“Of Stonefang now,” the old man said, thumping the cane on the floor, which caused me to jump as the wood reverberated beneath my feet. He may not be able to see, but he was still strong. “You’re our alpha’s now.”
I swallowed my words when Killian glared at me so fiercely that I knew he’d likely kill me if I corrected his grandfather. “Yes,” I said with a sickly sweet smile at Killian. “Iamyour alpha’s mate, and that means Iamof Stonefang Pack too, now.”
Killian’s glare was so narrow I would be surprised if the grumpy bastard could see me at all.
“Has he treated you right?” the female asked, and I assumed she was Killian’s grandmother.
“Killian?” I asked, and I pretended I didn’t see the way he crossed his massive arms across his chest.
The old woman cackled, and I noticed she was also of poor sight, but she could still see me. “Not Killian,” she said, leaning forward. “He’s a good boy. I meant that brute Wolfe. Did he treat you right in the marital bed?”
“I…” It wasn’t just the fact that Killian was very much not a boy—and not, as far as I’d seen, someone anyone would describe asgood—that threw me. It was the stranger asking about my sex life like we were old friends. I blinked, completely confused. “Um…”
“He’s not sealed the deal,” the old man said knowingly. “His scent is on her, but she isn’t marked, still smells too free. Why are you here? Where is Wolfe? Why aren’t you in his bed?”
“I thought this pack was modern?” I accused Killian, who was now openly grinning at my discomfort.
“We are,” he told me, pulling out a mobile phone tauntingly. “The Grumps are just too old to change.”
The Grumps?Suited them.
“Not too old for manners though,” I said loudly enough to be heard. “Old age doesnotgive you the right to be crass, either of you.” I tutted.
Both of them laughed, not in the slightest bit bothered that I was scolding them.
“Come sit,” the old man gestured to the table. “I’m Grandfather, this is Grandmother.”
I looked at Killian in question as I took a seat, and he nodded as if to say,yes, that’s their names.
“Are you Killian’s grandparents?” I asked cautiously.
Grandmother cackled again, and I recalled my mother telling me a human story once about a witch who lived in a housemade of candy to lure human children inside so she could cook them and eat them. In her rocking chair, with gray hair and that cackle, Grandmother met my expectations perfectly of the witch in that tale.
“Killian’s, Cody’s, Gwen’s—you pick.”
Killian sat down on the edge of the bed. “The Grumps have been part of the pack since anyone can remember,” he said with a fond smile at them both.
“You’re druids?” I asked doubtfully.
“Bah.” Grandfather scowled. “Charlatans. That’s what druids are. Nothing but hot air and tricks.” He shook his head. “We’re just shifters. Plain and simple.”
I looked at Killian, my eyes wide in question, and he shrugged. “They’re the pack’s grandparents.”
Because that wasn’t a sentence that needed dissecting at all.
“Anyway,” Killian said to me. “What did you want?”
“Your phone,” I said, pointing to his pocket. “I want to talk to Wolfe.”
“You should call him Alpha Wolfe,” Grandfather corrected me.
“I should do a lot of things when it comes to my mate.” I held my gaze steady on Killian. “May I use your phone?”
“No.”
I blinked in surprise. “Why?”
“He said you would ask, and he said to tell you no until you’ve calmed down and talked to me and Cody.”
