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“Alphas,” Mason corrected. “And it better be damn important. Coming!”
Still grumbling to himself, Mason pushed himself off the bed, hand lingering on Ash’s arm before he finally stepped away. He slipped on a pair of shorts and reached for a T-shirt, but Ash snatched it from him, shimmying into it. Seeing her wearing his shirt and only his shirt nearly sent them tumbling back into the bed, but she pointed to the door.
He made his way downstairs to the source of the sound. Peter, one of the young wolves who’d stepped up to help rebuild the pack, stood on the front porch. He sucked in a breath when Mason threw the door open. The alpha reined in his annoyance.
“What?” he asked in a near growl. A little fear wouldn’t hurt.
“You asked me to come by this morning with the …” Peter’s words died in his throat after he glanced past Mason to see Ash.
His inner wolf bared its teeth in jealousy, but then he remembered why he’d asked Peter to stop by. He extended his hand, and the young man dropped a key chain in it before nodding and making a hasty retreat.
“Well, I don’t think he’s going to interrupt us again.”
Ash stepped close behind Mason, pressing her body against his back. Her hands snaked under his T-shirt. For a long moment, he enjoyed the sensation, leaning his head back. Then, the coolness of the key in his hand pulled his thoughts north.
“I have a surprise for you. However, first, you might want to wear more than just my shirt,” he said.
“No, I’m good,” she replied. “Unless we are leaving the compound.”
They weren’t, but Mason almost insisted. Nudity, both full and partial, was more common among shifters than humans, given the hassle that clothing caused during shifting. Still, as much as he knew they were mates for life, his wolf had a jealous streak. Knowing which battles to fight, though, he stayed silent.
Hand in hand, they walked the short trip to the pack’s community center. Ash peppered him with guesses regarding her surprise, which got more ridiculous as they went.
“No, I didn’t get you a pony,” Mason replied to her latest idea as he held the door open for her. “Do you really think a pony would be a good idea to have around? Not sure they’d last past the first full moon.”
“You are not eating my pony.”
“I didn’t get you a pony!”
Ash burst into laughter and pressed herself against his side. They continued to the hallway leading to his office. Ash frowned when they continued to the office next door, where he handed her the key chain Peter had given him.
Still frowning, Ash turned the key and pushed the door open. It was another office, this one with spartan furnishings. Only a desk and temporary chair remained inside. Ash stepped through the door and walked slowly toward the desk.
“I don’t see a pony,” she said, giggling.
“This used to be my second-in-command’s office,” Mason said, unwilling to say the bastard’s name. “Obviously, I dumped most of his things, but now it is your office, with the only thing remaining of his being that desk, which you can, of course, replace. I wanted to leave the specifics up to you, obviously.”
“Smart move,” she replied, fingers trailing over the desk as she stared out the window, “And with how messy your desk is, I do need my own space.”
“That was just the evidence regarding the attacks. It isn’t usually like that,” Mason said.
“I don’t know. It is still pretty messy.”
“Regardless, what do you think about the office?” Mason asked.
Instead of answering, Ash stepped around the desk and dropped into the temporary chair. She wiggled her butt against it, leaning back. The move pulled the T-shirt she stole as a dress up her thighs, much to Mason’s delight.
“I know you have an obligation to the Interspecies Council, and you’re passionate about their cause,” Mason said. “But as much as I’d like to monopolize your attention, and as important you’ve been so far to the pack, I’d only grumble a little bit if you wanted to split your time with the pack and the council.”
“Oh, only grumble a little bit?” Ash replied.
“In front of you, at least.” Mason shrugged.
She spun her chair around to stare out the window, then kept spinning until she faced the desk and Mason again. She let out a long breath and shook her head.
“It’s funny. A couple of months ago, I thought I was exactly where I wanted to be. I considered my work with the council enough. It was all I cared about. If you told me where I would be at this moment, I would have either laughed in your face or assumed I’d gone deep undercover.”
“I’m more interested in what you think now,” Mason replied.
“Now? Now, I see what I was missing. I have no plans on giving up my work on the Interspecies Council, but I obviously can’t leave you alone running the pack.” She giggled at Mason’s mock glare. “I’m sure we can find a good balance, but at this exact moment, I think you should close and lock the door.”
“Lock the door?” Mason frowned at the door he’d left open when they entered.
“Unless you’d prefer to not break my new office in?”
Ash pushed herself up from the chair, bending over so the T-shirt’s V-neck offered a wonderfully obscene view. That was more than Mason could handle. He hurried to the door, tossing his shirt off. Once slammed and locked, he kicked off his shorts and rushed back. Ash stood in front of her desk for only a moment.
Her back was pressed against the desk after he all but tackled her onto it. Of the pleasure they’d share that morning, he took a small bit of it in knowing just who the desk once belonged to and how much use the couple who took him down got out of it. Ash occupied the rest of his attention, just as she should have.
