Chapter 9
1920 Words
Chapter 9
At the townhouse where the other three bounty hunters stayed, the four of them, along with Aries, gathered. The atmosphere was tense because Fury’s dealings with Margot and her fiancé appeared more complicated than they realized. Besides Fury’s messed-up mate bond, Aries now had to travel to an unknown pack to defend his marriage, and Warlord’s mate was dealing with bureaucratic nonsense because of her species and background.
“How is that all of us are going through something with our mates, while Percy gets to live in peace?” Warlord asked, resentment evident in his tone.
“Because I’m the only one mated to a werewolf?” Poseidon replied.
“Lacie’s a werewolf, too, dipsh*t. An Alpha to be exact!” Aries retorted.
“Yeah, but nothing is wrong with your mate bond in and of itself. You guys are solid. It’s that other pack that’s delulu and has poles stuck up their a*ses,” Poseidon cleared up.
“I still can’t believe you have to take Lacie all the way to Timbuktu just so she can reject a dude she’s not even mated to,” Carter cringed. “I mean, that’s stupid as f*ck. She’s mated, married, and has a kid. Why would that Elder out there even entertain this crap?”
“I have no f*cking clue. But we’ll find out in two days,” Aries grumbled and rubbed his face. He slumped back into the sofa and closed his eyes. He was mentally exhausted from the drama.
“Where were you all day today, Carter?” Warlord asked.
“Shopping with Sarah and the Luna,” Carter replied. All of the others cringed with sympathy.
“Dude, you had to go shopping with the Luna and your mate?” Poseidon shuddered.
“Grocery shopping,” Carter emphasized.
“Ooohhh…” the guys cringed again. They were glad that Allie hadn’t demanded that they all tag along.
“It honestly wasn’t that bad. The Luna has actually let up a lot when it comes to Sarah’s diet,” Carter defended Allie.
“How are they getting along overall?” Fury asked
“Better. A sh*t ton better. There’s actual familial love coming from the Luna. It’s like they’re sisters rather than cousins, and I think it’s what they both needed.”
“I wonder if her getting close to Sarah is making the Beta and Gamma jealous?” Poseidon asked without thinking.
“Bro, what the f*ck?” Warlord responded.
“Yeah, man, that’s f*cked up to say,” Fury said in agreement. “Did you genuinely just ask if a grown-ass Alpha Luna is going to get catty because she’s bonding with her actual family?”
“I didn’t mean it that way!” Poseidon defended himself. “I’m just saying, the Luna, Beta, and Gamma are like sisters, too. Their wolves are actual sisters, but if the Luna becomes close with Sarah, wouldn’t that potentially put a strain on their friendship?”
“NO!” All of the guys shouted at him.
“You’re really proving the hypothesis that you only deal with drama-filled women, huh, Percy?” Carter drawled, shaking his head.
“Seriously, you think that’s how healthy adult female relationships work?” Fury scoffed. “That they have a finite amount of affection, and if they give some to one person, they have to take it from another? That’s some high school garbage.”
“Percy, stop being shallow. Just because Allie is becoming closer with Sarah, who is her cousin, doesn’t mean it’s going to affect her friendship with Leah and Sin,” Aries chastised him. “Not everything is a three-way turf war for attention. You need to expand your emotional vocabulary beyond ‘jealousy’ and ‘drama.’ It’s exhausting.”
“Yeah, you can have best friends who you see as family, while also having family you see as friends,” Warlord stated. “It’s called having a mature emotional life, which, let’s face it, is a concept you’ve never grasped. You think the complexity of a woman’s heart is the same as choosing which protein bar to eat.”
“I just… I just thought about how, you know, sometimes people feel left out,” Poseidon mumbled, looking down at his shoes.
“You think with the part of your brain that handles low-stakes, easily resolved conflicts,” Fury said, leaning forward and staring at him. “That’s why you’re the only one here whose mate-related problems are solved just by showing up and being charming. The rest of us are dealing with institutional prejudice, ancient rivalries, and literal soul-bond chaos.”
“The only strain you’re seeing is the one you’re projecting from whatever vapid relationship drama you witnessed this week,” Carter added dryly.
“It’s fine, Percy. Just stick to flexing and being pretty,” Aries concluded with a tired sigh. “Leave the nuanced human interaction to the rest of us. Your brain might cramp.”
“Yeah, seriously,” Fury stated.
“Why are you guys such trolls!?” Poseidon exclaimed.
“Because you don’t think before you open your mouth!” they all exclaimed in unison, making Poseidon jump in his seat. Their unified shout made them burst into laughter, as they were all thinking the same thing. Poseidon pouted like a child, but he couldn’t be mad at them. They were his friends, brothers in arms, and pack mates.
“Speaking of Sarah and the Luna, what did you guys do today? Other than grocery shopping?” Aries asked
“Uh, we had Grimaldi’s, nearly gave Sarah a heart attack with how much food we could put away, and then we went to this quaint little French Bakery up the road that had the best Strawberry Cream Cake I’ve ever had in my life.”
“Aww, that sounds so good!” Poseidon groaned. “I love French Bakeries!”
“So does Sarah and the Luna. Sarah was whining about how full she was from a small pizza and some salad, but then she ate four macarons and gave me a look like she wanted more after finishing the last one.”
“Women and their sweets,” Aries shook his head while smiling.
“The Luna was worse,” Carter said, trying to stifle his laughter.
“Why?” Warlord asked.
“That tiny woman put down a medium pizza, a whole pan of cheesy bread, two salads, four Coke Zeros, and a massive slice of triple chocolate cake without even so much as blinking.”
“Damn!” the other guys exclaimed in awe at Allie’s ability to eat.
“Dude, I mean, I know that we’re werewolves, but seriously, where does she put it all?” Fury asked, not to anyone in particular. “I have trouble getting Margot to get dessert even though she’s still hungry, but the Luna seems to just gravitate towards it without any hesitation.”
“Did you guys hear that the Luna is Katie and Simba’s number one customer?” Aries asked, a playful smirk on his face.
“That doesn’t sound surprising at all,” Carter replied. “Not after what I saw at the bakery today,” he mused and chuckled. The others laughed as well. Carter was going to say more, but his phone started to ring. He knew instantly that it was Sarah because the song playing was in Korean.
“What kind of ringtone is that?” Warlord asked.
“It’s Sarah. She assigned it herself on my phone,” Carter replied. “Hey, love, what’s up?”
“I’m hungry,” Sarah’s voice came through the receiver.
“Shocking. Utterly groundbreaking news right there,” Fury muttered under his breath, earning a quick jab in the ribs from Aries.
“Why don’t you eat one of the meals that Allie prepared for you?”
“I want ramen, but Allie threw all of them away,” Sarah’s voice came, her pouting was noticeable to everyone in the room, and they all snickered.
“Dr. Quinn said you can’t have all of that sodium, Sarah. Your blood pressure and cholesterol levels were high during your last check-up,” Carter sternly said.
“Ugh! You sound like my cousin!” Sarah whined. “It’s the baby, Carter! The baby wants the noodles of its ancestors! You’re denying your child its heritage!”
Carter pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t you dare pull the ‘ancestors’ card on me, Sarah. You know damn well the ancestors ate fresh produce, not dehydrated sodium bricks.”
“The baby is growing a tiny, angry ramen-craving wolf! It’s going to come out with the flavor packet in its tiny fist!” she insisted dramatically.
“Love, that would only be possible if the baby were biologically mine. He or she is mine, but he or she doesn’t have wolf DNA in them,” Carter contradicted Sarah.
“Dude, she’s playing you like a cheap fiddle,” Poseidon stage-whispered, though clearly loud enough for Carter to hear.
“Yeah, listen to your hormones, Carter. They’re the real Alpha now,” Warlord chuckled, leaning back.
“I’ll tell you what, how about I order you some ramen from a noodle shop. That way, the soup isn’t too salty, and the noodles aren’t fried.”
“Really!?” Sarah’s voice instantly became joyful at hearing that. “Will you bring me back a side of kimchi and one of those little chocolate cakes I like? The really rich ones?”
Carter sighed, his voice softening. “Yes, angel, I’ll get the cake, too. Now, tell me which shop and get off the phone before I tell the guys what you named your pregnancy cravings.”
“Don’t you dare!” Sarah shrieked, followed by a burst of laughter, before she rattled off the restaurant's name.
The other guys were rolling their eyes. Here was Carter, this big bad bounty hunter, and he was compromising with his mate over ramen noodles and dessert.
“And that is how you neuter a Bounty Hunter, gentlemen. One instant ramen package at a time,” Fury commented, shaking his head with mock pity.
“It’s the chocolate cake that truly seals the deal,” Aries added knowingly. “He’ll be ordering it for the rest of his life, whether she wants it or not. The conditioning is complete.”
“I can’t believe he’s caving over a bowl of soup. We need to stage an intervention,” Warlord said. “He’s supposed to be our heavy hitter, not a delivery boy for a pregnant woman's elaborate carb demands.”
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Poseidon grinned, nudging Carter. “The great Hunter, reduced to a pawn in the battle between an unborn child and a flavor packet. Maybe she’ll assign you a new ringtone. Something soft. Maybe a lullaby.”
Carter threw a decorative pillow at Poseidon’s head. “Shut up, Percy. When your mate is pregnant, I’m buying her a lifetime supply of whatever causes you the most pain for three days straight."
“Please, the worst thing Candy would want if she ever got pregnant would be chicken and turkey, not a fried noodle substitute,” Poseidon boasted.
“No, Percy, your mate will demand you to grow up finally, and you’ll still fail the mission,” Fury shot back, earning a round of laughter from everyone, including a defeated-looking Carter.
- Writer
