Page 96 of Family: Posy 4

Mason

We followed the king to a well-kept house with pale yellow siding and white trim. There were two vehicles in the driveway, so we pulled up along the curb behind King Julian's truck.

"Posy, do you want one of us to go in first?" I asked as I swiveled around to look at her.

"Um. Let me think about it for a second." She was twisting her fingers and gnawing her bottom lip, which were not good signs.

At least she's talking,Garnet murmured. Silence would be the worst reaction.

Nodding in agreement, I looked over at Jay.

"Go thank the king, please, and tell him we'll catch up later," I said. "I know he's dying to get back to the queen."

"Sure thing."

Jay jumped out after kissing our girl's hand, and I linked my brothers.

Any volunteers to ask her?

You,the three of them linked back, almost in sync.

Sighing heavily, I reached back and laid my hand on Posy's knee.

"Little flower, would you like one of us to tell them a bit about what your life was like at Green River?" I kept my tone as gentle as I could. "Or would you prefer to do it? Or do you want to keep it to yourself?"

"They're going to guess some of it, aren't they?" asked our clever girl. "The king told them what Alpha Briggs did to my real dad, right? So they're going to know things weren't great."

"Most likely," Cole agreed and ran one hand up and down her arm. "King Julian said the same thing."

"So they'll already pity me." She dropped her head and stared at her hands.

"You don't know that." Wyatt reached over, unbuckled her seat belt, and pulled her onto his lap. "And even if they do, so what? You know you don't need pity."

"That's right!" Ash wiggled around in the driver's seat to grin at her. "Badass bitches don't need no pity!"

She rolled her eyes, but a small smile appeared on her lips.

"Let's wait and see," she said. "I'll figure it out once I meet them."

By then, Jay was back. The king drove off with a brief honk, and we waved absently, our attention on our girl as Jay opened the door and scooped her off Wyatt's lap to set her feet on the sidewalk. We all hopped out and joined them, and Jay held her one hand while Ash claimed her other.

"There's something about one of your cousins," I said cautiously as I leaned down and kissed her head. "Do you want to know about it going in, or meet him first? To be fair, it might be ... unsettling, but you won't be in any danger."

Because we'll kill any who threaten you, we all heard Quartz snap.

"Easy, Q," Jay murmured. "There is no threat here, only family."

Family was the threat before, he disagreed, and Jay's eyes glimmered gold.

"Alpha Briggs wasneverher family," Jay said firmly.

"It's okay, Quartz," Posy murmured and took her hand out of Jay's to press it over his heart. "We know you're here if we need you, and we'll hope that we won't."

The wolf light disappeared completely from Jay's eyes, and we all took an easier breath.

"It's a cute house, isn't it?" Our girl smiled as she took in the pretty woodwork and wrap-around porch. "I bet they're nice people."

"They produced you, so yeah, theyhaveto be," Ash laughed.

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