Page 67 of A Pack of Mistletoe
"What on earth do you buy a ghost?" Sunny asks as we sit down.
"Something… useful." Clara says vaguely, a cheeky grin on her face.
Sunny rolls her eyes.
"Something from the lingerie store?" Winnie says. "I saw you picking out a few things." She nudges me.
"Don't think we didn't notice how your scent spiked in the men's section." Cali winks.
I feel my whole face go hot. I didn’t think about how everyone can scent me now that my omega scent’s been presenting.
“Well…” I start, and everyone perks up.
“What?” Sunny asks, the height of impatience.
“The guys and I have talked about bonding,” I admit slowly.
You could hear a pin drop at the table.
“And?” Winnie surprisingly demands. She’s usually so demure. We all stare at her for a moment and then burst out laughing—including Winnie herself.
“And, since we don’t know for sure when I'll have a heat, we decided to give it until Christmas and then bond on Christmas if the heat doesn’t come before then.” Their eyes go wide.
“Christmas is in, like, a week,”Clara reminds me.
I cannot stop the wide grin that spreads across my face at the thought. “Yeah, I know.”
The squeals of delight from around the table draw stares and glares from around the restaurant. None of my friends care at all.
“Rose!” Cali squeals.
“I know,” I confess.
“Are you…?” Winnie sort of trails off, but I get the gist.
“So happy,” I confess. More squeals.
Another round of giggles before we start on a new subject. Sunny starts talking about how she thinks Stella swiped some of her cutlery at the annual Christmas party, and I spend a moment looking around. Our table is cluttered with plates, cutlery, crumpled napkins, and so much laughter it feels like it’s spilling out into the whole restaurant. When I left my parents’ house, I couldn’t have imagined I’d end up in a beautiful small town, with friends who care deeply about me and a pack that loves me.
My pack.
I’m elated. Wrapped in warmth, in friendship, in the kind of holiday glow you can’t fake. Until my phone buzzes. And my whole perfect moment falls apart.
Kai
My phone buzzes in my pocket.
Sunny:
We’re taking Rose home. She got some upsetting news and she was finished shopping anyway. We thought you’d want to know.
“We have to go,” I blurt, already on my feet. The chair scrapes back as I fling my phone onto the table for everyone to see and start clearing trays with shaking hands.
Five alphas stalking through the middle of a mall clears a path fast. No one says a word. Every instinct in me screamsmove.
When we pull up to the house, my chest goes tight. The lights are all off. Even the tree, which Rosie has been religious about turning on every night, stands dark and lifeless in the front window.
Inside, the house feels wrong. Cold. Too still. The kind of quiet that makes your stomach drop before your mind can catch up.
