Page 121 of Pack: Posy 3

He did, and I pecked his forehead.

"My first good boy kiss!" he crowed, his cheeks pink and his eyes glimmering. "Wait til I tell Wayne and Arch!"

"Won't they be jealous?" Angelo teased, but Thoreau, as usual, took him seriously.

"No. They get good boy kisses all the time from Mom and Dad. I never gotanykind of kisses from Mommy Daddy, and now I don't have any mommy daddy, so no kisses ever."

We'd all noticed that he lumped both parents together in one title, and Emerson had tried to correct him, but Thoreau stubbornly resisted. Dr. York told him to leave it alone, saying Thoreau understood the concept of individual parents and gender terms, but his tormentors were one inseparable unit in his mind.

"Reau, Emerson's your mommy now." Angelo pulled him for a hug. "You're our baby, remember?"

"Bubba will be my mommy? I don't want a mommy again. Mommies are mean." Thoreau shook his head so fast, his curls flopped all over. "Bubba will be Mama. Will Gelo be Papa?"

Oh, my heart! This kid's eyes should be illegal!I linked Angelo.

I know. We can't be strict with him for anything when he uses them.He chuckled.His mate is going to be in so much trouble.

Snickering, I watched as Angelo pecked Thoreau's forehead.

"Yeah,piccolo cucciolo(little puppy). I am your papa. Em is your mama, but you can still call him Bubba if you want, okay?"

"Okay, Gelo. Wait! I mean, Papa!"

Throwing his arms around Angelo's waist, Thoreau squeezed him hard, burying his face in Angelo's chest for a second, then looked up and smiled the most adorable smile.

"I love you, Papa."

And the fearsome and feared Angelo of Death had to wipe tears from his eyes before he responded in a voice that cracked.

"I love you, too, Reau."

"Hey!" Landry called out. "Can someone tell me what's going on? What happened to me? Why is Oak exhausted? Why amIexhausted? Why am I laying on the floor? And who left an elephant dance on my chest?!"

"Lelofant!" Thoreau screeched and raced over to Landry. "I want to see an lelofant! Where's the lelofant? They are so cute with their trunks! Baby lelofants use their trunks to hold their mommy's tails. Isn't that so sweet?"

He stopped and made a sound of disappointment, then scowled and kicked the bottom of Landry's sneaker, causing Landry to stare up at him in a confused sort of fascination - a state I could totally relate to when it came to Thoreau.

"Bad Gamma! Papa Gelo! Gamma Landry is lying! There are no lelofants here."

Thoreau plopped on the mat next to Landry and rambled on and on about getting Mama Bubba and Papa Gelo to take him to the zoo to meet some 'lelofants.' Landry nodded from time to time, obviously too drained to contribute much, not that Thoreau neededanyhelp carrying the conversation.

My eyes met Angelo's, and we both burst into laughter, and I couldn't have asked for a better way to get the last of the anger and stress out of my system.

"Alpha Jayden never would have left if it wasn't for Quartz," he said after we quieted down.

"I know." I sucked my lips between my teeth. "How long do you think they'll be gone?"

"My dear girl, they were ready to come back, tails tucked between their legs, five minutes ago," he chuckled, "but don't worry. They know they need a plan to get back into your good graces. I'd expect some fancy gifts, if I were you. Make them crawl on their bellies before you forgive them."

"They don't need a plan, and I can't be bribed with gifts, and I won't shame them. I just want them to apologize and tell me they know that I'm the luna, not just their mate."

"Theydoknow that, but I understand why you need to hear it from them." He grinned and tapped my nose with his index finger. "Listen, sweetheart, let them make fools of themselves for you once in a while. It does them good to have their egos knocked down a peg or two every once in a while, yeah?"

"Well, you are a man, so I guess you know better than me about that part," I smiled. "All right. I'll let them eat a bit of humble pie."

"It's what's best for them, after all."

"Then I guess I can tolerate a little groveling."

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