~/~/~/~/~
Knocking on Kahn’s bedroom door, Heath smiled, anticipating the reaction to the good news he’d brought. While waiting for permission to enter, he was already thinking about the men who would accompany Reeve’s mate to the art gallery. When he heard nothing, he knocked again. “Hey, Kahn? It’s me, Heath.”
When only silence greeted him, his gut began to churn. Trying one more time without any luck, Heath grabbed the doorknob and twisted it, expecting it to open…but it didn’t. “This isn’t good,” he mumbled under his breath, jiggling the knob harder. “Kahn, open up or I’m coming in!”
Still no answer. A sense of foreboding overcame him. Willing to wait no longer, Heath threw his weight against the door, smashing it open. Once in the room, his eyes searched for Kahn, but no luck. Nor was he in the adjoining bathroom.Motherfucker…where the hell are you!
Panic seized him. Frozen in the middle of the empty bedroom, he frantically ran his fingers through his hair.Think, dammit! Think!Muttering a stream of expletives, he headed downstairs, praying to the gods his boss’s mate was there. Reaching the bottom step, his eyes swept the living room. Empty! Turning, he saw Gunter standing at the kitchen doorway. “Hey, have you seen Kahn in the last hour or so?”
“No, why?”
“He’s not in his room.”
“Oh, he went out,” CeCe said, brushing past Gunter, her hands full of snacks. “He said he’d be back later.”
“When did he leave?” asked Heath, trying but failing to sound calm.
Shrugging, CeCe said, “I don’t know…maybe twenty minutes ago. He said he’d be back and he always keeps his word, so I wouldn’t worry.” Then, shoving a handful of chips into her mouth, she headed upstairs. Heath slumped against a wall, burying his face in his hands. What the fuck was he going to tell Reeve?
~/~/~/~/~
Following Norm, Smokey realized they were headed toward the kitchen from which an intoxicating aroma drifted toward them. Now he was certain his surprise was a very tasty treat his matehad made. Before he could say anything, Smokey was suddenly assaulted by…What the fuck?
“Hey!” Galen yelled, falling against Smokey. “Danny, stop shoving me.”
Eamon, who was hot on Danny’s heels, tripped and fell to his hands and knees only to be pounced on by Jessica who’d been close behind him. “Ooh…stop it, Jesse,” he cried, yanking his face back. “Quit lickin’ me.”
Hearing Smokey’s growl, Galen looked up. “It wasn’t me,” he cried, pointing to the wolf pup standing next to him. “He won’t leave me alone.”
Coming up behind Smokey, Colton stopped in front of Daniel’s wolf, shaking his finger at him. “Daniel, stop hunting Galen. He’s not prey. Promise you won’t do it anymore or else you can’t go with Theo.”
Go with Theo?Turning to Norm, Smokey asked, “Where’s our mate going?”
Before Norm could answer, Jake’s wolf attempted to climb up on Smokey, digging his claws into one of his legs. “SHIT!” Smokey roared, reaching down to extract the needle-sharp points.
“Colty, he said a bad word,” Galen snickered. “Are you gonna make him stand in the corner?”
Scooping up Jake and Jessica, Colton handed one pup to an astonished Smokey and the other to Norm. “It’s best if you keep Jessica away from Eamon…I think she has a crush on him.”
“A crush?” asked Norm. “Isn’t she a little young?”
Shrugging his shoulders, Colton extended his arm to Galen to help him get up. “If you have a better explanation, I’d love to hear it.”
“Colty, can I say bad words now?” asked Eamon, standing up.
“No, you cannot,” Colton replied.
“Buthedid!” Eamon whined, pointing to Smokey.
Colton rolled his eyes at Smokey. “Little pitchers have big ears.”
Pushing open the kitchen door, Theo asked, “Who’s misbehavin’? No cookies for that person.”
Running to Theo, Galen yelled, “Not me! Can I have one now?”
“May Ihave one now,” Theo corrected as he hefted Galen up into his arms with a smile. “Who else wants one?”
“Me!” exclaimed Eamon, running to Theo’s side as a chorus of barks joined in.
