Page 16 of Mink Hijinks
“I do not envy Omegas. All my siblings and I are Alphas. Mom and Dad had their hands full with five of us.”
“I have two older Beta sisters. Mom still calls me her baby. I’m thirty-two!”
“Never would have guessed. You have such a sweet baby face.” I pat his cheek and he swats at my hand, but he’s still grinning, so I guess I didn’t offend him. Thankfully.
“And you?”
I press a hand to my chest. “A lady never tells.”
He snorts as he drops back onto the edge of the bed and pulls up a sock. “Sure. Sure.”
“Thirty-seven. Thirty-eight in February. Valentine’s Day, to be exact.”
“I’m sure your parents were thrilled with holiday babies.”
I nod. “They were. Valentine’s Day is mom’s favorite holiday after Christmas. She wanted to name us all after different Christmas related items, but Dad vetoed her naming us Ornament, Jolly, Jingle, Garland, and Wreath.”
“For the record, I would veto those names too.” Pax looks up at me. There’s such a beautiful sparkle in his eyes.
“We all ended up named after uncles. Until Misty chose Misty. Her dead name never suited her, anyway.” I shiver, remembering how much she hated it.
Pax’s smile seems to brighten even more. “My oldest sister chose Anna when she transitioned. It took mom a bit of time to understand everything, but thankfully she came through in the end. Is it easier in shifter families?”
I swear my heart skips a beat. Fate really knows her stuff. “Sometimes, not always. Depends on the family, really. Mine is obviously fantastic.”
He snorts again. “It was hard on Anna, but I’m proud of her for being her true self. That’s something big.”
“Indeed, it is. Always be yourself. Unless you can be something magical, then be magical.”
“Says a shifter. Youaremagical.”
“Does that bother you?” I brace for his response.
“I got fucked by a magical creature. Why would that bother me?”
“You did not just call me a magical creature!”
“Magical mink.” He pokes at my side.
“Better.Muchbetter. Now let’s go grab some food and groceries.”
“And I need to find a laundromat to wash up my mess.” Pax glances towards the bathroom door.
“Nope. We’ll call housekeeping to deal with it. It’s part of their services to clean up after Heats.” I don’t want Pax to worry about it.
“Okay, but I don’t think they expect...” he nods to the bathroom door. “That.”
“AndI’msure they’ve seen it all.” I grab the phone on the nightstand and call the front desk. “Branson? Perfect. Would you be a dear and send housekeeping to cabin 22 for Heat clean up? We’re going out for breakfast and shopping and we made a big mess. Please bring fresh towels and sheets and pillowcases and I don’t know, a whole linen closet worth of stuff please and thank you.” Branson’s still saying he’ll be right on it when I hang up. “See? Easy.”
“I still feel bad.”
“They’ll send Betas or Omegas. No one is going to get riled up on your pheromones. Oh! But might want to hide the toys.”
Pax’s eyes widen, and he dashes to the bathroom. When he comes out, he’s clutching his floral bag. “I piled everything in the tub to make it easy.”
“Perfect. Now, food or I’ll get crabby.”
PAX
