Tucker lifted a brow. "You're forgetting two things, Matty. First, you're a couple hours’ ride from Vegas from here. Or LA, or, hell, Mexico. And secondly, you're talking farmland up in the Central Valley. Do you really think those city slickers know dick about farming? Come on, son. Not everyone is as hardworking as we are. That's just a fact of life."
"And it's precisely why they want our pack lands." Jared nodded agreeably, drumming his fingers against the arm of his chair. I could tell he was mentally running over a list of possible allies and picturing the surrounding areas by the way his eyes shifted right and left, a lupine trait so many of us showed even in our human forms.
He finally looked back at me. "Off the top of my head, I would suggest you reach out to the alphas of the Barstow, Riverside, Mojave, and Tehachapi packs. If you call them personally, it'll be impossible for them to turn you down without looking like complete douchebags. I've met all of them, and while I wouldn't trust them any farther than I can throw them, they aren't as bad as Horace or Monty. At least, not from what I could tell. I'll forward you their numbers now." Because of course my productive beta would have contact information at his fingertips. I would expect nothing less of the man.
I couldn't help but grin when my phone dinged immediately. Taking a deep breath, I picked it up and studied the information before looking back at Jared. "Remind me of something, and please pretend I knew the information in the first place. Once I get alliance agreements, is a verbal contract enough, or do we need anything formal?"
Devon answered before Jared. "Definitely formal, Matt. The Supreme Council requires official alliance agreements be signed, notarized, and submitted to your territory chief. So you don't have people promising the moon and then letting your enemy into the back door. You can thank the Great Pack War in the 1890s. They caused so much shit back east, Chicago flooded, and both New York and Boston had fires. We were lucky the humans never discovered our existence while all that shit was going down."
Jared perked up with interest. "Didn't it all start because the New York alpha promised the New Jersey pack they'd have their back if anything happened with Long Island?" Devon was visibly excited, and the two of them geeked out on history. Tucker and Luci stood and stretched before heading toward the door. With a wry grin, Tucker glanced back over his shoulder. "Want us to drag the nerds out with us? Or can you make your calls with them yapping?"
I didn't need to answer. Jared and Devon rose and followed them out of the room without missing a beat of their conversation. Laughing softly under my breath, I steeled myself before making the first call. I wasn't sure what the reception would be, but Jared was right. If they didn't stand with me, their own packs would be at risk.
Twelve
Elisha
"I can't believe the businesses are already starting to reopen." Matt stared almost hungrily at a sign in the window of the Full Moon Diner. “I wish it was tomorrow. Then we could go in there and get a milkshake.”
Trying not to laugh, I poked his solid stomach. "Like I thought, there's no room after your second slice of pie. And don't get me started on how many finger sandwiches I saw you putting away."
He stared at me impassively for a few seconds before blinking. "Little wolf, are you… food-shaming me? Allow me to remind you—you're the one who suggested our daily afternoon snack time."
"Emphasis on snack, my love. Not a full meal." He looked so injured. When I couldn't feel anything through the bond, I immediately felt bad. "Shoot, Matt! I didn't mean it rudely. I was teasing you. I was originally picturing snack time a little differently than what it's turned out to be, that’s all."
When he started to laugh, I realized he'd been purposely closing off our bond. My mouth dropped open with an indignant huff. "You totally played me. How were you able to block me? It’s a neat trick, so obviously I need to learn it immediately."
He simply laughed harder, bent over right there on the sidewalk, bracing both hands on his thighs while he brayed. Before long, I was snickering with him. Still slightly bent, he stood taller so he could look me in the eye.
"I know I'm going to regret this, but I will absolutely teach you. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I shut myself off from the pack consciousness the same way during the challenge to avoid any distractions. However… I do have one condition. First, you have to tell me how you pictured snack time going because now I think you wanted me to sit at your feet and hand-feed you or something."
Tapping my chin, I hummed slightly as the imagery washed over me. "First, we have to act your idea out sometime because it sounds sexy. But only if I get to do it for you, too. So I had pictured something more romantic. In my mind, I was sitting on your lap while we shared food from the same plate. And kissed. There were lots of kisses."
His eyes darkened as a possessive growl rumbled from his throat. "I like the way you think, little wolf. Something tells me our snack times are going to be changing. No wonder you insist on doing it in our suite. You’re so subtly sneaky it’s almost diabolic. My buddies would have a field day if they knew my omega was trying to seduce me while I was feeding my face."
"I suppose it all comes down to hunger and appetite either way, doesn't it?" I delivered the line so instantly Matt did a double take before cracking up again.
"Remind me never to underestimate you, Elisha. Or your planning abilities." He cupped a hand under my chin to hold my head firmly in place while he kissed me. At first it was a soft brush of lips, but then he tilted his face to plunder my mouth with his tongue. I needed several moments of passive enjoyment before I gathered myself to kiss him back.
And then I lost track of time. Nothing existed outside of Matt's mouth on mine and the large hand firmly gripping my butt. A polite throat clearing from somewhere to our left startled us apart, cheek to cheek as we glared at whoever had interrupted.
When I met Jared's amused gaze, I was horrified to realize I was completely hard, and somehow my right knee had lifted to push up against Matt's hip. My hands were locked around his neck, and I’d apparently been doing my best to climb him like a tree. On the sidewalk. In the middle of Main Street. With people working inside the shops to get them ready to open tomorrow.
Bumping my forehead against Matt's chest, I said a quiet prayer for a meteor strike. Or the ground to open and swallow me. Basically, if someone could just kill me now, that would be great.
Matt tried to soothe me over the bond, sending waves of affection and peace. Meanwhile, his hand subtly slid from my butt, gliding over my thigh to support my raised leg as if this were normal public behavior. With his cheek still pressed against mine, his smile pushed our skin closer together. When he spoke, the low timbre gave me goosebumps.
"Pardon us for disturbing whatever you wanted to say, Jared. Go on. You’ve got my attention." I swallowed a laugh. No one but Matt could turn a gentle rebuke for kiss-blocking us into pleasant teasing.
Jared merely lifted a brow. "Sure, Matty. I'll do my best to forgive you for being a loving alpha and proving why you were the best one for me to call in Elisha's time of need. Although I would be happy to suggest a few places offering better privacy while you share your affection. After all, you were gone for many years. It's possible you’ve forgotten the best makeout spots."