Page 13 of Pack Me Up
My heart rate triples. I clutch the guitar case so hard I’m afraid it might crack. The air tastes different, like it’s charged, maybe.
Oli stands, shoulders squared, and gestures toward the entrance. “Showtime,” she says.
I close my eyes, count the seconds between footfalls, and brace myself for whatever comes next. I’ve seen the Phoenix Pack in passing but never up close. I’m regretting not introducing myself or learning their names right now.
The first one through the door seems to be at least six and a half feet tall, a wall of muscle in a suit so black I can’t make out the details. He moves with a kind of controlled violence, like every step is measured. His eyes are the color of a glacier. They’re blue, cold, and sharp enough to flay skin from bone. For half a second, they scan the room, unhurried, before landing on me.
Right behind him are the twins. I can’t tell them apart at first. They have the same broad shoulders, the same dark hair slicked to the left, and the same black matching tattoos curling up from their shirt collars. The one on the left has a lazy smile, like he’s in on a joke the rest of us missed. The one on the right is all sharp lines and silent judgment, eyes narrowed and scanning every corner like he’s prepping for an attack.
Fourth is a beta, but if I couldn’t sense it, I would mistake him for an alpha easily. He’s got this calm, grounded energy that slows down everything around him, like gravity’s just a bitheavier wherever he stands. His hair is a deep, wild red, combed back but already starting to escape the hold. He catches my eye and gives a smile meant to comfort.
The last is all restless motion with curly black hair threaded with streaks of purple that catch the fluorescent light. He’s scanning for exits, fingers tapping the seam of his jeans, eyes flickering between everyone in the room. If the others are glaciers, he and the beta are lightning.
His nostrils flare, his fidgeting stops, and his eyes laser into mine as he takes a step forward. “It’syou.”
The red-haired beta holds him back from rushing at me with a confused frown.
The air goes heavy, thick with something I can’t name. My nose flares before I can help it, and then I smell them all at once. Leather, mocha, apple, and eucalyptus all mix with something underneath, something raw and animal that slides right into my brain.
Their scents.
It’s not just strong, it’s right. The smell is familiar, like home, safety, and the first deep breath after you’ve been underwater too long. My pulse hammers against my neck, my skin goes hot, and every part of me that’s supposed to stay secret and small is screaming for attention.
Oh, fuck.
I can see the recognition flare in their eyes, too. The smiley twin’s face goes slack for a second, then he grins wider, like he’s just scored the winning point in overtime. The serious twin’s nostrils flare, his jaw flexing so hard I think his teeth might shatter. Even the beta shifts on his feet, eyes flicking to me with a sudden hunger.
My vision tunnels. For a second, I think I’m about to pass out. Then the ice-blue-eyed alpha steps forward, stopping less than a foot from me. The twins fan out to either side of him,flanking like a unit. The beta and the alpha with crazy eyes hang back, but not far.
I look at Oli. She’s watching me, not them. Her eyes are wide and green and a little worried. She knows. Of course she does.
My distress fills the air, and all the alphas take a step forward.
Ice-blue eyes speaks first. His voice is lower than I expected, almost gentle. “You are Ms. Ryan, correct?”
I swallow, but my mouth is too dry for it to work. “Yeah.”
He nods, just once. “I’m Saint Phoenix, and these are my brothers and pack. This is Colton and Cody.” He gestures to the twins, who nod in unison. “Fox,” he inclines his head toward the beta, “and Hunter.” The last one breaks away from his family and runs towards me.
Hunter scoops me up in his arms and holds me tight while sniffing directly from my neck.
His Eucalyptus, peppermint, and frost scent floods my senses until it’s all I can smell. It feels like home, safety, and comfort wrapped into one.
When he sets me down, I look up at him with a dazed smile before stepping back.
“Hunter, give her space,” Saint commands.
“She’s my scent match. She’sourscent match!” Hunter is bouncing on the balls of his feet as he says it.
It’s like his words release the twins. They both join Hunter, stepping up to either side of me and boxing me in. Their smiles match perfectly as they identically lean in and smell me before both of them groan.
At first, all I smell is the identical scent of mocha, but when I take another sniff, I get a note of caramel from the one on the left and vanilla from the one on the right.
Their scents perfectly complement each other.
When I look over at the final two, Saint is looking at me with such intensity that it’s like he’s already seen through to my soul and knows what’s inside me.
Fox is holding back. I don’t know how I can tell, but my instincts tell me he wants to come over here, but stays there.
