“The best I can figure out is that my fox was always hidden by my dragon.”
“That makes sense,” Glenn smirked. “They seem to have a real love-hate relationship, hmm?”
Grinning, Alex tweaked his mate’s nipple. “Not anymore, thanks to your tiger. I can already tell the difference with them. My dragon is much more respectful, less pushy, and not so domineering.”
“Good to know.”
“Yup, since your tiger is now protecting my fox and hiding him from prying eyes, my dragon has relaxed,” Alex said, leaning in to kiss his mate’s earlobe. “No one will know I’m a dual shifter unless your tiger allows it.”
A stab of unease pierced Glenn’s gut again at Alex’s words. Someonedidknow about Alex or The Collector wouldn’t be hunting him. And without knowing who sold out his mate to begin with, it was impossible for Glenn to stop the information from spreading—at least for now.
“Tiger mate, are you all right?” asked Alex, concerned.
Unwilling to cause his mate further worry, Glenn looked at Alex, smiling at him before returning the kiss. “I’m good. How did Sawyer do with Jackson?”
“He chickened out,” Alex said giggling. “Instead of calling, he decided to send an email, asking for permission to leave my trailer there. He figured sinceOracle was going to tell Jackson about us, there was no reason to call his cousin just to tell him the same stuff.”
“Did he get an answer yet?” asked Glenn.
Shrugging, Alex said, “Don’t know. Want to go and see?”
“Sure, why not?” Rising, Glenn grasped Alex’s hand, pulling him up. “I don’t feel so bad now about my conversation with my mother.”
Alex’s stomach began to growl. “If you’re gonna tease him,” he grinned, “can you do it after we eat. I’m starving.”
Tugging his mate close to his side, Glenn led him out of Ghost’s office. “How about while we eat? I can’t wait to see our wolf mate turn pink when I tease him about being reluctant to spill the beans about us.”
Giggling, Alex nodded. “Sounds like fun. But first, Riley can snap a photo of us to send to Willow.”
~/~/~/~/~
“Hey assholes, I’m home, horny as fuck, and need some dick now!” Smokey bellowed, walking in the door. Stopping abruptly when his eyes fell on Alex, he grinned lecherously. “Well, hello there gorgeous…what a delicious surprise.”
Before Alex could respond, Glenn jumped up, partially shifting as he charged at his friend.
Within a nanosecond, matching Glenn’s shift, Ghost inserted himself between his two friends, blocking access to Smokey.
Shifting, Sawyer’s wolf rushed over to Glenn’s side, growling at the shifter who’d disrespected their mate.
“Holy shit!” Alex exclaimed, his eyes ping-ponging between his mates and the other two shifters. It was the first time he’d ever seen the onset of an Alpha rumble. Caught between his desire to see Alphas fight and the fear his mates might get hurt, he chose the protection of his mates. As ferocious growls and roars filled the kitchen, Alex stuck two fingers in his mouth and let go an ear-splitting whistle.
The four Alphas froze instantly, prompting Alex to grin at their reaction as he approached his mates, putting a hand on each of them. “Oh wow! You two are absolutely beautiful…love, love, love your wolf, Sawyer…and…just wow…I love your tiger, from what I can see, Glenn. But since I don’t want to see either of you hurt, can you quit showing off for me? I assure you, I’m quite safe."
After Alex’s hand calmed his wolf, Sawyer shifted back, pushing Alex behind him. “Glenn, who is this fucker Ghost is protecting?”
“He’s Ghost?” asked Alex, looking at the partially shifted black tiger skeptically. “Oh man, these guys need some serious help in figuring out code names. Who would ever name a black tiger ‘Ghost’? I mean, I could see Midnight, or Ebony…or even Inky…but Ghost? No, no, no…that’s all wrong.”
Chuckling, Sawyer grasped Glenn’s arm. “C’mon, Snow White, put the fangs and claws away…our mate is safe. And introduce us to the dude who started this shit.”
Retracting his partial shift, Glenn backed up, making sure his two mates were behind him. “Let him be, Ghost…he has some apologizing to do to my mates.”
“Mates? As in more than one? What the fuck, man?” Smokey grumbled, looking over Ghost’s shoulder at Glenn. “Are you saying both of them are your mates?”
“Yeah, Smokey, that’s what he said,” confirmed Ghost, reversing his partial shift, but still blocking his friend from the others. Looking at Glenn, he asked, “Why don’t you introduce your mates to us Snow White…and then tell us what the fuck is going on?”
Leaning out from behind his mates, Alex waved to Ghost and Smokey, grinning. “Hi, I’m Alex…but I love ‘Delicious Surprise’. Can that be my code name?”
“Alex Fouché?” Ghost asked, looking at Alex and then Glenn. “He’s your mate?”
