Page 116 of Home: Posy 5

My mouth dropped open. I stumbled and would have gone down if he hadn't caught me around the waist. Lifting me up, he settled me on his hip, and I automatically wrapped my arms and legs around him.

"Do the others know?" I whispered in his ear as he carried me along.

"Nope. And I'm not going to tell them. If they figure it out on their own, though, they're going to prank you back. You know that, right?"

"They won't figure it out," I said confidently. "They're so busy trying to one-up each other that they've forgotten what the initial pranks were, anyway."

"True. And they'd never believe their sweet, innocent mate would be that devious." He smirked, and I giggled before I dropped my head to his shoulder.

When we got to the field, he grabbed a few blankets and we spread them out, then plopped down to stare at the sky. My other mates joined us minutes later, all of them quiet and calm for once. As the six of us curled up in a big puppy pile, a truly happy smile spread across my face.

All around me, I could hear the soft conversations of our friends, the crackling of the bonfire behind us, and the steady breathing of my mates.

This,I thought.This is everything. This is pack. This is love. This ishome.

24: Conspirator-ing

Jayden

"Why are we dressing up in these formal suits again?" Cole groused as he sat on the edge of the bed to tie his shoes. "We're in the middle of another heat wave, and wearing this is torture!"

"Dog days of summer, my dude. It happens every September." I shrugged and finished up the laces on my own shoes. "At least it's only for a couple of hours, and she said it's inside, so there'll be air conditioning."

"She's been working on this surprise for weeks. The least we can do is what she asks so that it's successful," Mase said in his authoritative tone, the one that told you to not even bother trying to argue because he'd crush you like a bug under the weight of his alpha charisma or logic or both.

Or the weight of his fist,Quartz snickered, and I smirked.

"It's full moon, though!" Cole continued grumbling. "We have the midnight run tonight. We even figured out a solution so Lark can participate!"

"She said we'll be back in plenty of time for the run." I let out a little sigh. "I'm more concerned about Reau being able to handlehisend of that 'solution' than anything."

"He'll be fine." Cole rolled my eyes. "Arch and Wayne aren't going to leave the kid's side, and Kon's going to ride herd on all of them. Well, Chime Karma is."

Mase suddenly came over and sat between us, and Cole and I exchanged a look behind his back.

"You ever dream that one day we'd be leading a full moon run with a freakingdragonin the pack?" he asked.

"Don't forget a fox, birds, fairies, and an Angelo," I smirked.

He nodded, but his voice held a rare note of vulnerability when he said, "We're doing good, aren't we, brothers?"

"Real good, Mase." Cole patted his shoulder. "You especially. We never would have made it this far without you."

"He's right." I put a hand on his back. "You were an awesome trailblazer. Still are."

"Wasn't looking for praise or compliments," he murmured as a light blush touched the tips of his ears. "Just wanted validation that we're doing right by the pack."

"Hell, yeah, we are, dude!" I boomed and thumped his shoulder. "We're killing it!"

"Definitely," Cole agreed.

"Good." Mase wrapped one arm around each of our necks and pulled us to his chest in a tight hug.

Some people would call this a headlock, not a hug.Quartz rolled his eyes.

Don't ruin it. Papa Bear's happy.

So happy, and so frequently now,he agreed.And we know who to thank for that, don't we?

---