Page 15 of A Pack of Mistletoe
“It’s still my house,” I remind them, sharp now. “And I saidallthe alphas.”
They stare at me, eyebrows raised, testing. My stomach knots. This is the moment. Either Harlan backs me up and I keep my independence, or he doesn’t, and I’m finished.
Harlan gestures for his pack to follow. Relief leaks out of me in a shaky breath.
The second the door closes, my friends descend.
“No, I’m not being blackmailed. No, I wasn’t forced,” I say before they can start.
“Then why in the world are you bonding with Logan’s pack?” Sunny demands. Her sharp tone grates, but I know it’s coming from concern.
I make a choice. Maybe a bad one, but mine. “Because I asked them to.”
Slack-jawed silence.
“Why?” Winnie asks softly.
I take a deep breath, and decide it’s time. I’ve created the safest situation I can and I don’t want to hide anymore. I just hope they don’t feel tricked or angry. I tell them. About my parents. My late designation. Being locked away. The arranged bonding to a violent pack. My brother’s help. The fake papers. The experimental drug that let me pass as a beta. How I survived on odd jobs until I could finally rent this little house. How I chose Lakeside Point because it felt small and safe.
By the end, the room is thick with shock. Winnie’s hands cover her mouth. Clara keeps mouthing “What?”Cali’s eyebrows are lost somewhere in her hairline. Sunny’s scowl could burn through steel.
“Your parents were just going to sell you?” she snarls.
“It’s fairly common in upper circles,” I say.
No one looks mollified.
“So you pretend to be their omega, and they keep your family off your back?” Clara sums up.
“Pretty much.”
“I still don’t like it,” Sunny mutters.
“It’s not ideal, but it’s better than the alternative. I don’t want to spend my life looking over my shoulder. It has to end sometime, and I want it to end here.” I gesture around the room. “I just didn’t want to have to leave.”
Cali is the first to move, wrapping me in the most awkward hug of my life, her baby bump pressing between us.
“Fine,” Sunny says finally, “but if those fuckers make you uncomfortable, we’re coming for them.”
I laugh. “You’d have to get through Harlan first.”
“For real though, I’m pretty sure Cole’s threatening them as we speak,” she adds.
My eyes fly wide.
We all scramble for the patio.
Logan
My brother, his pack, and their friends’ packs have all threatened us at least once before Rose finally reappears with the other omegas. Sunny takes Cole by the arm, and I’m grateful when she steers him away, promising to explain on the drive home. The rest of the omegas gather their packs, or their purse, and file out.
We all look to Rose. She just shrugs. “They’re kind of… protective.”
She bites her plump bottom lip and—good lord. The thoughts running through my head should not exist. I’ve already wrecked one important relationship in my life, I don’t need to risk another. Still, there’s something about her I just can’t put my finger on. Something irresistible.
It only gets worse when I realize she’s still in silk pajamas. Tiny shorts that barely cover the curve of her ass and a top that dips scandalously low. I can see every soft roll, every curve, and the urge to sink my hands into them hits hard enough to make me swallow a curse.
I cough, turn, and stride back into the house, hoping to hide my arousal before anyone notices.
