Page 58 of A Pack of Mistletoe
When I wake, the bed is half-empty. Kai lies on his back with Rose nestled into his side. I’m curled around her back. Slowly, I untangle myself.
“I know what you mean.” Harlan’s deep voice rumbles through the living room as I step out of the bedroom.
Evander is tucked under his arm, a hooded, sleepy expression on his face.
“I don’t think my brain chemistry will ever go back to what it was before we met her,” Logan says, sauntering out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee.
I glance back into the room. My Sugarplum’s still curled into Kai’s chest, his arms wrapped tight around her like even in sleep he refuses to let her go. The sight hits me square in the chest. It makes me want to crawl back into bed andshowthem both how much I fucking need them.
When I turn back, the others are deep in that quiet kind of conversation where no one really needs to speak. Just looks. Subtle shifts. Their connection is so strong itbreathesbetween them.
I want that with Rose. With Kai. I want it so bad my ribs feel too tight around my heart.
“We need to talk as a pack,” Harlan says, glancing toward the bedroom. “I don’t think we need to ask Kai. We know his answer.”
I do too. But still, it’s hard not to blurt outfuck yeson instinct.
“Rose is clearly our scent-sensitive match. Our mate. Even before her scent emerged, I felt a pull,” Evander says. Softer, he adds, “She’s more than just right for my alpha. He practically wanted to tackle her from day one.”
That first week, when she saw my scars and didn’t even flinch—when sheacceptedthem—it broke something open in me. I’d spent so long trying to hide the soft parts. She made me want to show them. She made me wantmore.
“She’s… my alpha needs her,” Logan says, voice low, then turns to Harlan. “Ineed her. She helped me come back to myself. Back to you. Back to Cole.”
Harlan’s arm wraps around Logan’s waist, the other still holding Evander, and he pulls Logan in for a soft kiss. It’s simple. Gentle. But it feels like a vow.
“I need her too,” I say. “She’s so damn sweet. So giving. I don’t think I could separate myself from my Sugarplum if I tried.”
“She doesn’t want to leave Lakeside Point though,” Evander says. “Could we swing that?”
“Do we want to?” Logan counters, brow raised. The city’s all he’s ever known. It’s not a small ask.
“If it’s a choice between her and where we live, I’ll choose her every time. Between her andanything,” I say. “Besides… Ilikeit here. The town’s cute. The people are friendly. I could work at the restaurant full-time. Really turn it into something. Get back to the food I love making.” I like the people here too. I've been talking to the Evergreen Pack and the Ember Pack. Volunteered to help the Mayor with some committee thing. I even got cranky old Stella to laugh.
Evander's, already smiling. Of all of us, he’s adjusted the fastest.
“She has a whole emotional support system here,” Harlan says. “The Book Club. Her people. I won’t be the one to pull her away from that.”
Then he turns to Logan, his gaze soft but steady. “I won’t take you from your life either. If it’s too much, maybe we work something out—part here, part there.”
I can feel the tension under Logan’s skin. Igetit. Being pulled in two directions by love is brutal. Especially now, when Kai’s alreadyall in.
But Logan doesn’t argue. Doesn’t retreat. He justsmiles. Looks up at Harlan and shakes his head.
“It’s different,” he says. “But it’s a good different. At the barbecue, when I talked to Cole… I think we could finally be brothers. For real. That never would’ve happened without Rose. She’s changedeverything. I want to stay.”
The certainty in his voice solidifies something in my chest.
“So we’re staying?” Kai’s standing in the doorway, hair messy from sleep, eyes steady. “Because I gotta be honest, now that I’ve found her again, I’m never leaving her.” Then his gaze meets mine. “I’m never leaving either of you.”
The words light me up from the inside out. Like fire catching kindling.
There’s a low chorus of growls. The kind that sayyesin a language only bonded hearts know.
“We need to talk to her about bonding,” Harlan says. “But I want it to be special. I want her to know how serious we are. Let’s all think on it and come back with ideas.”
A soft stir from the bedroom tells us Rose is waking.
“Alright,” Harlan says, voice gentling. “Think about it. In the meantime, we’ve got a restaurant to launch.”
