Page 127 of Pack: Posy 3

"Keep telling yourself that," Cole muttered.

"So what didyoucome up with, big brother?" I asked to prevent another war of the words. "After you pick her up at the alpha house, where are you taking her?"

"To the cabin," he declared. "There's a ton of stuff to do. Canoeing, swimming, hiking, fishing, whatever makes her happy. I just need to figure out dinner. Then we'll eat lunch and come home to clean up and get ready to go to the fair with you guys."

"I think the cabin's a great idea, especially after Ash's busy date," Mase told him. "It'll give her a chance to relax before we hit the fair, too."

"Keep dinner simple, like the rest of your date," Wyatt suggested. "Roast hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire pit."

Looking at each other from the corner of our eyes, Mase and I began to count down.

Five, four, three, two—

"Of course, after putting up with your craptastic personality all day, she'll probably want to roastyouover the fire pit."

And Cole's hot temper, all ready on edge after today's events, sparked.

"I swear, if you don't shut your mouth, the next thing coming out of it will be teeth!"

And as usual, Wyatt didn't get the hint that Cole was done playing.

"Chill, dude! What, are you manstruating? Sheesh. Next time Posy wants to give you a nickname, just tell her to call you Oscar, you old grouchy butt."

With a roar, Cole leaped over the table and launched himself at Wyatt, smashing the chair to splinters as they both crashed to the floor.

Thank the Goddess I only spent three dollars per chair at the thrift shop.

"They never change, do they?" I smirked at Jay as Mason dove in to break them up and Ash laughed so hard, he fell on the floor.

"I have to live with this." He closed his eyes and scrubbed his hands over his face. "All day, every day. For the rest of my life."

"They're not this bad around Posy, are they?" I asked, suddenly concerned.

I couldn't see my sweet friend liking the fact that her mates wrecked each other on the regular, and I doubted she'd see their guy banter as playing.

Well, I admitted,it's 'playing' right up until it turns into WrestleMania in the middle of the dining room.

Jay dropped his hands in time to dodge as a tooth did, indeed, go flying past his face.

"Dammit, Wyatt!" Cole roared. "That was a canine! It'll take all night to grow back!"

"It helps that Posy's like a tranquilizer for us," Jay answered me without missing a beat. "The fact that she's, one, not here and, two, mad at them is fraying their tempers. Not to mention how mad they are at themselves right now. They're spoiling for a fight, even Mr. Ice."

He's not really Mr. Ice, though, is he? He just pretends to be.

I kept the thought to myself. Jay was as aware as I was of how much Mase hid under his mask, and saying something wouldn't help anyone right now.

"And Quartz is, too, isn't he?" I asked gently.

"Yeah, but I can't risk giving him control."

"What if you stayed in human form and went to the gym so he could take out some anger on a punching bag or two?" I suggested.

"I don't know if I could keep him from shifting, and if he gets out in wolf form while he's this angry, someone will die - probably several someones - and I'm not chancing that."

Poor Jay. He's always stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Can I ask you something without him hearing?" After he nodded, I asked, "Would you trade him? If you could, would you swap him for a different wolf?"

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