Page 67 of Power Shift

“Sports aren’t my thing.”

Jasper sets a pile of plates beside the cutting board he’s using to slice the pizza. “What sorts of things do you enjoy?”

“I haven’t really had much time to find many hobbies, but I’ve always liked bundling up in front of a fire or on a porch at night and doing those paint by numbers. There’s something really calming about spending a few minutes doing something simple like that. It helps with anxiety too.”

Can’t say I saw that one coming.

“I don’t know the last time I painted anything,” Ronan grunts.

I spin the cap on my bottle tighter than necessary. “Probably when you were a child.”

“If you ever find yourself wanting company while you paint, I’d love to give it a try,” Jasper offers, stroking a knuckle over the fingers she has resting on the quartz countertop.

Briar flushes, lashes fanning as her stare falls to where they touch. Jealousy sizzles beneath my skin, pissing me off further.

They seem so close already after only seeing each other a couple of times. It’s just another reason why a scent match bond shouldn’t be so blindly trusted. Who’s to say that they won’t get sick of one another in a couple of weeks? There are still too many unknowns. We don’t know anything about this woman other than her enjoyment of painting.

“I like painting,” Ronan says.

It takes everything in me not to laugh. “Since when?”

His glare is vicious. “Since I fucking said so, asshole.”

“Jasper was telling me earlier about when you chose the pack house, but I wanted to ask when you actually all became pack?” Briar asks, changing the subject.

Dash leans forward on the island and beams at her. “Well, we all met when we were kids, and I think we knew even then that we were supposed to be pack. When we all designated, it seemed to just click into place. We held the ceremony when we were all eighteen.”

“I don’t know much about pack ceremonies,” she admits.

Jasper nods, beginning to cut the pizza up. “I wouldn’t really say it’s a ceremony per se. At least what we did wasn’t anything like that. We filled out all the legal paperwork joining us, took Landon’s last name, and had a party. That’s really what it is for a pack without an omega.”

Ronan eyes me up, daring me to be a jackass and add something unnecessary. If it weren’t for Briar’s genuine interest as she listens to everything we have to say, I would have made sure to remind her and everyone else that we’re not in the market for one, either.

It seems fucking impossible to spout my mouth off as they continue talking and Briar rests her chin on her fist, nodding along with every word spoken to her. Jasper gets dinner dished up for everyone the way he always does, and we sit at the table for the first time in months.

I take the furthest seat from her and adjust my crotch beneath the table. Jasper sits beside me, noticing the move but leaving it alone.

“Tell us how work’s been, love.”

“Well, we have a few patients that we’re watching closely as they’re due to go into labour any day now. I don’t think I’ve gonethis long without checking my phone in a few days,” Briar says between bites of pizza.

Jasper wipes his mouth with a napkin. “If you need to check, please do. We don’t want you to miss out on anything.”

“I have my ringer on and a special ringtone set for work. I’m doing just fine without looking,” she says, smiling brightly.

“You’re a doctor?” It comes out much harsher than I meant it to, but I don’t apologize for it.

“I’m a doula,” she corrects me.

I tap a finger to my bottle and say, “I’m not familiar.”

She doesn’t react with anything but calm understanding, features relaxed. “I work alongside an OB/GYN during baby deliveries and offer physical and emotional support to the moms doing all the hard work. I’ve never had a desire to become a doctor.”

“Briar co-owns a birthing clinic with her best friend,” Jasper boasts, chest puffed.

It’s confirmation that there’s already more to her than there ever was my mother, and I hate it.

Gritting my teeth, I let the conversation drop. I don’t need nor want to hear anything else.

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