Page 139 of The Packaged Deal

“Depends on why you’re asking. Are we hiding bodies?”

Jet bursts into laughter. He shakes his head and smiles, a friendly, genuine smile. “You look different.”

“I feel different.”

“STOP!” Sven growls.

Lukas pokes his head up and glares at Sven. “Go away, you giant buzzkill!”

“You can’t do that-”

“Well, actually, I said he can.” I shrug as Sven turns to me with an incredulous expression.

“Why?” Sven almost whines.

“Because it makes me happy.”

I wonder if everyone sees the way he melts or if it’s just me. He stalks towards me and snags my chin.

“Fine. If blowing up shit in the backyard makes you happy, you can do that, Addy.”

“Don’t call me Addy,” I whisper.

He slams his mouth against mine, tasting like the beers he’s been drinking. But far too soon, he pulls away and stalks back into the house.

“Okay, now that we have parental permission, let’s blow this sucker,” Lukas howls again and races back to me, turning to watch.

The crowd of alphas and omegas at my back doesn’t worry me the way it used to. When Acton puts a heavy hand on my shoulder, I actually find myself comforted by his touch.

“What is this?” I mutter two hours later while Lukas and I eat from paper plates. The packs are mixed. No one is threatened. Everyone is relaxed and eating and having a good time.

“It’s a giant pack,” Lukas whispers in my ear. “It’s like a family. Instead of just the pack, everyone you see is now inside your inner circle.”

He laughs and pats me on the shoulder. I jolt when I realise Simon just walked in hand-in-hand with his husband and an old lady that Missy calls Oma.

“Welcome to the family, brother. You drank the kool-aid,” Lukas whispers in my ear. “Your life will never be the same.”

I turn my head and realise I’m not annoyed by people here. That I want to talk to them.

I’m looking forward to the future.

Jade finds me, weaving through the people, her eyes lighting up when she spots me. She buries her face in my chest, her arms going around me.

“Are you happy, Adrian?”

I look across the lawn and see Sven with a beer. He looks up when he feels my gaze, smiling back at us. Kandi leans into his side, and when I smile at her, she smiles back, too.

“I didn’t know I could be this happy,” I say honestly.

“Me, either.”

“Thank you for fighting for us,” I whisper, teasing her.

“Of course. I knew you were mine. The writing was on the wall,” She says tartly and traces my bottom lip. “Just needed to convince the three of you that we were the packaged deal.”

I lean down and press my lips to her forehead. The smell of blackberries is strong and familiar. My favourite scent. “You have it all now.”

“Yes. I have everything I ever dreamed.”

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