Page 12 of The Alpha's Mates

He dropped his head forward and sighed. “Yes, Bell, we did. Yes, he’s a guy. No, I don’t want to talk about it or the fact he’s a man. However, like the rest of you horny little mates, I have needs too.” Okay, maybe that came out sounding defensive.

She held up her hands. “Not my business. I’m not judging you at all, Tate. Besides, I haven’t done anything with anyone.” She lied with ease. “I’ve only kissed Christoph and Jackson. Nothing more. You, on the other hand...” Wow, look at her go. She was getting proficient at telling half-truths.

He smirked. “You got me there. I’m good, Bell. I’ve been stressed out lately with school and soccer. So, I needed a little reliever.”

“Right,” she mumbled. “Anyway, come by the house tonight for dinner. Nico said something about grilling out.”

“Sounds great. I have the rest of the day to myself.” Tate walked her to the door. “And, Bell, could you do me a favor?”

“Anything for you, Tate. What’s up?” She grinned and batted her lashes at him playfully.

“Can you not tell anyone what you saw just now? I'm not embarrassed or anything, but I also haven't, you know, talked about “it,” either. If that makes sense.” Heat filled her cheeks while the same color burst across Tate’s nose.

“No problem. I saw nothing, and I know nothing.” She zipped her lips and flicked away the key.

Tate sagged. “Thank you, Bell.” He hugged her tight, giving her a lung full of his stallion’s scent along with their mating. “I’ll see you tonight.”

She pulled back; her nose wrinkled as she stared up at him. “Might want to shower first. You stink.”

“Noted. See you.” She gave a last wave, then headed back down the hall. Maybe all wasn’t lost after all.

Ha. Who was she kidding?

She was the queen of whatever could go wrong, went wrong. The party wouldn’t be any different.

What the hell am I missing here?

Bell stood in front of the open fridge and counted the number of trays of sandwiches, and cold-cut roll-ups for the third time in the last thirty seconds, knowing full well she was missing stuff. The gate on the side of the house banged shut, drawing her attention momentarily. Even people were showing up early, which didn’t make a lick of sense. She wrote seven pm on the invitations and the fliers.What the heck.Ignoring the people, she went back to counting, because obviously, the more she added up the numbers, the higher the chances were she was wrong.Is one hiding?Maybe the caterer screwed up.She prayed it had been her count.

“Hey.” Zoe came up beside her and peered into the open refrigerator, then glanced at her. “We need food. Like yesterday.” She glanced down at Bell’s shirt. “Where’s your name tag? If we have to wear these stupid things, so do you.”

“Who the fuck cares?”One-forty-one, one-forty-two...

“Then why the hell are we wearing them?”

Bell turned on her sister. “I am in crisis mode. Frankly, I don’t care if you wear them or you stick them up your butt. Anyway, it doesn’t matter because I can’t make a count!”

“Easy, killer.” Zoe held up her hands. “Your claws are out.”

“I’m aware.” She pushed an errant lock of her hair behind her ear. She wished she’d pulled it into a ponytail, but Hayden had talked her out of it. Said the ribbon she used as a headband matched Bell’s outfit. She should have added a blue scarf to pair with her blouse so she could have pulled it up. “Can you count these for me? I’m so frazzled I keep getting a different number every time.”

“You’re supposed to serve it, not count it.” Zoe playfully elbowed her.

“I don’t have time for your crap, Zoe. Just count the items on the damn tray for me. It’s short, and if my count is correct, we don’t have enough food to cover the party.”

“It’s just food.”

“Exactly! Without it, people won’t stay, and we need them to hang out and have fun.”

“Shit. You’re right.” Zoe scrubbed her forehead and blew out a breath. “Take it all out. It’ll make it easier to count. Maybe it’s why you missed a few.”

A low growl vibrated from Bell’s chest, catching herself off guard.

Zoe slid her shock-filled, wide-eyed gaze to her. “Did you just growl at me?”

“You’re making it seem like I can’t count. It’s basic fucking math!” Bell hissed. She was angry, but not at her sister. It’d been a Murphy week. Everything that could go wrong had been wrong.

“You need a beer to help you relax and chill the fuck out.” Zoe got into Bell’s face and curled her lip. “And, if you growl at me like that again, I’m calling Mom.”

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