and raced around the table. Wrapping my arms around Jayden’s head, I drew his face into my neck and clutched his tense body to me. His breath brushed my skin, sending both sparks and goosebumps through me, and his arms went around my waist. He took a deep inhale of my scent, and I dropped kisses into his soft hair. When his body finally relaxed, I tuned back in to the others’ soft talking.

"We may need to do some reshuffling with the guest houses," Ash was saying. "Usually, his beta stays with him, but since this one is a female, the king might not be comfortable with that arrangement."

"Then we’ll move out and she can use the guest house we’re in," Luke offered.

"Let’s wait and see, but thank you." Cole looked over at Peri. "You know Lilah could stay with you and Luke could bunk in the pack house or with Tristan."

"He's another one of our unmated betas," Ash explained.

I was scrubbing my fingers through Jayden’s hair in a gentle massage when I had a brainstorm.

"Peri, Lilah, why don't you just stay here tonight?" I asked. "That way we don't have to worry about coordinating things in the morning. Luke, I don't know if we have enough guest rooms, but you're welcome to stay, too."

"Sleep over!" Peri danced in her seat. "Yay! Which bedroom are we using? Or we could make a pillow fort in the living room."

"That reminds me!" I was excited now, too. "Lilah, Peri, you have to see the special room that my mates made for me and my balcony garden! Tonight, I'm going to see it with lights for the first time. I'm so excited!"

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