The Burning Claw (The Grey Wolves #10)(41)

“Let’s load up, crew,” Jen yelled as she fastened Thia into the car seat. Even though Rachel had offered to watch the girl, Jen had refused. She and Decebel would both be on this little trip, and Jen knew that no one could protect the girl like they could.
She saw Zara walk out of the door holding Titus by the hand. They’d formally met only an hour before and Jen instantly liked her. The girl had backbone. She was strong and Jen respected that. Everyone loaded up into the large SUV and then waited. Jen tapped her fingers on the side of the door as she grew more agitated at her mate.
“He told me to hurry, so I hurried. He told me not to take too long getting ready, so I didn’t freaking take too long getting ready. He said I needed to be ready to go, in the vehicle, with my seatbelt on, at five-thirty,” Jen growled as her voice got progressively louder. “Well, here I am, furball. Where the crap are you?”
“Um, Mrs. Jen,” Titus voice came from behind her. “You don’t have your seat belt on yet.”
Jen heard Zara shush the adorable little boy and Jen grinned to herself. She turned and wiped the emotion from her face. “You’re correct, Toby,” 
“Titus, Mrs. Jen. My name is Titus.”
“Forgive me. You’re correct, Tony, my belt isn’t yet buckled, but once—”
“Titus,” he corrected again, but a little more forcefully that time.
“Whatever. Anyway, once it’s buckled, then Mr. Decebel should be ready to go too. Correct?” He grinned and gave her a thumbs up as if he totally understood where she was coming from.
She laughed. “Thanks, Travis,” Jen said as she turned back around and buckled her seat belt.
“Titus, Mrs. Jen. My name is Titus.”
Jen held up her hand and gave him a thumbs up. Just then Decebel came hurrying out of the front door, his usual scowl in place—set to full scowl mode. Is there such a thing as a scowl mode? If there wasn’t, there should be, she decided. She watched as he paused at his door and tilted his head back. Then quickly shook it and opened the door.
“Everyone ready?” he growled as he climbed in and slammed his door.
“We have been ready for a while, Alpha,” Jen purred. “Mayhap I ask why you were not here on time? After you so thoroughly impressed upon me the importance of being punctual!” Once again her voice rose and this time was accompanied by a snarl.
Decebel put the SUV in drive and pulled out of the driveway. “I was taking care of some things.”
“Uh-huh, and what do those things happen to be?”
“Damn,” Decebel’s eyes shot up to the rearview mirror and widened. “I mean dang, female. Why are you snapping at me and prying?”
Jen’s eyes widened and she nearly sputtered but kept her dignity by clamping her mouth shut until she could get actual words out. “Did you just ask why I was prying?”
“Ouch, wrong move, dude,” Zara said softly from the back seat, but their werewolf hearing picked it up with no problem.
“You have things you don’t tell me,” he countered.
“Deflecting, brave move,” Zara murmured.
Jen liked this chick. “I’m a female; I deal with things you don’t need to know about.”
“Why can’t I deal with things you don’t need to know about?” Decebel shot back.
“Counter a question with a question, could work, but sometimes flies back in your face,” Zara’s commentary of their fight continued.
“Because you don’t have a period, or thong issues, or underwire poking at you,” Jen ticked off the things she dealt with one by one on her fingers. “You don’t carry a watermelon sized baby for nine months and then push her out of a hole much smaller than a watermelon. You don’t become a milk machine and have big round stains on your shirt when your nursing pads fail to do their job!”
“Oh, wow, busting out the big guns with female-only issues. Let’s see how our Alpha handles that one,” Zara again added her part to the fight.
“You can’t keep using those things as ammunition,” Decebel started.
“Why not?” Jen snapped. “They happen on a recurring basis, some of them like clockwork. And will continue to happen for the next thirty years. I think I can dang well use them as often as I need to. Now what made you late?”
“And she brings it full circle. Well done, Jen, well done,” Zara praised.
Jen shot her a quick grin and then turned back to her mate, her frown plastered back in place.
Decebel let out a resigned sigh.
“And here it comes, folks, the moment we’ve been waiting for—the truth,” Zara whisper-yelled.
Decebel growled at her. She wasn’t impressed. Yep, Jen liked her a lot.
Suddenly a Cheshire cat grin spread across his face. “I was late because I got my period.”“Men don’t—” Jen started but stopped when Decebel held up his finger at her.
“You have told me many times in very creative ways that males do have a time of the month.” He made quotations with his right hand as he said the words.
“Whoa, it’s an upset. That was totally from right field, folks. What will she do now? How will Jen pull through to take the win?” Zara said dramatically. Titus giggled next to her and Jen bit her lip to keep from smiling.
Her mate had backed her into a corner and had made her eat her own words. That was not going to fly. “Since we all know” —she turned and looked at Titus— “well all of us except Thia and Timmy—”
“Mrs. Jen.” Titus shook his head. “It’s Titus. My name is Titus.”
“That’s what I said, Thia and Titus.” She rolled her eyes. “Any who, we all know that you did not in fact get the dot at the end of a sentence. So let’s just get real here. Let’s set aside our frustrations and prejudices and let’s get to the heart of the matter.”
Zara quickly chimed in when Jen paused. “What is she doing, folks? What. Is. She. Doing? I do believe our Mrs. Jen has an ace up her sleeve. Let’s watch and learn from a pro.”
“You obviously didn’t want me to be late, correct?” Jen asked but didn’t give him time to answer. “In fact, you were so concerned that I not be late that you listed exactly what I was not to spend my time doing because those were the things that often made me late.” She tapped her chin as she stared at her mate whose grip on the steering wheel was tightening. “You made this big deal about me not being late and then you were late yourself.”
“I think we got that, counselor,” Dec huffed.
Jen grinned. “And” —she held up a finger as she made her point— “being late yourself after such a fuss, you are the one disgruntled. Now, as your mate, and mother of your child” —she glanced back at the peanut gallery and winked— “I have grown to know you quite well. So well, in fact, that I know that if you were late for a legitimate reason, you would be frustrated and apologetic. You would not be acting snarky at the rest of us.”
“And look at her go,” Zara quickly threw in.
“Therefore, I deduce that your lateness could only have been caused by something illegitimate. Something so illegitimate, in fact, that you would feel much shame if the true reason for your lateness came to light. Now…I must work through the things that I know about you that might possibly cause you great shame. Granted, that’s not much to work with, because you rarely are ashamed. But alas, I will do my best. Let’s see.” Jen steepled her fingers in front of her chin and cocked up an eyebrow as she thought. “I know that there was some shame when that doghouse fell on you—I mean fell apart,” she corrected, barely holding in her laugh as his eyes narrowed. 
“Things are really heating up, people, really heating up,” Zara once again continued her commentary.
“But you used about eight hundred pounds of nails on the second dog house, so I’m pretty sure you weren’t late because it fell on you again. I mean, fell over again. And then there was that time when I stepped into the bathroom and—”
“FOR THE LOVE OF PEACE, I WAS LATE BECAUSE I FELL ASLEEP!” Decebel roared.
Jen shot a fist in the air. “YES! Yes, yes, yes!”
“And the champion still reigns. Ladies and gentlemen, that is how you do it!” Zara said as Titus cheered.
Jen couldn’t stop laughing as her mate pouted in the driver’s seat.
“I’m not pouting,” he growled, picking up her thoughts through the bond.
“Jen, that was a thing of beauty,” Zara called from the back.
Jen turned and eyed Zara and then smiled. “Awesome commentary,” she told her as she reached back and gave the girl a high five. “You’re going to grow up to be kick ass.”
Zara laughed. “We’re the same age, Jen.”
Oh yeah, we are the same age, Jen thought, that’s weird. “Yeah, but with the mating and the baby making and then the child bearing, I’ve got like seven plus years of experience on you.”
“What is this, a video game?” Decebel snorted.
“I’ll give you that,” Zara nodded. “Titus, you see that older lady up there?” He nodded. “I want to be just like her when I grow up,” Zara finished.
“Older lady? Not cool, Z, not cool.” Jen called back. “Tito, who do you want to be like when you grow up?”