Page 38 of A Pack of Pumpkins
Bram hesitates, then nods. He may be the dominant alpha, but when it comes to pack dynamics, we’ll defer to her.
I love my brother, but I agree with Bram. This can’t go on.
"There's one more thing. The scent of the ghost. I think It might be scent sensitivity." We all sit in stunned silence for this.
“You think, or you know?” Bram asks. She’s spinning the edges of the cardigan draped over her shoulders above her dress.
“I know,” she nearly whispers. Her scent has gone sour with nerves and worry.
I cross the distance between us and scoop her up. The moment she’s in my arms, some of the tension in my chest eases too. Bram’s and Jack’s purrs rumble, filling the space around us like a shield. I kiss her slow and steady until her scent shifts back to sweet.
“It’s okay, Mine. We’ll figure it out,” I sign, and she nods.
Jack
WhenClaraandBramcame back from the library with all the information we’d been looking for, it was pretty shocking. Almost an entire pack killed. The one left behind so devastated that he took his own life. It made me look around at my own pack with new eyes.
She’d come back smelling of Bram, and it made my alpha snap with need, but it also made my heart soar. Pack-dominant alphas take charge of courting, and if Bram’s finding space with her, it helps the entire pack.
Her announcement about the haunting was surprising but as I think about it, it makes more and more sense. The scent, the attacks on Victor, the only alpha treating Clara poorly.
I’m lying in my bed now. My room is directly below Clara’s, and I can hear the shift of her mattress every time she tosses and turns. I try to ignore it, but my instincts are screaming. After an hour, I give up fighting them.
I don’t bother with a shirt, just sweatpants, and pad barefoot up the stairs to the omega suite. At the top, I listen. Sure enough, there’s the rustle of sheets and a small whimper.
I knock. The movement stops. “Apple, it’s me.”
The padding of feet, then the door cracks open, and two deep green eyes peer up at me. “Jack?” Her voice is sleepy. I hope I didn’t make a mistake.
“Sorry, Apple. I didn’t want to wake you. I just heard you tossing and turning and wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
Her lips perk into a small smile, and she opens the door, stepping aside so I can enter. I don’t take the privilege lightly. As soon as I’m in, she closes the door and turns to me.
My hand cups her cheek, my thumb sliding over the perfect roundness there. I wait, letting her process her thoughts.
“I’ve never slept very well. I don’t know why. I just toss and turn a lot. When I was living above the Café, I had a twin bed and I fell out of it all the time. It’s been this way my whole life. I don’t—” She stops, and I read her expression.
“You’re worried about sleeping with the pack, Apple?” I ask. The thought of sleeping next to her has my cock hardening, but I tamp the thought down. I need to focus on what Clara needs right now.
She nods, the worry written all over her face. This isn’t an issue she just came up with. It’s been lingering in her head for years, the stress piling up.
I wrap my arms around her, and she falls into my chest, letting me take all her weight, both physically and emotionally.
“I can’t speak for the others, but, Apple, I’d gladly take an elbow to the face if it meant I could go to sleep and wake up with you next to me,” I assure her.
She pulls back with a happy smile.
I bend down to kiss her gently. “Would you like to try? Sleeping together, I mean. Just sleeping. I know you have an early morning tomorrow.”
Her eyes go wide, heart-achingly hopeful. “Are you sure? What if I keep you up all night or something?”
I chuckle. “Then I’ll sleep during the day. I don’t exactly have a boss to reprimand me if I play hooky.”
Her smile is a thousand watts now. She takes my hand and gently leads me to the pack bed. It could definitely fit Clara, the entire pack, plus a couple more people. She lifts the covers and slides underneath, keeping her eyes locked on mine. She shifts to give me space on her side, and I lift the covers and slide in beside her.
Her soft skin rubs against my chest, and I bite back a moan thinking of the last time we were together in the graveyard. I beat it down. I'm trying to help her sleep. This is not the time.
I slide one arm beneath her pillow and the other around her waist. I feel her face nuzzle between my pecs. I start purring to cover up the groan that slips out thanks to my raging erection.
