Page 14 of A Pack of Mistletoe
Every day, the stirring of my omega grows more pronounced. It’s like someone hovering between sleep and waking—you can feel they’re about to open their eyes.
I’ve been lying on the couch, scrolling my phone and working up the courage to face my kitchen, and all the alphas in it, when my front door swings open and Sunny comes stomping in.
Oh, shit.
“What did I tell you about scheming with my friends’ emotions and bonds?” she demands, glaring from Logan to Harlan before planting herself in front of me like a human shield.
“Sunny,” I begin, aiming for calm.
“I told you not to! That’s what I told you! Leave them alone! Yet I find out this morning, fromStella, that you’ve been seen with a moving truck in front of Rose’s house?”
“Sunny,” I try again, but she’s on a roll.
“Howdareyou trick or bribe or threaten my friend into your bullshit?”
“Threaten? We didn’t—” Loganstarts.
“Enough,” Harlan barks.
“Do not bark at my wife.” Cole appears behind Sunny, broad shoulders filling the doorway. He’s tall, muscled, gray streaks in his dark hair, dominance rolling through the room like thunder.
Harlan meets it head-on. The air between them turns electric. Before a full-on alpha standoff erupts, I jump up and wedge myself between them. “Sunny! I need to talk to you. Alone.”
She glares at the pack but finally follows me to the bedroom. The second she sees the new pack bed, she freezes.
“Rose, what—?”
Before I can explain, a swell of voices rises in the living room. Not quite shouting, but close enough that Sunny and I trade a look and bolt.
Please, universe, don’t let the Night Pack get into a fistfight with the Sterling Pack.
But the problem is obvious the second we round the corner. Clara has arrived, flanked by her Ember Pack.
“Why is everyone saying you bonded a pack?” she asks. “Didn’t Sunny threaten to cut Logan’s balls off or something?”
I wince. Logan visibly cringes.
Before I can answer, Winnie and Cali squeeze their way in. Cali's pushing, Winnie politely murmuring “excuse me” like this isn’t descending into chaos. The Evergreen Pack follows right behind.
“Good lord, how many people do you know?” Evander mutters from his perch at the counter, watching like it’s reality TV.
“A lot,” I snap.
“And we’re here to kick you assholes out,” Bax, Cali’s alpha, announces.
The sentiment nearly makes me tear up. After a lifetime of having no one but Kai, who disappeared when we went to college, and sometimes my brother, I’ve built a family here. Arealone.
Unfortunately, the agreement around the room threatens to turn into an angry mob.
I raise my hands. “No one is kicking anyone outofmyhouse.”
Sunny crosses her arms. Cali looks ready to declare war. Clara’s confused. Winnie looks worried.
“If all the alphas currently letting the warm air out wouldn’t mind, the back patio is open. You can wait there.” I announce.
It’s a clear dismissal. Grumbling, the alphas trudge toward the door.
The Sterling Pack doesn’t move.
