Page 93 of Mask and the Magnolia

Hey, yeah, by the way. I found out two of my patients are my scent matches, they escaped from the asylum and broke into our apartment to fuck me senseless, then my mentor ate me out while I FaceTimed my dad in his office because he could smell their cum inside me. The four of us banged after that, right on the desk by my laptop. That beta you were hoping to treat? Turns out he’s the sweetest man I have ever met and after my alphas claimed him in a storage closet, he cried in my arms while the five of us made love. Also in the office on Ward C. Bites have been exchanged, professions of love and forever have been shared, and I’m officially the focal point of a pack that I can never truly be with while we’re all affiliated with Blackhurst. How are things with you?

My best friend would lose her shit over that and I know for a fact she’s still going to because Isaak is meeting us in a little while and when he gets here, I don’t think I’m going to be able to refrain from touching him. Which will seem weird as hell without all the other information I’ve intentionally avoided discussing with her.

Honestly, I need to talk about it.

I’ve been sitting on so much, biting my tongue over the best thing that’s ever happened to me for weeks, and if I let it fester any longer, there is no telling what I’ll do. Aside from implode or something. I’m sure bottling things up the way I have been, not just now but my entire life, means some sort of catastrophe is on the horizon.

Yet, here I am in spite of it.

I agreed to come out tonight because I owe it to Evie. I owe it to her, I miss her, and she smells a rat. The rat being me, the smell also being me. She also sweetened the pot by saying we could go to the bar at seven so I could be home in time to sleep it off before work tomorrow.

Not that I had much of a choice. I couldn’t keep blowing her off, and I really didn’t want to, so here I am on a Thursday, drinking at an off-site campus bar and waiting for the bomb to drop. It will, I have no doubt, but I figure if we’re in public when it does, it can’t go too badly.

Hopefully.

”Look who I found!” Evie squeals as she holds a tray of drinks above her head, Maddox and Hendrix following her with matching smirks. “The Twins of Terror!”

I roll my eyes and smile as she sets down the gigantic circle loaded with alcohol. “Terror? Really? Since when?”

”Probably two or three screwdrivers ago,” Madds says as he drops into the booth across from me. “We’re terrific until she’s buzzing, then we’re terrors.”

”Both well earned nicknames.” Evie giggles as she slides in next to him, pulling the tray with her as she goes.

That must be phase one of her interrogation. Eve was sitting across from me before she got up to get refills but when we’re out with the twins, she typically holes up next to me while they sit on the opposite side of whatever table we’re at. She didn’t do that this time and since Hendrix just grabbed a chair and turned it around to sit in at the head of the booth, I’m flying solo in my seat. I bet it wasn't a coincidence that the two of them showed up here, either. Eve has probably been planning this since I brought home amysterious, stinky duffle baglast Friday.

I watch as my best friend passes out the drinks, confirming she called the twins ahead of time as she hands them their usual orders. Neither of us like extra dirty martinis but Drix drinks them out of a rocks glass and slams them as if they’re water, and Madds always starts things off with a White Russian, claiming it helps him drink less overall.

Funny how there were two of each on the tray with her screwdrivers and my Jack and coke.

A few moments pass as I watch Evie closely, giggling and poking fun at her cousins while they quickly catch a buzz to match hers. I listen as they chat about Ward B—Maddox works there, too—and how quiet it’s been lately. Hendrix grunts about his classes, about the rugby team and how they’re trying to talk him into running the sports medicine department on top of coaching, and how he’s still undecided about teaching at BRU next year.

It’s all very normal, very on par for the four of us but the difference is, no one has asked about me yet.

Not that I’m over here pouting about why no one cares, that’s not it at all because not asking me is very intentional. I’m purposely being left out aside from what I ask them, and that is definitely phase two of this very planned interrogation.

I have a feeling I’m in for one hell of a night.

Proven to be one hundred and fifty percent accurate when Evie cuts Maddox off and switches her focus to me.

”So, what the hell has been going on with you?” She makes super intense eye contact with me as she sips her drink. “You have been extremely absent lately and I’d love to know why.”

My eyes shift from hers to Maddox, who’s shaking his head and settling in for what is going to be the show, then to Hendrix, who just arches a brow as he nods in my direction.

“Been wearing a lot of turtle necks this fall.”

“Yeah, well, it’s chilly out.” I tug on the collar of said turtle neck, shifting around in my seat a little while I do. “It’s a fall kind of thing to wear.”

He nods as he kills his second martini. “Sure. Good to keep warm, good to hide things.”

“What?” I start coughing uncontrollably, that comment dropped strategically as I took a sip of my drink. “Why do you think I have something to hide?”

Eve leans back in the booth and crosses her arms against her chest. “No one said you did.”

“Right. Drix was just pointing out the versatility of my sweater.”

He snorts as his twin laughs. “You know Hendrix. He’s such a fashionista.”

I giggle and shake my head. “Look, I’m not stupid. Obviously this was a setup and I’d rather just get the twenty questions over with now so we can have a little fun?—“

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