Enigma

Chapter 30

"When is mommy coming over?"

Noah looked over his shoulder at Elijah. Just like his brother, the pup's lips and chin were painted a chocolate color from the brownies they had just wolfed down.

"She just finished training." Noah put the foil over the garlic steak and potato pan he brought from the pack house. "She'll take a shower then she'll join us."

He had linked Kate only a few minutes earlier. The warrior told him they had finished their training session. Since Lillian was injured, they kept their training light. No sparring until Lillian got better.

Noah might or might not have had a word with Kate about that. But it was before Lillian had warned him to butt out of her business. So technically, it didn't count as going behind her back.

He had stopped by Jennifer's place to pick up the brownies he'd asked her to make earlier that afternoon, then picked up the twins from the gang of mischievous pups near the lake.

The entire way to his cabin, they had eyed the container of brownies with greedy blue eyes. As soon as they climbed up the kitchen island's stools, he set a couple of plates in front of them, and they dug into the brownies like their lives depended on it.

Having them in his home gave Noah a sense of rightness. He wished they could live here permanently. They would give life to his dull house, with their sweet scents and lively banter and intense energy.

But it was too fast. No matter how much he wanted to have the twins and their mother settle in with him, he had to remember that although she wasn't a normal human, she was still one. He needed to take things slow.

Take things slow. He was great at it. Right.

The feel of her skin was a tortuously sweet memory.

Noah shook his head. Not the best thought to have around two pups with a sharp sense of smell. Noah dampened a kitchen towel and went around the island to wipe the twins' faces. When he was done, he sat across from them, folded his hand on the surface and regarded them seriously.

"I need to talk to you boys about something important."

Ezra sat back in his chair, Elijah knelt on his stool, leaning on the island with his palms. Identical confused eyes looked back at him.

"Do you guys know what mates mean?"

They both nodded. "Miss Liv told us all about it the other day," Elijah said.

Noah doubted that. Liv would have given them the kids' version.

"Like Miss Anna and Uncle Johnson," Ezra said. "They're mates."

"Yeah," Elijah added, wrinkling his nose. "People who do the kissy stuff. Miss Liv said when we grow up. We'll have mates, too. But I don't want to. The kissy stuff is so icky."

"The kissy stuff?" Noah asked, trying hard not to smile.

"Yeah, we see the big girls and boys do it around the pack." Ezra's expression was disgruntled. He obviously shared his brother's feelings on the matter. "It's disgusting."

Noah made a mental note to check if the juveniles paid attention to their surroundings when they went around necking in the woods. The pups had apparently seen something.

"Right." It was surprisingly difficult to find a way to tell them their mother was his mate. So he just did it. "Your mom and I are mates."

Twin blinks. Then round eyes.

"Does that mean you're going to kiss mommy like Johnson kisses Anna?"

Right. Back to the kissing business. Noah rubbed his jaw. "If your mom is okay with it."