Page 78 of Alpha Reid

Serena heaves a sigh, resting her head on my chest again and snuggling in closer. She’s not the only one questioning their reality right now- thoughts of what’s to come have been echoing in my head for days. I’ve been trying to chase them out, but they constantly resurface, the heaviness of it all weighing me down.

While Serena drifts off to sleep, her breathing slowing down and evening out, I can’t quiet my mind. I try to redirect and think about our night together instead- about how we’ve sealed the bond and it can never be severed. Those are the thoughts that allow me to finally drown out the others, and I stare toward the window as I finally drift off to sleep, watching as the first snow of the season begins to fall outside.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Reid

The light coming in through the window the next morning is uncomfortably bright, reflecting off of the blanket of snow covering the ground. It must’ve snowed all night- we got several inches, and it’s just cold enough outside for it to stick. The significance of the snow isn’t lost on me. It means that Astrid’s vision of the battle with the shadow pack was accurate; that it’s coming to fruition. We’re officially out of time.

The mood is somber when we arrive at the Summervale packhouse for the council meeting. It’s our last sit-down with everyone before the battle starts, and it’s a packed house. All of the council members are attending- the alphas and betas of every pack- as well as the squad leaders and their mates, Chase, and the Denver alpha and beta. Lots of strong personalities in one room, yet nobody’s arguing for once. Not today.

There are still a few more to arrive after Cy, Serena, and I get there, and we’re barely in the door when Astrid calls us over to where she’s standing with Brock, his beta Jared, her brother Cole, and his beta Sam. The three of us make our way over to them and I greet each of the guys with a fist-bump.

“Since when are you early to these things?” I ask Brock, elbowing him teasingly.

“Fuck off,” he chuckles, elbowing me back.

Before Astrid, Brock was notoriously late for council meetings. His mate has since whipped him into shape when it comes to punctuality.

Astrid leans in toward Serena. “You two marked?” she whispers, though we’ve all got shifter hearing, so the conversation is anything but private. Brock arches a brow in my direction.

“How’d you know?” Serena hisses back, eyes wide.

“Your scents have merged,” Astrid supplies. She takes a beat, then goes on. “Annnnnd you might’ve had a mate mark in one of my visions of the battle.” She smiles coyly, looking from Serena to me.

“Way to bury the lead,” Serena scoffs, laughing softly.

Astrid holds up her hands. “Hey, you two needed to come to it on your own. If I told you, it could’ve interfered with how things were supposed to happen, and who knows the ripple effect that could’ve had.”

“Does she tell you about these visions?” I ask Brock, intrigued by the prospect of getting regular glimpses into the future.

He gives a little shake of his head. “Nah, not everything. She has been able to pass them to me a few times, though, so I can see them too. It’s pretty fuckin’ cool.”

“You can actuallyseethem?” Serena asks incredulously.

Brock nods.

Her eyes widen. “Damn, thatiscool.”

The door to the packhouse opens, and all of us look that way to see who has arrived. Gray and Fallon walk through the door, along with Gray’s beta, Deke. Just like when we got here, Astrid waves them over to join us.

“So are we taking bets on whether Jax is gonna show on time or what?” Brock jokes once they’re within earshot. Pretty ironic how the guy is suddenly a stickler for punctuality.

“Oh you think you’re funny, huh?” Jax calls, descending the stairs with Quinn in tow. They make their way over to join us. “I stayed here last night, so I technically beat all of you here.”

Quinn grew up here at the Summervale packhouse, so I suppose it makes sense that she and Jax stayed the night in anticipation for the morning council meeting. Which means her brother probably did, too.

“Where’s Theo at?” I question, looking toward the stairs.

Jax laughs to himself, side-eyeing Quinn. “He should be down in a few. It sounded like he and Brooke were uh… finishing something up before the meeting.”

Quinn grimaces at Jax’s insinuation about her brother, and I can’t help but laugh. Leave it to Theo to hold up the meeting because he can’t keep it in his pants.

I hear the door to the packhouse open again and we all look that way as Chase, Alpha Vaughn, and Vaughn’s beta stride in. Serena’s the one to wave Chase over, the strange friendship between those two still going strong. It used to bother me a little bit, but now I’m cool with it. In a way I’m glad that Chase can feel connected to our group through Serena since we’ve been trying to include him more, and it’s nice that Serena has a friend here of her own choosing rather than the default friendships she’s been forming with my friends’ mates. Plus, I’ve never caught a vibe that things between those two are anything but platonic.

“Sup?” Chase asks as he approaches, lifting his chin in greeting.

“Hey, baby Alpha,” Fallon greets teasingly, folding her arms across her chest as a smirk tugs at her lips.

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