Phoenix Reborn: An Alpha Pack Novella by J. D. Tyler Page B

many colors warring for attention.
    “You like it?” Noah was regarding him eagerly.
    “Um, baby, I hate to tell you this, but I’m going to be in charge of decorating.”
    “But—”
    “That’s final.”
    Damn, he felt like he’d just kicked a puppy. Noah’s face fell as he regarded his living space.
    “Well, I suppose it
is
a little loud.”
    “Honey, this would give Freddy Krueger nightmares. Sorry.”
    “Can I bring some of my pillows?”
    Nix eyed the bright purple cushions like they were rattlesnakes. “We’ll see. You can
help
decorate, okay? But I still have final say.”
    From his mate’s pleased grin, he figured he’d already lost the battle, and wondered just how awful those purple pillows were going to look on his nice brown leather sofa.
    Ugh.
    Packing didn’t take long, and he watched as Noah tossed clothes into a gym bag. Next came bottles of body wash and hair products Nix was certain cost more than his entire bathroom inventory.
    He was going to have to ask Nick for a pay raise.
    Last, Noah changed out of his dirty clothes, grabbed his bag, and they were ready to go. Nix took the bag from him and his mate didn’t protest, just looked at him like he’d hung the moon.
    They dropped off the bag and headed on to dinner. When they reached the dining room, a lot of the others were already there. Noah tried to let go of his hand, but Nix held tight.
    “I’m going to work on not hiding us in public.”
    The smile that earned him was worth a million dollars.
    Apparently Aric and the others from earlier had already spread the word, which was fine by Nix. Saved them both from having to repeat themselves. As they sat at a table with Blue, Kalen, and Kalen’s mate, Mackenzie, Nix steeled himself to endure the congrats and backslaps, which weren’t long in coming. But he didn’t know what to say when several people showed curiosity about why he and Noah hadn’t officially mated.
    Glancing over, he caught Noah turning his head away, cheeks flushed, and realized that his sweet mate was upset. Noah apparently didn’t think the teasing was any funnier than he did, but he got the distinct impression he was upset with Nix, not their friends.
    Jesus Christ, this mate shit was complicated!
    They put a brave face on it, getting through their meal. Once, Nix noted that Noah and Blue had their heads together whispering about something. Nix caught the words “practice tomorrow,” and shrugged it off for the time being. Not that he wasn’t curious, but whatever it was, he knew the prince and Noah were just friends. Noah wouldn’t lie to him about that.
    “How’s Leonidis?” Noah asked Mackenzie. In addition to being Kalen’s mate, she was one of the doctors who worked with Melina.
    Nix couldn’t care less if the tiger had fallen off the face of the earth. But his mate was a gentle soul, and clearly a better man than himself.
    “He’s fine,” Mac reassured Noah. “When he attacked you, he’d just woken up and was confused and terrified. He didn’t know where he was, and he feels awful about what happened. At some point, he wants to apologize to you.”
    “Over my stone-cold-dead fucking body,” Nix spat. Everyone around them froze, and he calmly went back to his meal.
    Noah shot him a glare before returning his attention to Mac. “We’ll discuss that later.”
    “Sure thing.”
    Finally Nix could see that Noah’s head was drooping and he was just pushing his food around.
    “You’ve had a big day,” Nix said, patting Noah’s thigh. “Let’s get you to bed.”
    That earned him a few snickers, but thankfully no comments. Nix just rolled his eyes, helped Noah from his seat, and they were on their way back to his quarters.
    “That was some caveman impression back there.”
    “Do you expect me to apologize?”
    “No. But I’m going to let Leo apologize, because that will be important to his recovery and mental well-being. He already has enough to deal with, and he doesn’t need me on