“Your dad told me,” Nicole said.
“We don’t have any secrets, son.” His father inhaled the air and tilted his head to the side.
“Is this some kind of intervention?” he asked.
Nicole looked toward George, and then his gaze was focused on him.
“It’s not an intervention,” George said.
“We are here for you, honey. Please know that, but we also know that … putting off the inevitable isn’t good. Trust us. We have firsthand experience with this,” Nicole said.
“How can the two of you have firsthand experience?” Klaus asked.
Between Poppy’s feelings, their coming together, and Greg, he wasn’t in the best of moods.
He’d just fucked his mate. Felt that connection with her and dropped her off at home where another male was. He was hanging on by a thread. The desire to go steal Poppy away was strong.
“Son, we’ve dealt with a lot of different mated couples. It is rare that some mates don’t want to … you know, be together because of past experiences, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help.”
Klaus ran his fingers through his hair. “So you have experience in helping out a guy who was a bully to his mate? Who hurt her, and he doesn’t even have a good reason why he did that?”
“Honey,” Nicole said, getting to her feet.
He took a step back. “This is all so fucking fucked. I … my mate was there this whole time. Some of the horrible shit I said to her, I hate myself for it. I’m a fucking prick, and I … hate myself because of it. I love her so much, and I will do anything for her. I can’t rush her. I know that we’ve got a ticking clock. I get that, but I’m not going to force her. I’m willing to take the time.”
Nicole and George looked at each other.
“What?” Klaus asked.
“Greg has asked Anna if he can form a mating bond with Poppy. Lionel has asked us, and we didn’t know until today that you were … mates. Your father had already given his consent. Greg will ask tomorrow, in front of the pack,” Nicole said.
“What the hell does this mean?” Klaus asked.
“Son, it is going to be up to you. You either let Poppy leave, and this mating will never happen, or you are going to have to stand and fight for her,” George said.
Chapter Eleven
Poppy was starving. She sat at the kitchen table, eating her fourth slice of toast.
She had woken early so she could get downstairs to enjoy more toast. Glancing at the time, she wondered what Klaus was doing.
After her fourth slice, she looked at the loaf of bread. She was still hungry.
Was this what sex did? Make the people who did it hungry?
This morning, she had expected not to be so horny. Waking up after dreaming about Klaus, she had been so aroused, and she had no choice.
Since they had sex, she did in fact want him, even more than before.
Poppy stepped toward the phone and picked it up. She didn’t know Klaus’s number. She put the phone back into the cradle and stepped away from the counter.
“You’re up early,” Anna said, entering the kitchen.
“Hey, Mom. Yeah, there are a few errands I need to run. Can we talk later?” she asked, already heading toward the door.
“Honey, there is something I need to talk to you about.”
“I know, we’ll talk later, bye.” She left her home and wrapped the cardigan she wore around her body.