Page 75 of Family: Posy 4

"Mama! Mama! Bad boy hurt luna and big sissy's feelings! Bad boy called me a retard!"

A dozen heads swiveled in our directions, making me lower my eyes in embarrassment and awkwardness, and Grace grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I squeezed back as I felt her anxiety rattling through the pack bond, and knew that Emerson would be lucky to get here before her mate or mine.

Somehow, he did, though.

"What happened, Reau?" he growled, his eyes narrowed on the human, who clearly thought he was safe in his food truck.

"Dude, just take your monkeys back to the circus. Fatso here doesn't need to eat for a week or two, and I've heard too much sugar is bad for retards—"

And that was all he got out before Emerson's huge hand wrapped around his throat. My beta dragged the ice cream boy out of the serving window and threw him on the ground at our feet.

"Your mouth just talked you into a whole world of hurt," Emerson hissed in the boy's ear, and his grin was nothing I ever wanted directed at me.

The human stared up at him with wide, shocked eyes, and I couldn't blame him. Emerson in a temper was one of the scariest things I'd ever seen - and that included seeingmy mateslose their tempers.

As the human started to scramble away, Emerson leapt forward, grabbed the boy by his ankle, and dragged him off.

By then, my mates, Angelo, Landry, Archer, and Wayne had joined us and Thoreau was telling them what happened a littletooaccurately for agitated, overly protective mates.

Fortunately, Emerson was already out of sight, the shocked, muttering crowd having parted for him like the Red Sea, or my mates would have gotten into an argument with Archer and Wayne over who got to beat the human up.

Don't kill him, Em,I linked him.

Even though I got no response, I knew he'd obey.

No matter how much he didn't want to.

#

Jayden

"Leave you alone for a minute and you'll find trouble." I shook my head as I hugged our girl. "All the more reason for you never to leave our side."

She giggled as she hugged me back, knowing I was teasing. Nothing that happened was her fault. Neither was it Grace's or Thoreau's. It was the stupid human's who thought he had the right to disrespect others for his own twisted entertainment.

"All right, we're staking our claim," Wayne said with a huge grin. "Arch, give me a boost."

Also grinning, Archer linked his fingers to make a cradle, Wayne stuck his foot in it, and Archer lifted him up. Giggling, Wayne climbed into the ice cream truck's open serving window, then spun around and bowed to us.

"Good evening! What kind of ice cream would you like?"

"Get out of there, Way-Way!" Thoreau's eyes grew big and a little scared. "You'll get in trouble!"

"We'll pay for it." Archer shrugged. "It's okay, curls. I promise."

Once he saw none of us complaining or voicing our disapproval, Thoreau relaxed and his eyes grew brighter as he watched Wayne caper around like a monkey inside the ice cream truck.

Soon we each held a cone or cup and Wayne jumped out of the truck as Archer held his ice cream cone for him. Mase made sure to leave enough cash to cover our costs - and probably more besides - then turned the Open sign to Closed and shut the serving window.

By then, Emerson had joined us and Angelo silently handed him a cup of chocolate chip cookie dough, which Emerson took with a grunt.

We sat down at the picnic tables again to enjoy our treat, and I was half thinking it was soon time to go home. It was getting dark, and Posy did not like the dark. Plus, the crowd was starting to pick up, and she didn't like too many strangers around her, either.

And I wanted to love her in our bed.

We all do,Quartz grouched.The boys and I want our mate tonight, Jayden.

Okay. I'll talk to my brothers,I promised him.

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