I raise a skeptical brow.
“Hey, they’re more responsible these days,” Teddy says.“Ever since you made them do that bootcamp with Black Wolf.”
“You still see them as goofy teens,” Axel says.“They’ve matured.”
“They put a whoopie cushion on everyone’s chair at Christmas,” I point out.
“That wasn’t them,” Axel says smugly.
I shake my head.I forget that Axel is only a few years older than the triplets.Just two years older than Maisy–another reason I should stay away from her.
He’s quiet, and people assume he’s mature, but there’s a wicked prankster under his chill vibe.He gets up to more trouble than the rest of us combined.He’s just better at getting away with it.
“Now that that’s settled…” Darius leans forward.His bear emerges, making his eyes flash gold.“Matthias, when were you going to tell us Daisy’s granddaughter is your mate?”
ChapterFive
Matthias
I stare down my brothers.My bear answers to no one.
But there’s no one I’d rather talk about than Maisy.And I need to stake my claim.Axel was her prom date, once upon a time.He did it as a favor to Daisy, but just in case…I need to make sure he knows she’s off limits.
“Daisy’s granddaughter, huh?”Teddy raises a brow at me.
“She has a name,” I say.“It’s Maisy.”It’s actually Daisy May Bennett the Third, but she goes by Maisy.Too many people call her Daisy or Missy.They mix her up with her grandmother or her best friend, Missy.
Which isn’t right.Maisy deserves a spotlight of her own.
“We’re going on a date.And none of you are to interfere,” I order them.Their eyes flash at me as their bears acknowledge the command.
I wait for Axel to protest, but he’s wearing a small smile.
“Maisy and Matthias,” Teddy says.He opens the bottle of whiskey.“I’ll drink to that.”he chugs straight from the bottle.As soon as he’s done, he hands it to Darius, who does the same thing.
“It’s not like that.It’s just a date.”I can’t lie to them and say Maisy isn’t my mate.They’ll smell that I’m lying.
But I’m not going to claim her.I’m not going to take her choices from her.
“Don’t deny it, brother,” Axel says.“It just makes it harder in the end.”
“What do you know about it?”I shoot back.“And how do you know Maisy?”
Axel stretches lazily.“She’s a friend.I always thought whoever she chooses to date would win the jackpot.She’s beautiful, kind, focused, amazing…”
My growl rips out of me.I grit my teeth, and it cuts off.The intensity stunned me.
I have to get control of myself.
“She is.You’re not to get near her,” I say.Tension crackles in the air.Teddy and Darius exchange looks, as if planning on how they’ll interfere if I jump on Axel and start whaling on him.
“I won’t, brother.I’ve been keeping an eye on her, but if you’re going to do it, I won’t have to.”
“You don’t.I’ll be watching over her from now on.”
Axel just grins, cool as a cucumber, and beckons for the twins to hand him the whiskey.He chugs it, and I wrinkle my nose.Drinking from the same bottle is disgusting.A health hazard.
But the more I watch them, the more I want to take a shot.I need it to distract me from thinking about Maisy.Her soft lips, her shining hair, her excitement when she told me the stalest jokes imaginable…just to make sure I wasn’t afraid.
