Page 129 of Family: Posy 4

She smiled a sunshine smile, complete with dimples, and that invisible fist squeezed my heart again, but for an entirely different reason this time.

"Well, thank you, sweetheart," I said gruffly, feeling heat steal across my cheekbones.

"It's the truth," she said, then hesitated before asking in a whisper, "Is Quartz mad at me?"

"Of course not. Why would he be?" I asked in surprise.

"I kept a secret. I promised him no more secrets."

"Oh, sweetheart, no. We're all furious that this happened to you, and that Burnt Oil Man is still alive, but no one is mad at you."

"But Quartz—"

"He understands. We all do." I realized something then. "Besides, you kind of forgot about it, didn't you? You've been so happy and felt so safe with us, you didn't really remember how Briggs got the wolfsbane."

"I only remembered Burnt Oil Man when I smelled him."

"That makes sense. Smells are powerful triggers when it comes to memory. Jay explained it to Mase once. Something about scents going straight to a certain part of the brain." I dropped a kiss on her forehead. "Lark, I know you already told the king no, but think really hard now. Are there any others you can remember who hurt you or caused you to be hurt?"

"No, I promise. Besides pack, Burnt Oil Man was the only one ever in alpha house. Oh! Until I smelled five wonderful scents that were my mates!"

I bent my head to kiss her, but she yawned suddenly, and my lips ended up on her cheek.

"Sleep, sweetheart," I chuckled.

"What about Sid and Quartz?"

"They'll be here soon," I crooned quietly. "Sleep now, and I'll stand watch. You don't need to worry or be scared anymore. All you need to do is sleep, Lark. Sleep and dream sweet dreams."

"No matter how sweet dreams are, real life is better now. I love you, Garnet," she whispered and closed her pretty silver eyes. "I love all my mates with all of my heart."

"We love you, too. You're our darling, our dearest, our love, our sweetheart, our little mate. And you always will be."

The words seemed so paltry, so minimal, to encompass the enormity of the feelings I had for her, but she seemed happy with them. With a contented sigh, she nestled her head against my chest as best she could with the pups' heavy weight on top of her.

Rolling my eyes for what I hoped was the last time tonight, I moved everyone around until she was curled up in the middle of the bed with a mate hugging her on either side.

Then I settled myself in front of them and kept my promise to stand guard as they slept.

19: Bad News, Good News, Best News

Cole

As our wolves got themselves and Lark ready for bed, we left Garnet to supervise them and checked in with Dad and Papa.

All's good here, but what happened with Posy and Lark?Papa asked.

Yeah. We almost had to chain your betas down to keep them from storming the palace,Dad added.

With a snort, Wyatt flashed us all the scene fromThe Princess Bridewhere Miracle Max says, "Have fun storming the castle!"

That movie was one of Mom's favorites, and she always seemed to have it playing whenever we hung out at Wyatt's house as kids. Even though none of us ever made it all the way through it in one sitting, we knew every line.

After a quick convo with my brothers, we linked the betas into the conversation, knowing they wouldn't settle until they had an update about their luna.

Long story short, Lark got scared when she smelled the bastard who supplied Kendall Briggs with wolfsbane,Wyatt told them.The king has him in his cells for us to interrogate tomorrow while Posy has tea with the queen.

Not even a heartbeat passed before Tyler said,I respectfully request to help with the interrogation.I can drive through the night and be there by dawn.

---