“That smells good,” Sebastian said, walking over to him. He looked down at the steaks. “You’re not going to put any butter or oil in there? Or salt and pepper?”
Josh laughed, and Sebastian turned to him in confusion. “What?”
“Nothing,” Josh said. “He’s probably too hungry to care about that. If his mouth is shifted, he won’t care about it, anyway.”
Sebastian raised his eyebrows, gesturing for Josh to explain.
“The taste receptors are different. Seasoning and all that stuff is wasted on them when they make their tongue all wolfy.”
“But his tongue isn’t-” Sebastian stopped talking when he noticed Bjorn’s mouth, seeing his fangs gleaming in the light coming in from the window. “Oh. That’s really cool. Can I see?”
Feeling awkward, Bjorn opened his mouth and let Sebastian observe his tongue. It was a little longer than usual and a bit more flexible, but he didn’t think it looked all that different.
“It’s rough,” Sebastian mused, reaching up and touching the flat of Bjorn’s tongue. The sensation of Sebastian’s fingers gently pressing down on his tongue had Bjorn’s cock stirring in his jeans.
Josh laughed. “Yeah. You haven’t noticed that before?”
“When would I notice-” Sebastian shut his mouth, understanding Josh’s meaning, a mortified look stealing over his face. “We’ve never – I’ve never…”
Bjorn just looked at him, and Sebastian’s face turned a hot red. Josh didn’t notice, his attention fixed on the bread in the oven.
“Well, in that case, you’re missing out,” he said, looking over his shoulder. “Bjorn, you shouldn’t be holding out on him.”
When Josh didn’t get an immediate laugh, he paled, turning around and looking like he regretted the joke.
Bjorn didn’t want Josh to be so nervous, so he looked at him and said, “You’re funny.”
Josh blinked, and after a moment, a nervous giggle escaped his throat. “You’re serious. Fuck, you and Max are going to get along so well.”
Bjorn didn’t quite understand what he meant, but since he no longer looked nervous, he counted it as a win.
30
VIGGO
A week after escaping a fate of gladiatorial combat, Viggo sat at the head of his dining room table, his expanded pack with him and plans for a new house laid out on the table in front of them.
Things had settled somewhat, but Max and Conrad were still unsure of their place. They acted tough, but Viggo could tell they were worried Viggo was going to kick them out at any second.
Running together under the full moon would fix that, but until then, Viggo intended to show them he was serious about taking them in. The decision might have been impulsive, but that didn’t mean he would in any way half-ass his responsibility.
“So these are the initial maps and drawings,” he said, turning the papers toward Max and his brother. The house was slightly smaller than the one they were in now, but that just meant it was slightly larger than average instead of ridiculously so. “And this is where it would be built.” He pointed at a lot on the map, right next to where they were. “Any questions?”
“We don’t need a whole house,” Max protested, glancing at his brother with an expression like this was all too much.
Viggo pushed down his initial surge of irritation, refusing to be offended.
“You do,” he said, tone final. “I’m not sharing this one, and I want the three of you close. A new house is the obvious answer. If Conrad wants a place of his own once the new house is built, we’ll discuss that, but this is a good first step. Or second step, actually. I already had my broker put in an offer for the penthouse next to ours. We’ll have the whole top floor.”
“It’s too much,” Conrad protested. “We couldn’t afford the property taxes on something like this, much less the monthly fees on a penthouse.”
Viggo shot him a baffled look. “Why on earth would you think that you’d have to pay property taxes?”
Max and Conrad shared a glance. “What would we have to pay?” Max asked, the question obviously paining him.
“Nothing,” Viggo said, the idea ludicrous. “The pack covers food, transportation, housing and any other necessary expenses. Is that not how your old pack did it?”
“No,” Max answered, looking slightly shell-shocked. “Our old alpha didn’t pay for any of that.”
