Marrying Her: The Keeping Her Christmas Wedding (The Keeping Her Series Book 5) by Kelly Lucille

get the fuck out.”  He held the old woman’s wolf
eyes, but she said nothing.  He growled.  “Nod if you get me.”
    Finally, Essie looked at
the rest of the people in the room and nodded.  Clytie let out a breath she had
been holding, patted Demon’s arm, and smiled at Crow, who was still in too much
shock to do anything about it.  She ducked under Demon’s massive arm and went
over to take Essie’s bag.  “I’ll show you to your room.  You probably need to
get settled a bit after your trip.”
    Essie looked at her,
opened her mouth, and then cleared her old throat.  “Got any hooch?”
    Clytie blinked at the old
woman and laughed, breaking the tension in the room.  “I don’t think so, would
beer work?”
    Essie followed Clytie out
of the room in her stuttered step.  “It’ll do in a pinch,” she muttered.  Then
spoke lower, though not so low that everyone didn’t hear her anyway.  Even if
they really wished they hadn’t.  “Pretty sure I need fresh undies.  At my age
nothing works quite like it should, and it’s worse when some seven-foot-tall alpha
wolf and his tiny human mate put the fear of God in me.”  More than one person
in that kitchen grimaced.  “Glad to see my little Roxy is in good hands anyway.”
    Cassandra had her hand
over her mouth as she watched the slow old lady walk out.  From the laughter in
her eyes, she was over her mad just that fast.  Ben gave a full body shudder
and buried his face in his mate’s hair.  She patted him on the head with her
free hand.
    “Now I need a fucking
beer,” he muttered.
    Demon grunted in
agreement.   Fucking Bone Crusher clan.
    “Whelp,” Eli said, his
good humor returning, “guess there’ll be one more for Thanksgiving.”  He took
his seat again, and his eyes found Crow still sitting frozen beside him while
more than one groan peppered the air.
    “I heard that!” Essie
screeched from somewhere in the house.
    Eli laughed and thumped
Crow on his arm.  “How’s it feel to be claimed by not one but two beautiful
women?”
    Crow looked at Eli and
then around the room where Cassie was back to teasing Ben with Mac at her back,
his hand in her hair, and talking like the world had not just changed for all
time.
    Demon understood the look
and gave the boy what he could to get that look off his face.  “I don’t know
much about where you come from, and you don’t know me, but I know what it’s
like to eat shit daily until you think that’s all you deserve.  Something good
comes along, like these women, who want to give you sweet and good, and you
have to wonder when that good is going to disappear and you’ll be stuck eating
shit again.”  He bent down until he was right in the boy’s face. His eyes
flashed wolf gold and his words took on the consistency of steel. “You listen
to someone who knows.  You take the good you got coming, you protect it and
fucking appreciate it, and you come to the realization that your days of eating
shit are over .”
    Having said what needed
to be said, Demon went looking for his mate.  After watching her turn all
mother wolf, he wasn’t going to take fucking no for an answer.  He needed some
quality time.  Now.
    Eli broke the sudden
silence in the room as everyone watched Demon stomp out.  He turned to smile at
the kid again.  “I stand corrected.  How does it feel to be claimed by two
beautiful women, and one bad ass motherfucker of an alpha wolf?”
    Crow drew in a deep
breath, his eyes bright in his face.  He looked around the room at everybody
who had stood up for him, most of whom were still acting like everything was
the same.  His eyes came back to Eli, more than a little confused.  When he
opened his mouth and nothing came out, Eli laughed and smacked him on the
shoulder, sending his thin body forward on his chair.  “Don’t worry about it
kid.  Not like you have a choice now anyway.”
    Crow heard the words and
couldn’t decide.  Was that a good or a bad