Page 44 of A Pack of Pumpkins
Across the yard, Cole’s gaze keeps cutting toward Bram. Not aggressive, not exactly friendly either—more the way a guard dog sizes up someone stepping too close to its fence. Bram keeps his head down, tending to the drinks cooler as if Cole’s eyes aren’t burning holes in the side of his skull. Bram avoids confrontation whenever he can, but something tells me Cole’s not the type to be fooled by polite distance.
Movement catches my eye as Clara, breaking away from her group. I pass the tongs in my hand to Hunt with a nod and meet her halfway, scooping her into my arms and planting a kiss on the top of her head before leaning in to nuzzle, scent-marking her. She buries her face in my chest and nuzzles me back, marking me in return. My heart soars.
“Are you having a good time, Apple?” I ask into her hair. She nods without pulling away, and I squeeze her tighter.
“You need anything?”
“Just this.” She says it softly, wrapping her arms around my chest. They don’t even meet at my back—and it’s perfect. Her black-and-orange hair is braided into a crown that wraps around her head, the orange streaks catching the light. “I think you saved the barbeque. Everyone’s loving the food.”
I cock my head. “Saved it? I wasn’t aware it needed saving.”
She shrugs. “When the packs got here, I felt like they were looking for any excuse to declare this unsafe and haul me back to one of their houses. Probably Sunny’s—hers is the biggest since they added on to the farmhouse.”
I chuckle, running a hand up and down her back. “They’re just concerned, Apple. They want to make sure you’re safe. I’m grateful for that—anyone who wants to keep you safe has my gratitude. Even if they’re trying to keep you safe from me.”
She smiles, and my heart swells before one of her friends calls her back.
Turning back to the grill, my gaze lifts to the house. At first, I think it’s a trick of the sunset—just a dim glow in an upstairs window. But as my eyes adjust, the shape inside sharpens. Broad shoulders. Strong jaw. The tilt of a newsboy cap.
Every muscle in me goes taut.
It’s the same alpha Bram and Clara showed us in those old photographs from the library.
Finian.
Watching.
Finian
Imaynotstandbeside her as they do, but I will always be here—watching.
Bram
Iwriteaboutséancesand Ouija boards. I don’t attend them. After what Jack saw at the barbecue a few days ago Clara suggested it. It seems like the best option after what we’ve all experienced.
I didn’t warn Victor. I didn’t need him finding a convenient excuse to leave before we started. None of us really understand what we’re dealing with, and I wanted the full pack here to protect Clara. It’s fucked that I even have to trick Victor into being present for his own omega.
Which is why he looks so damn surprised when he steps out of his room at quarter to midnight—his usual wake-up time lately—and finds me waiting for him. His gaze sweeps the hall, searching for the others, and when he doesn’t see them, he tries to shut the door in my face.
“Stop.” The bark rips out of me before I can soften it, and it guts me. I hate barking, especially at my packmate, my friend. We used to be as close as brothers. After everything that happened with him last year… nothing’s been the same. I know he’d never split from the pack while his twin’s still here, but there are times it feels like that’s exactly what he’s thinking about.
“What?” he snarls, turning back to me. My own growl rolls up from deep in my chest. We glare each other down.
“We need you downstairs.”
For a flicker of a second, his expression softens.
Then the walls slam back into place. “Why?”
“We’re gonna try to communicate with this ghost alpha.” The words sound ridiculous even to myself.
He snorts, full of derision. “Why are we trying to talk to the damn thing? We should get a priest and exorcise it.”
“Clara’s scent-sensitive to the ghost. To Finian.” I say flatly, watching his reaction. He gapes. “Exorcising him might hurt her, besides the fact that he hasn’t done anything malicious.”
Victor sputters, but I cut him off with a raised hand. “To the rest of us. And you know exactly why he’s doing it to you.”
I’ve suspected for a while now that Finian is targeting Victor. Every other encounter has been harmless, aside from the shock of seeing a damn ghost. Even that time on the bluff, Finian just looked at me. Creepy, sure, but not harmful. Victor, though? He’s the only one actively rejecting our omega.
