21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

‘Alpha!' Tristan said as we strode in. ‘I mean … my Queen! I didn't realise you were due a recharge.'

‘It sneaked up on me,' I admitted. I turned to Greg. ‘Can you fill Tristan in on the latest whilst I grab a shower?'

‘Will do,' he nodded.

Tristan raised an eyebrow. ‘Scram,' he said to Finley, Ethan and Xander. ‘Make yourselves scarce.'

Xander stood up to leave straight away, obedience threaded through every inch of his young being. ‘But we could help,' Ethan started. Obedience was not threaded through every inch of his young being and I took a moment to be grateful for that, no matter how annoying it could be at times. I didn't want ‘yes men', but people who would think for themselves – though admittedly right now Ethan's back talk was annoying.

‘Scram,' I repeated firmly.

Finley reached out and cuffed him lightly around the head. ‘Less talking, more moving. Those are our orders.'

Ethan sighed but got to his feet and followed him out of the living room. Tristan and Greg waited a beat until we knew they were in their own rooms. ‘Beer?' Tristan asked Greg.

‘Sure,' he agreed. ‘Just the one.'

It made me smile; even a few weeks ago, the thought of the two men kicking back with a beer had been ridiculous. The tension between them had been ever present but now it had vanished. I guessed the fight had finally settled something and they had accepted that they were brothers-in-arms. Men were weird.

I'd already strode through the portal on my way into Rosie's and Esme had already been ripped from me. I felt solitary, but for once not lonely. I needed to be alone to talk properly to Greg; though I rarely minded that Esme was with us a lot of the time, today I really did want privacy. I didn't need any witnesses to this conversation.

The hot shower wasn't as relaxing as it could have been because I kept rehearsing the conversation in my head. When I stepped out in a towel, Greg was lying in our bed, boots kicked off, fingers laced together behind his head, showing off muscular arms that I could kiss all day long. I had a thing about his arms and it temporarily derailed all my carefully practiced phrases. ‘Hi,' I said dumbly instead.

He sent the smile that was reserved only for me. ‘Peaches.' His eyes trailed lazily down my towel-clad body and the heat in his eyes let me know exactly what he was thinking about.

‘Talking,' I blurted. ‘We need to do some talking.'

Like a switch was flipped, he banked his desire and flipped his gaze to my face. ‘What do you need?' he asked, all business.

‘We need to talk about the mating thing.' He stilled and I bit my lip. ‘I didn't realise that it was up to me to raise it with you. Stupid wolfy rules. Um… So. The mating thing.'

And this was why I didn't need Esme to witness this; my tongue felt as thick and stupid as my brain. ‘The thing is, I need to pick a mate. I thought I needed to actually mate formally this full moon, but I don't – I just need to pick a mate. So that's not so bad, is it? I guess it's like an engagement? But, erm… There's this other thing that I wanted to discuss with you because we haven't, you know, talked about it.'

Oh God, save me now. ‘Babies,' I blurted. ‘Esme wants babies. Pups. And I realised I have no idea what you and Red—'

‘We would love to have kids with you.' Mercifully, Greg interrupted me. He slid off the bed and prowled towards me, his movements so fluid that he could never be mistaken for anything other than a predator.

‘You would?' I said, shoulders sagging in relief.

‘ We would,' he confirmed, wrapping his arms around me. ‘Lucy, how long have you been tying yourself up in knots over this?'

‘A while,' I admitted. ‘I didn't know that I was supposed to ask if you'd be my mate, so I was kind of waiting for you to ask me – and then you didn't. I thought that maybe you didn't want to, and then I didn't want to bring it up and, like, trap you. You know?'

Tension left his shoulders. ‘That's why you haven't asked me?'

‘Yep. Erm. I'd better do it, hadn't I? You can't really propose through inference.'

A slow smile crossed his face. ‘Asking properly would be nice.'

‘Great. Okay. I don't know how you guys do this shit all the time.' I swallowed, feeling absurdly nervous even though I was all but certain of his answer. And because it was tradition, I slid to one knee in front of him and took his hand, though I had no ring to offer.

I cleared my throat nervously but the pretty words I'd practised in the shower had fled. Damn it, I'd have to wing it. ‘Greg, when I met you I fancied the pants off you, even though you wouldn't let me into the church to speak to the gargoyles. And then we both became werewolves, and I was so grateful I had an ally I told myself to table that attraction. I was your boss and you were forbidden to me.

‘But like all forbidden fruits, I couldn't resist a little taste. That kiss after we'd rescued Ares changed everything. The chemistry was off the charts and I couldn't pretend we were just co-workers any more. And then – you kept being there for me, not just with work but with finding my birth family. You held me while I cried about the loss of my parents.'

My emotions were so near the surface that my eyes welled up. ‘You've become as essential to me as breathing,' I said as the tears started.

Greg slid to his knees and pulled me onto his lap. ‘God, Lucy, don't cry.' His voice was suspiciously thick.

‘This is why girls don't do this!' I half-laughed, half-cried. ‘Greg Manners, will you do me the honour of becoming my mate?'

‘Yes, Peaches, I absolutely will.'

He crushed his lips to mine, his tongue invading my mouth with practised ease. Urgency gripped me and I reached down to try and rip off my towel. I'd wrapped it round me tightly so it didn't fall off when I strode out, but now my hands were fumbling as I tried to get it off.

‘Allow me,' Greg purred, his hands stilling mine. Before I could blink, he had removed it.

‘How did you do that?'

‘I'm feeling very motivated right now,' he admitted with a wolfish grin.

‘Well, you're also very dressed. Remedy that. Now.'

He gave me a slow sexy smile. ‘Yes, my Queen,' he murmured as he stood to do just that. I expected him to peel off his T-shirt but instead he grasped it by the collar and ripped it off. He stood there with its remains bunched in his hands and his magnificent abs on display. My brain went blank, my mouth went dry – and other parts went very wet.

‘Show off,' I said, but my voice came out breathy and panting, wanton with need. The man knew what he was doing.

‘I live but to serve,' he teased as he picked me up and threw me onto the bed. ‘You remember my PowerPoint presentation on making you scream?'

I nodded: I'd made notes.

‘We're going to do slide three and then move onto slide four.'

‘Yes, please,' I managed.

He hooked his fingers into his combat trousers and they followed the same path as his T-shirt. I hoped he'd brought spare clothing with him to Rosie's.

Then again, maybe not.