Page 19 of Pack Giroux

He is walking backwards away from me when he suddenly stops and pulls his hoodie over his head and walks back over. "Here, you hang on to this for now."

I laugh as I reach out to take it from him. Didn't even have to steal it. It's warm and smells just like his spice scent. Not bothering to stop myself, I bring it to my face and take a deep breath, which instantly calms my inner turmoil. Everything seems much clearer.

Kinkaid watches me understandingly as though he knew that by giving me this, he was offering the comfort I'm not willing to take from his person just yet.

Pulling my bag around, I take my phone out and hand itto him. "Send a text to yourself. That way you have my number if you want to talk later."

The small favor returned has him grinning as he does as I ask. Watching him do it has me thinking of his beta pack mate that made my mouth water with his warm vanilla scent that very first day. "Send one to Grady, too."

It's a small step, but hopefully in the right direction, trusting them with my number. Maybe trusting them with more, like myself, in the near future.

He hands my phone back and motions toward my volleyball sweatshirt. "When do games start so that we can show up?"

I'd commit a sin or two to see the look on Whitney and Laura's faces having Kinkaid and Grady cheering me on. "You'll have to wait a few weeks. They don't start until then."

"Okay, good, just let me know," he requests. "I'll let you get going."

Closing the distance between us, I reach up on my toes to press my lips against his cheek, and that's how I leave him standing.

Chapter Six

I get so busy between classes and practice that I do my best to get my work done and manage to get some sleep a few hours a night. That leaves little to no time for a job, let alone a personal life. My roommates seem to have found their balance because they're always going out and coming in late, but that's just not in my cards at the moment.

As it is, we're down to our first game being tomorrow, and I haven’t seen any of the pack since the day Kinkaid convinced me to give them a chance. I've talked to them on the daily, even Raine whom I've never even met. It's weird having lengthy conversations with someone that you've never met. In a way, it's kind of mysterious and fun, because I'm getting to know him without the normal distractions of scents and insecurities. The more I get to know him, the more I can see him fitting in perfectly with Kinkaid and Grady's personalities.

I text all of them goodnight and crash early, hoping that I'll manage to get more than the few hours of sleep I've been averaging all week. I tug on Kinkaid's hoodie that I've taken to sleeping in since he gave it to me. Unfortunately, it's not as strong as it used to be. My own sweet scent is starting to cover his allspice. They're supposed to be at the game tomorrow. I'll have to take his hoodie and see if one of these courting perks is asking him to scent mark it again for me.

I've had a little free time to do some research into all of the things Grace gave me from the center. It talked all about the courting thing and scent marking. Apparently, we're not even supposed to be touching until I at least agree to letting them court me. Oops. Still wouldn't change it, though. That kiss with Kinkaid has kept me up more than one night thinking about it.

If I don't stop thinking about it now, I'll never get to sleep. Especially knowing he said they'd be there tomorrow. Tuckingmyself into his hoodie and wrapping myself in my blanket burrito, I fall asleep counting in my head so that it clears my mind.

Before I know it, it's morning, and I've managed a full eight hours. Going about my routine, I get my morning stretches in while waiting for Nichole to get out of the shower and then hopping in myself. They're already gone by the time I get my uniform on with my sweats over it and walk out the door. I didn't expect them to wait on me to walk together or anything, but it doesn't mean that it's any less lonely going alone.

As I walk into the gym, the energy is wired, and I completely forget about all the random things bouncing around in my head. I drop my bag over on my team's side before joining them in warm-ups. The room is starting to fill up, bringing the noise of a crowd. It almost matches the mood-pumping music coming out of the speakers over our head. They'll turn it off during the game, but I use it to my advantage while it lasts. The only time I ever heard music like this is during our matches when we traveled to other schools. There's no way the Reverend would've allowed something so sinful on the compound property. Poor Sarah Billings got one of the songs stuck in her head and accidentally sang it one day in front of the wrong person. She was pulled from the team and never allowed to play again. The Reverend said that only the most disciplined of us were allowed off the compound. Those who abused the privilege were punished.

I'm pulled from my thoughts as the girls around me start whispering and looking toward the bleachers. Following their line of sight, I find Kinkaid, Grady, and Raine claiming seats at the bottom. They ignore all the other people in the room and look directly at me smiling. I'll be danged if Grady doesn't have one of those foam fingers and holds it up and waves, making me chuckle. Some of the girls glance my way, seeing that Iclearly have the guy's attention. I don't care, though, because the three of them are trouble with a capital T. They whisper quickly before standing in unison and turning, showing off their number thirteen on the backs. The same number that matches my jersey. I cover my mouth with my hand and shake my head as they sit back down and grin at me. They don't even care that they're the talk of the room right now.

I take a step to go talk to them myself, but Coach picks this moment to call us into a huddle. As she talks and preps us for our opponent, I get my mind clear of distractions and pretend that it's just me and my team getting ready to go to battle. It's a practice that's never failed me before and holds true today.

All of the cheering and screaming takes the background as we nail the other team over and over until the buzzer finally sounds and displays that we've won. We do a quick group celebration before Coach says good job and dismisses us. Going to grab my bag, I end up behind all three of my roommates as we walk over to the bleachers.

"Let's go grab victory pizza," Laura suggests.

"So down," Nichole agrees. "We should see if Marnie wants to go with us."

"Don't even think about inviting that weirdo," Laura snaps loud enough that several people turn to look at her.

"Well, hi there," Whitney flirts with Raine as we make it over to where they're waiting. "I think you'd look better in a different number."

Ugh. Their alphaness is permeating the air around us, scent included, making me almost sick to my stomach. Or maybe it's jealousy. I wouldn't know since I've only ever known the emotion from meeting them.

I've video called with Raine once or twice and never once have I seen him wear the expression he does now. It's kind oflike a mix between disgust and anger. "Could you please move? You're in the way for who we're here for."

It's abrasive. It's rude. And I love it. Normally, I wouldn't condone someone being treated like that, but in this case, I feel like they deserve it for the way that they've been acting.

None of them turn around to see who he's talking about. It's in their face obviously. From behind, I can only imagine the expression on their faces at being dismissed so easily.

Once they take the hint, it leaves the space between Raine and I empty, and then we're finally meeting face to face for the first time.

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