Page 54 of Pack Fever

“Don’t think she’s been hearing a thing we said,” Reed says, then digs back into his noodles.

“My head was just elsewhere. What did I miss?”

At the other end of the semi-circle of couches, Seth sits, legs spread and leaning forward as he eats his stir-fry. He’s also studying me with a tilt of his head, his smile reassuring, even if he’s been super angsty since yesterday when he discovered about the media talking up our supposed engagement.

“I was saying that tomorrow, we’re getting samples of our tour merch for a final check,” he begins. “Then we need to distribute quantities from the manufacturers to our final tour locations to sell. I thought it might be something you could help with to familiarize yourself with how things work. We also need photos of each item to add to the tour website.”

I shrug. “I can do that. Doesn’t sound too difficult. It’ll give me something to do other than just sit around.” It’s gratifying to feel needed, so maybe this new role and helping the band won’t be so bad after all.

Jasper’s next to me on the couch, and I catch the way he’s constantly glancing over at me, leaving me smiling but also wondering if there’s something wrong with how many times he stares.

Reed’s sitting on his other side, quieter than usual, his eyes drifting to the TV screen and back to his box of food in his hand.

Seth, on the other hand, doesn’t stop talking. It sounds like nervous chatter to me as he keeps checking his phone, all while rattling off the list of cities on the tour. It’s slightly overwhelming, so I just nod and try to concentrate on my food.

This past week, my heat cycle has been calm. Unless I’m touching one of the Alphas or in super close proximity, I seem to be able to remain tame.

Seth’s phone rings. He’s on his feet in a flash, leaving his meal abandoned on the coffee table.

“Rick, what have you got for me?” His voice booms through the room as he heads toward the corridor.

A hushed silence falls over us, our attention on where Seth vanished. I catch Jasper’s eye.

“Rick’s our record manager at Wing Music,” he whispers, then offers me another egg roll from one of his three boxes of food, which I quickly take since they’re delicious.

“Thanks. I haven’t eaten this much in years. I may not fit into my pants at this rate.” I giggle when Jasper scoops another egg roll into my meal.

“We need to order more eggrolls,” Jasper announces.

Reed, from the corner of my eye, is shaking his head. I’m not going to let him get to me. I made a promise to ignore him. Even though this morning I woke up in his bed after sleepwalking again! Mortified, I snuck out before he even noticed me.

I need a plan to deal with that.

For now, I swallow the food in my mouth, grinning at Jasper and listening to Seth’s voice, although I can’t make out what he’s saying.

Part of me can’t believe where I’ve ended up.

A new life with three Alphas.

With the pack Fever.

Reed keeps glancing at the doorway of the living room while Jasper’s knee bounces with nervous energy. The anticipation sits heavily on me, and while I know it’s not my fault we ended up in this predicament with the record label, I can’t stop guilt-tripping that my decision to stay with them brought on this problem. My stomach knots up the longer we wait for Seth to return.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he enters the living room. We all simultaneously lean forward to hear him out.

The slight curl at the corners of his mouth is unmistakable—it’s good news.

“They bought it,” he announces, a hint of triumph in his voice. “They accept that Danica is our new band marketing manager, especially since they’re aware I fired the last manager we had for stealing from us, and we were overdue to also hire a marketing manager. If anything, Wing Music is excited to use this as an opportunity to promote the upcoming launch of our new album and tour. Starting with our first song from the new album this week to help take attention away from this drama.”

“Hell, yeah!” Reed booms.

I can’t help smirking at his excitement, then I remember I don’t like him and pull back my grin.

“This is exactly what we need,” Seth states.

“Which song are we doing first?” Reed booms, grinning widely.

“Tell Me Your Lies,” Seth announces, his smile wider. He’s beaming and looks absolutely irresistible. Just seeing him smile, practically bouncing on his toes, has me jittery, too.

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