Page 65 of My Boyfriend Marks Trees

“I still need to brush mine and tinkle,” Charly stated, making Greta groan.

“Hurry, Mama. I peeked down the stairs, and Santa brought presents. Lots of them!” she exclaimed, holding her arms wide.

“Coming, munchkin. Give me a second to wake up.”

Ares rolled out of bed wearing track pants and grabbed a shirt. “How about I get some coffee ready and see if there’s some chocolate milk for an excited princess?”

“Yesss.” Greta held out her arms, and Ares scooped her, leaving a tousled and tired-looking Charley. In her defense,they’d spent a portion of the night talking and making love rather than sleeping.

Making another pup.Wolf approved.

Very possible, seeing as how during round two Charly had shaken her head when he asked if he should go grab a condom. She’d drawn him close and whispered, “If it happens, it happens.”

A baby? He couldn’t think of anything more amazing.

As he entered the kitchen, no surprise; Grams was already there with freshly brewed coffee.

“Merry Christmas!” Greta exclaimed.

“And a very Merry Christmas to you too. Does someone need some fresh chocolate milk?”

“Me.” Greta squirmed, and he put her down so she could run for a hug. Grams was a totally different person when around a child. She smiled, and it wasn’t the terrifying grin he’d seen her use when sniping mercenaries.

“Where’s Gramps?” Ares asked as he poured two mugs of coffee.

“Checking on the animals. Derek and Athena aren’t up yet, but I don’t imagine they’ll be abed much longer.” Grams pulled a glass out while Greta carefully carried the pitcher of chocolate milk to the counter.

“Charly will be down in a few minutes.” A glance outside had him murmuring, “Storm’s passed over.”

“Yup, but the clean-up is going to take a while. The roads are sh—” Grams caught herself and said, “Slippery.”

He bit back a smile as she tried to not curse in front of Greta. “I should give my mom and Selene a shout. They actually got power back last night but said the road hadn’t been plowed and was about a foot deep."

“We got walloped,” Grams stated, “but we’ll be nice and cozy, right, sweetling?”

“We should make more cookies,” Greta stated.

“I think you’re right.”

Grams settled Greta at the table with her chocolate milk, along with some apple slices, before sidling close to murmur, “Since I don’t have a granddaughter for you to date, I approve of your choice. Charlotte’s a good woman and a fine mother. She took the news of her child’s lycanthropy surprisingly well.”

“A good thing because we might see a repeat tonight,” which reminded him… He sat beside Greta and said, “So remember how you turned into a wolf yesterday?”

She nodded.

“It’s not something you can tell anybody about.”

“A secret?”

He nodded.

“Mama says I shouldn’t lie.”

“This isn’t a lie exactly, more like not telling people who wouldn’t understand and might hurt us. Not everyone likes wolves.”

“I like them.”

“Me too. But some folks don’t, which is why we have to keep that part of ourselves a secret.”