Page 88 of Moonlight and Mischief
“It would serve you right, after how you and Slate have been,” I tease. Jasper buries his face in the crook of my neck and laughs silently.
“Why do I have a feeling you guys will be worse?” Slate sits in the armchair opposite us and pulls Hazel into his lap.
“So what’s going on guys? I need to get my mate to bed,” Jasper asks, a frown creasing his brows.
Hazel’s eyebrows shoot up.
“For sleep,” Jasper growls. “It’s been a long night.”
That’s an understatement as the pale morning light begins to filter through the curtains of our cozy living room.
“Well, we are going to be Alphas,” Hazel begins, pausing like she isn’t sure how to continue.
“Pretty sure that’s been the case for like six months,” I mutter, trying to not giggle. Exhaustion strips away my filter, making my words goofy and thoughtless.
Slate rolls his eyes. “You know what we mean.”
It’s too easy to tease him. Hazel’s grin mirrors my own in a moment of female solidarity.
“I’m really excited for you guys. You’re going to be amazing,” I say.
Hazel’s blush is back, and Slate’s hands tighten around her waist, probably sensing her discomfort. “Thank you. But we are going to need our own second-in-command.”
“Yeah?” Jasper says.
“Of course,” Slate says.
“We’d like you to be our Beta,” Hazel blurts. Jasper freezes, his brows furrowing.
Squeezing his arms looped around me, I reassure him, “Who else would they want?”
He takes a slow breath. “I appreciate that. But I’m going to have to talk with my mate about it.” My hand covers my grin.
“Marigold, you don’t have to be Beta too if you don’t want to. Don’t get me wrong, we’d love to have you. But if you’d prefer not to, it’s fine. I don’t care that it’s tradition for mated pairs to take the same position.This pack breaks with tradition all the time. I mean, Crickett isn’t Gamma with Hawthorne,” Hazel says. She’s right. The tension in my shoulders unravels.
“So basically I don’t have a choice?” Jasper asks, his smirk softening his words.
“Correct,” Hazel teases back.
Jasper huffs. His voice drops, speaking only to me. “Sunshine, how do you feel about it? Should I accept? And we can get back to them about what you want to do.”
I can tell he wants to. Despite his calm exterior, excitement bubbles through our bond. I’m excited too. He deserves the position after how hard he’s worked to prove himself. Not to mention, his natural ability and dominance dictate that he should be second after Slate.
“Yeah, you should. You’re the best man for the job,” I say, kissing his cheek.
“Alright,” he says.
“Wonderful!” Hazel’s smile is genuine. I thought it was Slate’s decision to pick Jasper, but seeing Hazel’s expression, I realize it was her. I should have known. Slate defers to Hazel as often as possible.
“I’ll be happy to talk details tomorrow, but it’s extremely late,” Jasper says, releasing me to stand. Hazel and Slate both hug him.
I throw my arms around Hazel. “Thank you for supporting him,” I murmur in her ear.
“I should thank you for the same thing.” Her arms squeeze my ribcage. “Good night,” she says, waving as they head out the door. It closes with a click.
“Well, Sunshine?” he purrs, turning away from the front door.
“Honestly, I want to keep teaching. I’m not made for leadership, and I love my students” I say, my heart in my throat.
