Page 64 of Pack: Posy 3

I watched as Dr. York looked at Bubba and Bubba looked at him.

"I'll tell the king and your alphas that I need my mate to join me. I'll be here for quite a while and I'm not living apart for so long," Dr. York said. "I'll also ask if we can stay in a guest house."

"You're not going to live with us? We got plenty of bedrooms. Bubba and Gelo have one and Leo and Poppy have one and I have one. That leaves, uh, eight minus three..."

I counted up my fingers, then did it again to make sure I was right. Leo was teaching me how numbers added and subtracted.

"Five more!" I told Dr. York, then dropped my voice to a whisper. "Although there are two ghosts in the attic and they makea lotof noise at night. We used to have just one ghost, but another one showed up last night. I asked Poppy if she brought it with her when she moved in yesterday, but she said no."

"Stop, Reau." Bubba's face was bright red. Was he mad? Did he want me to keep the ghosts a secret? "Angelo told you he'd take care of the ghosts, remember?"

"I 'member, Bubba." I stopped and tapped my chin as I thought. "Okay, Dr. York, you stay at the guest house. I don't want you or your mate to get scared by the ghosts."

"That's very kind of you." Dr. York grinned and looked like he wanted to laugh.

"Is your mate a girl or a boy?" I tilted my head and stared into his brown eyes.

"Uh, a boy."

"Like Bubba and Gelo? Okay. What's your mate's name? Is he nice? Will he like me? Will he play with me?"

"Reau, calm down, buddy." Bubba slung his arm around my neck and pulled me in for a noogie.

"No, Bubba! My curls!" I yelped and wiggled out of his hold. "Luna likes them looking nice. Don't mess them up!"

To get him back, I turned to Dr. York with an evil grin.

"You know, the other day, when Leo and I came in from playing basketball, Gelo and Bubba were on the living room floor. Leo put his hand over my eyes, but I saw them! They were kissy-kissy!" I burst out into giggles.

"Reau," Bubba groaned and covered his red face with his hands.

Dr. York laughed and gave me a high-five, and that's when I knew he was an okay guy.

Even if he was old.

#

Emerson

"Sorry if he overwhelmed or embarrassed you," I apologized.

I'd sent Thoreau upstairs to grab the sketchbook and pencils I'd bought him because Dr. York wanted to start with a few simple drawing activities. I knew it would take my brother a few minutes to find the supplies. I'd organized his desk for him when he failed to do it after four days, so he would have to hunt for them.

"What little routine we've been able to establish is disrupted," I explained. "We had a fight with rogues yesterday and he had to stay in the safe room for the first time. Then Leo met Poppy during the fight and she moved in. This morning, Angelo left for a mission before Reau was awake, then Alpha Mason picked up Leo and Poppy right after breakfast fortheirmission."

I scrubbed one hand over my face before looking back at Dr. York.

"So you asked to meet him without any background or preparation so you could form your own opinions. Do you want to know his history now, or continue working with him for a bit first?"

"Call me Alonzo," he offered. "Reau's a chatterbox and a rambler, isn't he? He'll eventually tell me everything himself, even things I don't need to know, like the ghosts in the attic."

My face burned at his knowing smirk, but Angelo was more than worth a little embarrassment.

"Yeah, we're doing some things to sound-deaden his room. Living with two newly mated couples, he's probably learning some things he shouldn't."

"He's learning what healthy love between mates looks like, which is not a bad thing for him to know when he finds his own." Alonzo chuckled, then leaned back in his chair. "But, yes, you can tell me what you know about his life before he came to live with you. I always do my best to avoid triggering patients, but some front-loading will definitely help."

"All right. Once he's occupied with Spring, we'll talk. Thanks for doing this." I paused, then held out my hand for him to shake again, which he did. "I know Angelo said you owed him a favor, but since you'll be here longer than you originally planned, I want to pay you."

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