Page 7 of Truth or Pack

"Karen?" I laughed, shaking my head. "That wasn’t her name. I can’t remember what it was exactly but it stood out more than that. She can't be the one we came here for. Maybe she’s just staying here, too?"

"Then why would she answer the door? We were invited here to meet our match, you don't think that she would bring a friend, do you?" he asked.

"Maybe. We’re a pack already. That could be a lot for a shy omega," I said, but barely believed it myself. That scent hadn’t been washed from my memory like the rain washed it away out here.

She’s ours. The coconut, kiwi, and hint of vanilla was a tropical, sweet mix I wanted to get lost in. It was even more potent in person and my entire being wanted to move closer to her.

I don't know if I was trying to convince them or myself.

Holt moved past me and pounded on the wooden door. "Open up, it's pouring out here. The roads were already flooding, where the hell are we supposed to go?"

There was no sound and the door didn't open again. We shared a look, all more than a little annoyed. Even our beta lost some of his enthusiasm.

This wasn’t how I saw our night panning out. Then again, I never expectedherto be here.

"Back to the car?" Mathias asked just before another crack of lightning exploded a little too close for comfort.

The screech he let out echoed in the night, louder than the thunder.

This time when he knocked rapidly, it was with a sense of urgency. "P..p..please, le...t us innnnn."

"Go away," called a sweet, but firm, voice on the other side of the door. “You’re not welcome here.”

"Well, like Holt said, the roads are flooding. It's raining too hard. The water has nowhere to go," I said, trying to reason with her.

"Go back to your car and leave me alone," she growled out, her voice taking on a sexy rasp.

Wait. Sexy? This rain was getting to me or something. She wasn’t even who we were here for. Right?

After she spoke there was another explosion and this time it hit one of the trees near the house. The three of us watched in horror as it fell across the top of both our car and hers.

"Car is out," Holt called out. Even he sounded desperate this time. "There’s a tree on top of it, along with yours."

That got the door open.

"What?" She stormed out onto the porch and almost down the steps but Holt stopped her as another bolt of lightning flashed across the sky.

"No, I just paid her off. Why does this shit always happen to me?" she cried, looking genuinely distraught.

I couldn't tell if there were real tears in her eyes or if it was just the rain on her face.

"Let go of me, you brute. Why are the three of you here on my doorstep?" she asked as she wiggled free from Holt's grasp and crossed her arms. There was a fierce glare on her face as she squared off with us.

I didn’t remember her having that much fire in her back at school. Then again, we tried to avoid her. Though, I couldn’t even remember why. Probably some petty, omega thing. Half of our friend group was made up of omegas back then.

"We were invited," Mathias said in almost a whisper. He looked about two seconds away from a full breakdown.

"Mother," she muttered under her breath. "Fine. Come in. There are two guest rooms on the main floor and a couch. You three can fight over who sleeps where. The second floor is off limits and only for me."

She stomped back in and up the stairs, no longer worrying about us. We were officially dismissed.

If she noticed our scent, she was hiding it well.

Me? I was struck again by that tropical sweetness. My entire body was waking up, my alpha demanding I go after her. It was only the fear of freaking her out more that kept me rooted to the spot.

"That was a warm welcome," I muttered as we entered the cabin. It was definitely not as nice as we were used to, though I kind of loved it for that. The decor was nice but not overly ornate or gaudy. It had that lived-in cozy feel.

"Do you really think she didn't know that we were coming?" Mathias questioned as he slipped out of his shoes at the door. His hands were shaking still but he was more focused on the omega who ran up those stairs like her ass was on fire.

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