Page 19 of Home: Posy 5

"No!" Emerson whined. "I want Angelo on my team!"

"Don't worry,orsacchiotto(teddy bear). I'll play with you when we get home." Angelo winked at him.

As the rest of us either rolled our eyes or pretended to gag, Emerson's cheek burned bright red, which was something I'd never seen from the big guy until he found his mate.

Speaking of mates, our girls were happy to hang out with Emmeline, discussing baby stuff probably, and getting to know the fairies. Regina and Georgina Oakley brought along their cousin, Delilah Evergreen, to meet everyone, and I knew I wasn't the only one who hoped she'd be Reuben's mate.

When it was clear she wasn't, I'd sighed and prayed to the Moon Goddess that he wouldn't have to wait much longer. My boy was suffering so bad, and a mate would help more than any witch or doctor could.

Delilah didn't stay long, saying she needed to get things ready at the bakery for the next day, and Emmeline was quick to invite her to visit again anytime, as did my mate and her sister witches.

"Okay, we got the end zones sorted," Reuben clapped his hands. "Touch or tackle football?"

"Tackle, of course," Angelo, Matthew, Tyler, and Landry said at the same time.

"Huh uh!" Emerson disagreed, shocking all of us. He was usually the most aggressive player. "Angelo might get hurt—"

"Hello? Healing power." Angelo held up his hands and wiggled his fingers in the air. "Plus, I'm fast. I'm not going to get tackled."

"No way you're as fast as wolves," I smirked.

"You'd be surprised," Matthew muttered. "I've seen this bastard move, and he isdamnedfast. Not to mention agile. He's like one of those dogs trained to run around those orange cones and stop on a dime."

"We'll see how the trained dog does against real wolves," I said with a shrug, unimpressed. "Now let's playtacklefootball."

In the end, I was glad we didn't take bets on it, which is our normal thing to do on just about anything. If we had, I would have lost the contents of my wallet because the Angel of Death really wasthatfast. None of us could tackle him, although Konstantin and Tyler each came close once.

Then it happened. Landry handed the ball off to Angelo, who sprinted for the end zone, and Tyler chased after him hell for leather. I was further up the field and ran perpendicular to them, closing in fast.

We're going to get him this time!Creek hooted in the beta link, and River howled back in excitement.

Running all out, Angelo met my eyes, then glanced over his shoulder to see how close Tyler was. Determined now, I dug down deep, found a burst of speed, and did the dumbest thing I could.

I tackled Emerson's mate.

Tyler got tangled up in it, too, and we all went down. Since we'd been moving so fast, we rolled quite a ways before we came to a stop. Groaning and panting, we lay there for a second as the world spun, then we all burst out laughing at the same time.

"ANGELO!"

Emerson's roar made the ground shake, and I rolled my eyes.

"He's such ... a killjoy. I should ... play dead," Angelo muttered in short pants as we heard thunderous footfalls approaching fast.

"No, don't," I groaned, knowing what would happen if he did.

"Better ... run ... Tristan," Tyler wheezed. "He's ... gonna ... kill ... you!"

"You, too," I gasped, putting a hand on my heaving chest.

Before any of us could say more, an angry tornado tossed me and Tyler aside like we were feathers. From where I suddenly found myself laying, I watched as Emerson dropped down on his knees next to Angelo and ran his hands all over his mate to check for injuries.

"I'm fine," Angelo laughed and sat up. "I'm the Angel of Death! I can take a hit, you know."

Emerson wasn't listening. He was whole-hog into protector mode now. Standing up, he put his hands in Angelo's armpits and lifted him until they were eye to eye.

"Don't scare me like that again," Emerson muttered and shook his mate.

Angelo wasn't one to miss an opportunity, though. He wrapped his arms and legs around the big guy before he smashed his lips on Emerson's.

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