Page 44 of Pack Down Bad

“You’re staying?” Percy asks in a dry, raspy voice of disbelief.

Do these alphas really think they’re getting rid of me so easily?

Not a chance. Not while my slick is still drying on Rhys’s chin, and I have other growing needs that needtending to, ASAP.

“I’m staying,” I confirm with a confident lift of my chin.

That seems good enough for Knox, who slips past me to face Mia with a growl. “You can go now,” he tells her in a surprisingly mild tone despite how bossy he’s being.

“Hey!” she protests.

“Run along, Belle has spoken.” Knox nudges her toward the door. I can tell he’s doing his best to be gentle, but because of his size, his nudge is enough to knock her off balance. She stumbles as she attempts to catch her balance, finally catching herself just a step past the threshold of the front door.

I know he isn’t trying to hurt her. He could have easily barked at her to leave when she first arrived, and her omega instincts would have demanded she comply. I don’t know how much longer his patience will hold out, though, if she keeps fighting him on it.

“Seriously?” Mia puts her hands on her hips and tries to step back into the house, but Knox hurries to slam the door in her face.

“Belle will call you tomorrow to talk if she wants to!” he shouts through the door for her.

I can hear her answering scoff, followed by a few seconds of silenc,e before I hear the sound of her retreating, her footsteps fading quickly away to nothing as she leaves the porch.

Knox wipes his hands together like he’s proud of a hard day’s work as he turns around to face the rest of us again.

I quirk one brow and cross my arms over my chest. “And how exactly would I call her tomorrow?”

Knox chokes out a sound that’s a definitive non-answer, and when I look from Percy to Rhys, they’re also struck speechless.

Yeah, we have alotto talk about.

ChapterTwenty-Three

Belle

The guys follow me as I stomp my way toward the living room area and throw myself down dramatically on their couch. We seem to be playing a game of chicken when it comes to who will break the newfound silence first.

I’m not going to be the one to break the silence. They’re the ones that have some explaining to do.

Preferably before another heat spike approaches because my skin still feels slightly flushed.

“Why are you surprised to hear how close to town we are? I thought your memory came back,” Knox croaks out.

Rhys and Percy both turn wide-eyed and stare between Knox and me in bewilderment, their mouths dropping open in synchronized shock.

“It did... well, mostly,” I admit. “I guess I blocked out the stuff about the night I wound up here because what happened was mildly traumatic.” I shrug as if that part is no big deal because in comparison to the things they neglected to tell me, I think their stuff is a little bigger at the moment.

“When did your memory come back?” Rhys asks at the same time Percy asks, “Why didn’t you tellus?”

Ugh.This is so not the point right now!

“I wanted to wait until this afternoon because I was still processing all this new–ish information about myself. I didn’t want anything to change yet.”

Rhys and Knox share a long look.

I’m not usually one for violence, but I swear if they try to justify their lies with the evidence of my brief omission, I might be convinced a halfhearted shoulder punch is deserved. Or maybe a soft smack. Better yet, a gentle caress across each of their bodies. I could start at the neck and work my way down to...

Ah, crap.

My skin is crawling with need, and I manage to wipe away another bit of drool at the corner of my mouth as I imagine all the taut muscles I could touch right now if the other two guys were shirtless like Knox.

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