“Bethy,” Drake interrupted. Everyone except the historian knew—perhaps because he’d spent entirely too much time poring through centuries-old tomes instead of hanging out with actual women—that calling a woman ma’am when she was under the age of some indistinct number of which no male was entirely certain and therefore wisely avoided the term altogether, was an insult of the highest order. “Would you like me to get you a glass of orange juice, my love?”
Bethany immediately turned to her mate. “Orange juice sounds outstanding.” Suddenly, the girl was all smiles, and the tension in the room fell several levels. The storm had passed as quickly as it had appeared. Decebel let out a quiet breath of relief. His eyes met Fane’s, and the alpha, too, looked relieved.
Jen stared at her to-do list, which was six pages long and counting. They had just under four weeks before Christmas Eve, and she was determined everything would be done before the big day. She glanced up around the room to see who was missing. As she was doing the head count, Gavril, Rachel, Crina, and Adam walked in. They said their good mornings, but she wasn’t paying attention. Four of Jen’s brigade members were missing. Her mate had suggested calling them “groups.” She mentally rolled her eyes. I mean, could we get any less original?
“You remember I can hear you, right? Decebel said through their bond.
“How could I forget? You remind me, frequently. You seem to forget that my every thought is not directed at you.”
“But your mind is such an interesting place, baby. I can’t help but eavesdrop.” His tone had deepened and taken on what she referred to as “the bedroom voice.”
“Nice try, Casanova. Your seduction tactics will have to wait for about four weeks. I got too much to do and not enough time to do it.”
“I’m sorry, did you say four weeks? Because I’m pretty sure I did not hear you correctly.” She nearly laughed out loud at the indignant growl.
“B, I have to assign the brigades … or squads. I still haven’t decided what to call them. And that’s one more thing I have to do, but I digress. After assigning everyone to their brigade /squad/company, I’ll have to explain in, no doubt, a ridiculous amount of detail what they are to accomplish, order more decorations, and create the menu, while also making sure we have Christmas treats to eat from now until the Christmas/everything celebration party. Not to mention I’ve got to get Thia’s first birthday cake, which she gets to eat by herself.”
“Why does she need an entire cake to herself?”
“It’s a thing. If you don’t believe me, look it up on that awesome invention called the Internet. I also need to get Slate a pre-one year birthday cake because there will be no time to celebrate his birthday once it gets here. By then, the shit will have hit the fan. I have to get Titus a ‘happy adoption, we consider you family even if you didn’t come out of Sally’s vagina’ cake—”
“You’re not really going to put that on the cake, are you?” he interrupted.
She looked at the list where she’d written this particular task. “I’d like to, but I don’t think it would fit.”
“Bloody hell, I hope not,” he muttered, though she didn’t think he meant for her to hear it.
She made a question mark by the note and then continued. “I also need to order the Happy Everything/Merry Christmas cake. I need to make sure each of the rugrats has appropriate attire for the Christmas party because Sally will no doubt have Titus dressed in one of those ugly-as-hell sweaters that are supposedly all the rage.”
“Do we really need that many cakes?”
Decebel’s words reminded Jen of another thing that she’d mistakenly skipped over. “Crap, thank you, B. I almost missed the cake I need to order for Bethany’s baby shower.”
“We’re having a baby shower, too?” His voice rose an octave.
Jen’s eyes moved from her list to his face. “Don’t you think a baby is a big freaking deal, especially in the wolfy world? I mean, how often do Canis lupus have babies to celebrate?”
“Well, lately we’ve had two, and a dormant child,” he pointed out. He wasn’t wrong, but that wasn’t the point.
“They were the first two in nearly twenty years, Decebel. Bethany’s child will be the third. It’s a big freaking deal, and she deserves a flipping cake.” Jen knew she needed to bring it down a notch. She was getting a little, or a lot, defensive over a cake. But it was a big deal. Hell, being pregnant in the human world was a big deal. Being pregnant in their world was a colossal deal.
“You’re right,” he said, his voice serious. “It is a big deal, and we should celebrate it.”
Jen blew out a breath and tried to get her crazy under control. “Sorry. I’m being batshit again, aren’t I?”
“You’re being thorough.” A small smile of understanding came over his handsome face.
“I’m pretty sure no other male on the planet, in any realm, would put up with me the way you do.”
Decebel reached up and ran a finger down her cheek. He still touched her just as reverently as he had when they’d first realized they were mates, which humbled Jen to no end. She could feel through their bond that, regardless of the fact that she was not the easiest person to be mated to, he adored her. “I would kill any other male who attempted to put up with you the way I do.”
She snorted out a laugh. “Only you could take a sweet, tender moment and mention killing someone as a way to show your devotion.”
He shrugged as if talking about killing someone was a normal, everyday conversation. To be fair, for them, it sometimes was an everyday conversation, mostly because she loved to ruffle his fur. She was just about to tease him about it when Peri and Lucian appeared in the room, causing several people to jump. Judging by the smirk on Peri’s lips, she thoroughly enjoyed the reaction. A second later, Elle and Sorin appeared as well.
Jen glanced back down at her list. “Finally.” She sighed. The room was filled with talking, the sounds of breakfasts being prepared, and a few growls, which were ubiquitous when more than one dominant wolf was in the room with his mate. Jen rolled her eyes. As if any of the men in this room were interested in one of the other females that wasn’t sharing their bed. “Okay, now that everyone has dragged their butts from their beds—”
“Or showers,” Adam piped up with a cheeky grin. Crina elbowed him, her face turning a light red color. Her mate simply winked at her.
“Thank you for that image, Adam, I’ll add it to my—”
“You’ll add it to nothing, female. Get on with your long as—I mean really long list.” Decebel growled as he stumbled over his words to keep from cursing in front of their daughter.
“Killjoy,” she muttered, but then kept going because she had a lot to cover. “Now that everyone has dragged their butts from their beds and/or showers…”
“Thank you,” Adam bowed his head at her.
“We’ve got a lot to cover, so listen up, take notes, or record on your phones because I will not be repeating this crap.” She knew she totally would be repeating this crap, probably a million times, but the fewer times she did have to repeat herself, the better. “And I don’t want to hear any grumbling. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, with joy to the world, fa-la-las, and holly on your own front door, so I want to see some holiday freaking cheer.”