Casey was still in the kitchen talking with Derick when he heard Nolan yelling for him.

“Casey? Casey!”

Derick smirked at him. “Is that him?”

“Yeah.”

“Marco!”

Who the fuck was Marco now? Casey growled at the idea of his mate calling another man, but he quickly stopped himself. Damn, he had never been this growly and close to his cat before.

“Marco!” Nolan’s voice was nearer now.

“Who is Marco? Is that a pride member?” Casey asked Derick. The man outright laughed at him.

“No, I think he’s playing Marco Polo.”

“Huh?”

“He’s looking for you.” Then Derick started yelling, “Polo!” and Casey wondered if everyone had gone crazy. Well, he didn’t know his mate that well so maybe for him it was normal. It sure was for Derick.

Nolan’s head appeared at the door as he peeked inside, his smile widening when he saw Casey sitting there. He literally bounced to Casey, plopping down on his lap. Casey didn’t know what Nolan’s parents had told him, but he had made a complete change in the way he behaved.

“Nolan, what happened?” Casey asked cautiously, not sure if he liked this cheerful Nolan. No, wait. Casey liked this Nolan, but he wanted to know why he was behaving like everything was right in the world.

“I talked with my mom and she explained my little sex problem to me.”

A laugh escaped Derick’s mouth. “Sex problem?”

“Oh, hi, I’m Nolan, Casey’s mate.” Nolan leaned in before jerking back and plastering himself to Casey. “You’re a wolf!”

Derick chuckled. “Yeah, I know. Don’t worry, I already had the cats and dogs conversation with my mate. He’s not exactly a cat, but it’s a near match.”

“You’re mated with a cat?”

“Nate is a jaguar.”

The two men started chatting as if they were best friends, leaving a stunned Casey with more questions than answers. He really wanted to know what Nolan’s mother had told him, damn it! Would it be considered rude if he threw Nolan over his shoulder and hauled him up to his room? Casey’s cheetah liked that plan, and Casey had about decided to get on with it when Nate appeared at the door. There goes the plan.

“Casey? Dominic told me about your mate.” Nate turned to Nolan. “Hello, I’m Nate, Beta of this pride.”

Nolan looked from Derick to Nate before answering the question. “I’m Nolan. Do I talk with you about my parents coming to visit?”

Nate looked a little stunned but he went with the flow. Mating Derick had been good on the Beta. He was more relaxed than before while still being very professional. “I don’t think there will be any problems, just tell me how many people are coming and their names.”

“Do you have a pen?”

“A pen? Why?”

“Because if my siblings are all coming you will need to write their names down.”

“All?” Casey was nearly scared to ask. “Just how many siblings do you have?”

“Well, I have three litter mates.” Okay, that wasn’t so bad. “Then there’s the older litter. That’s another four, and the younger litter, they’re five. And I’m not sure if my sisters will bring their mates and kids,” Nolan answered, tapping his chin with his finger. “I told them not to all come, but I’m not sure if they’ll listen to me.”

Nate and Derick looked at Casey, their eyes wide, and Derick murmured, “Better you than me, Casey.”

“How many…how many people are there in your immediate family, Nolan?”

“Let’s see…counting me, twenty five.”