Page 72 of Labor of Love

“You sure?” Ezra asked.

“Yup,” Giovanni said. “Yup, I can be a rational, sentient being. I’m good.”

He was a full-grown shifter, he was the Pack Alpha of his territory, he had self-control—not enough of it at the moment, but it was still there. Fraying at the edges like a sheet that had gone through the wash one too many times, but Giovanni was an adult—damn it all—not a teenaged alpha with more balls than brains.

“Okay then,” Ezra drawled. “Let’s go put my stuff in your trunk and roll down all the windows, yeah?”

Giovanni nodded in agreement. That was probably the best option they had. Granted, he would have agreed to pretty much anything at that point, but Ezra had always been a merciful being and probably wouldn’t use Giovanni’s dazed state to his advantage... much.

Getting the bags into the car was a bit of a blur, but by the time they’d gotten onto the highway Giovanni could mostly think straight again. The sight of Ezra’s slowly swelling stomach was still doing things to him, but the scent was where most of the problem had been.

Not that it was necessarily a problem, per se. Giovanni had wanted Ezra for a while, and his childhood friend’s unmated state was a kick to the pants, but getting high off his scent wasn’t exactly a hardship.

It would be similar if they were mated and Ezra had fallen pregnant.

That was a thought Giovanni had to ruthlessly repress before it made his own scent spike in arousal. Popping a boner around a pregnant omega wasn’t unheard of, it was almost expected actually, but Giovanni didn’t want to make Ezra uncomfortable.

“Mind if I make a call?” Ezra asked.

Giovanni shook his head as he turned onto the main road. “Go right ahead, let Grandma Josie know you’ve landed safe and sound.”

“Oh, I’m going to do more than that,” Ezra grumbled under his breath.

His phone was in a slightly battered case; the lock screen was a picture of the apple tree that Grandma Josie had in her backyard. Giovanni’s lips curled up into a smile at the sight; even half a country away Ezra had been carrying a piece of home with him.

Giovanni focused back on the road as Ezra flipped through his contacts. The phone started ringing when they stopped at the next red light and Grandma Josie picked up as soon as the light turned green.

“Hello, dear,” Grandma Josie said. “Did you get in okay? Giovanni was there to pick you up like the nice boy he is?”

“Yes, it was fine, I was a bit nauseous on the plane but that’s cleared up now,” Giovanni paused. “Was there something you forgot to tell him?”

The tone was all innocence, but the words held that sharp, accusing edge of someone who knew exactly what game was being played and was not amused.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” she said. “He did get there on time, didn’t he?”

Giovanni braced himself.

It had been a decade since they’d talked in person, but he could guess what Ezra’s reaction to that was going to be. He was detail oriented and expected things to go a certain way, which was part of why he’d done so well in the military, but that also came with a temper that could scorch your hair off if you hit the wrong nerve.

“You were supposed to tell him I was pregnant, Grandma!” Ezra exclaimed. “I didn’t want to embarrass him in the middle of the airport like that!”

“Now, pup, Alpha Giovanni is a big boy,” Grandma Josie said in that plodding cadence of hers. “He’s in charge of the pack now, he can handle a little surprise, it might even be good for him.”

Ezra’s jaw dropped. “Grandma, did you try to baby trap the Pack Alpha?”

Giovanni pulled to a stop at the next red light and stared at his turn signal. If he turned left, he’d be bringing Ezra tohis grandmother’s house. If he kept going straight, then he’d be taking the omega straight to his own house.

“Is it working?” Grandma Josie sounded smug.

“Gran—”

“Yes,” Giovanni interrupted.

The light turned green. He hadn’t even bothered touching his turn signal.

“Gio,” Ezra started. “Gio, if this is because I’m?—”

“Hang up. Your grandmother doesn’t need to know how badly I’ve wanted to mate you since my mom explained what that phrase meant,” Giovanni said.

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