Page 22 of Truth or Pack

What was I supposed to do with that?!

Then he cleared his voice, those brown eyes locking me in place.

“My turn. Truth or dare, Taryn.”

“Truth.” It was quiet, but he heard me just fine.

“Who set up your dating profile,” he asked. The fact he was annoyed on my behalf had the answer coming easier this time.

“My mother. She is hellbent on me finding myself a rich pack and I guess you fit that bill. I’ve turned up to far too many events to terrible pairings and blind dates. They’ve lied and manipulated me into showing me off like I was some prize. I think me getting a scholarship and attending our university triggered something in her. She’s already married off my sisters and I’m the only one left. One last meal ticket, I suppose.”

“As much as I’m grateful it led us all here, that’s fucked up in so many ways,” Ash said, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Taryn. You don’t deserve that.”

“It’s like they don’t care about me or my thoughts, just what I can do for their status,” I admitted in a quiet voice. “If that doesn’t sum up my family, I don’t know what does.”

“Then tell us who you are… let us seeyou, Taryn,” Mathias said as he reached out, brushing his hand over mine but not lingering. The touch sent a wave of butterflies through me, his citrus-berry punch scent sweetening even more.

“That’s not how the game works,” I said in an attempt at deflection. It already felt too vulnerable. “Truth or dare, Mathias.”

His pretty green eyes locked on me as he thought it over. I could see him teetering on the edge of disaster and fighting himself on it.

“Truth.”

“How have you changed?”

He smiled sadly. “In just about every way. I stopped letting my family or status decide who I was allowed to be not long after graduation. I felt like a zombie, stumbling through life, and it was killing me slowly. After a particularly bad round of depression I decided it was over. I was allowed to be whoever I wanted. So, I embraced that.”

I wanted to ask more, but again, that wasn’t how this game worked.

“Truth or dare, Taryn,” he asked me, eyes boring into me, as if begging me to take the dare.

“Dare.”

“I dare you to kiss me,” he said. My heart picked up again, my omega perking up at the thought. We all knew I could avoid this. All I had to do was say pass and I’d get a truth question.

“New rule, only one can ask each dare,” I said as I placed my mug on the table. I stood up even as my head screamed at me to stop. His berry-and-citrus-punch blend was laced in worry and lust as I leaned in, our noses brushing but not quite kissing.

I could give him a forehead or cheek kiss, but that wasn’t my style. I was already playing with fire, why not burn completely?

His breath caught as I pressed my lips to his, kissing him once before he deepened it. His hand curled around my leg as he held me there, kissing me like his life depended on it.

He tried to sweep his tongue into my mouth, but I pulled back. I fixed a mask over my face before sitting back in my chair.

They all looked at me with varying looks of longing and heat. I didn’t trust them with more than that yet.

Hell, I barely trusted myself at this point.

“Truth or dare, Ash,” I said, looking back at him again. It seemed we were bouncing back and forth, making it my turn every other time. Then again, they likely knew enough about each other.

“Dare,” he said. I’d made it clear that kissing was off the table. But I wondered just how much his reputation still held him captive.

“I dare you to post a picture of us all across your social media. Make it clear why we’re here together,” I said. “Because I won’t be hidden. I’m not a dirty, little secret.”

He was pulling out his phone before I even finished speaking. “Time to pose, pack.”

Holt got up, dragging him out of his chair before holding out a hand for me. I let him pull me up and he put me right in front, leaving room behind me for Mathias. He put his head on my shoulder as the alphas leaned into our sides. They were all smiling, and when I didn’t right away, Mathias tickled me until my own smile was spreading across my face.

“That wasn’t fair,” I protested after Ash snapped the picture.

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