Page 33 of A Pack of Mistletoe
My breath catches. “What do you mean?” Even though I already know. I’m not ready for this. Not here, not now. But I ask anyway.
“At your parents’ Christmas party. Two years ago. I came back to see you.” His voice turns rough. “I wanted—”
He doesn’t finish. Just sighs and looks up at the stars before turning fully to me. The rest of the group has drifted a few steps away, leaving us in a little pocket of quiet.
He takes both of my hands in his, his eyes dark and serious. His thumbs trace slow, deliberate circles over my knuckles.
“Rosie, I wanted to see you. To see if you missed me.”
I close my eyes and let the sensation of him settle into my skin. His touch feels like safety. Like home.
“I always missed you,” I whisper.
His lashes flutter shut, and then he steps in, pressing close. So close I can feel the heat of his chest against mine, his breath ghosting over my cheek.
“When I got there, your parents said you were sick. People had seen you at the party earlier, but then you disappeared. After that… no one saw you again. They claimed you were off ‘pursuing your own interests,’ but I know what that means.” His knuckles brush the side of my face, coaxing me to look at him. “Rich talk for sending off someone they deem troublesome,” he says, and his voice vibrates through me.
I can’t speak. Tears sting my eyes. That night… it split me open. And the pieces never quite fit back together.
“Rosie,” he breathes again, and this time my name sounds like a vow. He pulls me into his arms, and I melt, my hands sliding around his neck as he holds me like he’ll never let go.
“I’ll tell you,” I murmur, glancing at the others laughing nearby. “I’ll tell all of you. Just… not tonight. Tonight, can we forget the omega clause, my family, everything that happened—and justbe?”
His forehead rests against mine. We breathe the same air. The cold bites at our cheeks, but I don’t feel it.
Around us, the town begins to count down.
But I don’t care.
Because Kai, beautiful, steady Kai, who I’ve been in love with since I was ten, leans in and kisses me.
It’s deep and slow and consuming. I open for him, and his tongue sweeps in. It’s sweet and aching, full of longing and promise.
I’ve never been nostalgic for my childhood. There wasn’t much worth remembering. But Kai… he was always the light in the dark.
When we finally pull apart, the tree at the end of Main Street explodes in color. Thousands of twinkling lights chasing away the shadows. A golden star crowns the top, casting soft light over the snow.
And somewhere deep inside, the part of me I’ve kept sedated and silent for years, the omega I’ve tried so hard to hide, finally opens her eyes.
Rose
I can feel her.
I forced my omega to sleep. I locked her away, boxed her up tight. But something shifted tonight, and now… everything feels different.
There’s no single moment I can point to. Nothing loud or obvious. But Ifeelit.
My sense of scent still isn’t all the way back, but I can smell the alphas now—lightly, faintly, like they’re across the room even though I’m right next to them. Onlythem, though. No one else. Which is strange.
We’re on a wagon ride through town and we have the whole wagon to ourselves. It’s, pulled by two massive horses with wreaths around their necks. Christmas lights glow on every storefront, and snow crunches under the wheels.
Kai’s hand hasn’t left mine since the tree lighting. He keeps squeezing gently, like he’s reminding me he’s still here. Still real.
Wyatt’s on my other side, passing me bites of some homemade candies he picked up from a vendor. I don’t even know what they are—maybe peanut brittle? They’re sweet, and I don’t care.
Across from me, Logan and Evander sit close together. Evander keeps playing this stupid game of footsie—except every time the wagon jerks, his boot brushes up my calf.
I thought it was an accident at first. Then he winked on the third time. Now I’m doing it back. We’re basically just being children about it, but it makes me laugh. So I let it happen.
