“Is this a bad time to call?” I ask.
“Hey, Lucas,” Titus says, his voice now sounding clearer and cheerier.
“I’m here too,” Kaylee chimes in, making Titus and me laugh.
“Hey, Kaylee. What’s up, guys?”
“Lucas and I are mated, and we’re planning to kill Ramos and Marilyn.” Before I can answer, Kaylee has already gotten straight to the point. I groan, resting my head against her shoulder as she smirks at me. It seems my mate wastes no time in beating around the bush.
“Wha—what?”
“We’re planning to kill Ramos and Marilyn,” she repeats, making me chuckle.
“No, that part I get. It’s the first part I need you to repeat,” Titus retorts, Kaylee grinning like a mischievous pup.
“Oh, Lucas and I are mated. What’s up, brother-in-law?” Her answer has me bursting into laughter as silence follows the other end of the call.
“You guys finally mated!” Titus shouts through the phone, making me laugh harder. “When? How—I mean, I know the how—but I thought you hated him!”
I can just imagine his shocked expression as he tries to figure out how we ended up together. The last he saw of us, I was racing out of Jordan’s bedroom with Kaylee in my arms due to the forced heat.
“We’re also expecting a pup,” Kaylee adds nonchalantly.
“What! Lucas, stop laughing and explain!” Titus demands on the other side. I’m trying so hard to stop laughing, but Kaylee’s approach to this conversation, leaving Titus confused and tryingto connect the dots to where we are today, is the funniest thing I have ever witnessed while on a call.
“I think Lucas is broken,” Kaylee deadpans.
“I think you broke me!” he exclaims, giggling.
“Good, I made this awkward conversation less awkward.”
With that, Kaylee frees herself from my grasp and bounds over to the sofa, picking up an apple from the trays of food and taking a large bite.
“Lucas, speak,” Titus playfully orders as my laughter dies. I can’t help but giggle some more, not realizing how much I needed this laughing fit.
“She doesn’t hate me anymore,” I manage to wheeze, closing my eyes and taking deep breaths.
“Clearly. You’re mated with a pup on the way!” Titus retorts, his own laughter dying down.
“Oh, the pup happened the day you two rescued me. That heat was brutal,” Kaylee calls out from her spot on the couch. “I still hated Lucas after that.”
Titus starts laughing again at this while a smile grows on my face. I’ve missed this side of Kaylee. The hilarious, no-nonsense side.
“Yeah, it took me a while to gain her trust, but here we are about six weeks later,” I chime in. I then detail how I won Kaylee over, rebuilt our friendship, and helped Ivory Fangs become stronger. Titus listens, interrupting with his own questions. Somewherein the middle of explaining, I found myself beside Kaylee on the sofa, eating the lunch she’d brought up with June and Charles’ help.
“So, you saved her life by mating her during her heat. Proved you changed from the asshole your father tried to turn you into—”
“Don’t call Ramos my father. I have no father,” I cut Titus off.
“Got it. The asshole Ramos tried to turn you into, then you two fell in love all over again and marked each other last night. Did I miss anything?” Titus says with a chuckle, making Kaylee and I smile.
“Yeah. You missed the part that we want to take back Oak Fur and kill Ramos and Marilyn,” Kaylee chimes in.
“Oh honey, that’s a separate issue. And the answer is yes,” Titus says with a snort.
“We didn’t even ask you to help yet,” I say with a sigh of relief, happy to know my god-brother is willing to help.
“You don’t have to ask, Lucas. We’re family, and family helps each other. Besides, I have my own grudge against Marilyn and Ramos. Those two bastards need to die before their demon spawn is born.”
