Page 122 of Juliet & Her Romeos

He’s clutching an armful of his ballet tank tops, Vito’s biker jackets, and what must be Ambrose’s suit shirts.

He’s also holding Ambrose’s American football jersey.

I stare at Swan in awe.

He’s dressed in one of the designer suits that were hanging in our closet. The stylish suit is light gray wool, which picks up the silver flecks in his eyes. His tie is a gleaming silver over a crisp white shirt.

I’ve never seen him dressed in anything but the ballet uniforms or cheap black t-shirts and underwear.

He looks fucking glorious in a suit.

And somehow, even more of a rebel.

Vito’s rushing to catch up with Swan. He’s wearing the same clothes as earlier. His black hair hangs over his face, and he looks as exhausted as Ambrose does.

Fuck, my first heat hit on Christmas Day.

I truly fucked this day up for them, didn’t I?

Vito waves the phone that he’s carrying at Ambrose. “Bad news. I rang everybody in your contacts and mine. Fucking everybody. No doctors can come out, since it’s Christmas. Also because of the blizzard. We’re snowed in.”

“You actually tried to call a doctor for JuJu?” Swan turns to look at Vito in wonder.

No one calls doctors for members of the academy. We learn first aid and treat ourselves.

“Tried and failed.” Vito slips his phone back into his pocket. “Hey, Jules, you don’t have a needle phobia or something, right?”

“Storms,” Benedict murmurs, licking my neck.

“I can look after her through this heat. I treat her injuries myself,” Swan says, possessively. Then he dumps the clothes onto the nest, and my back arches at the sudden burst of new scents. “You always were dramatic, my Queen. You’re like a phoenix, bursting to life the moment that we’ve found our pack.”

Ambrose huffs. “Hardly.”

To my shock, Swan’s eyes flash and he launches himself at Ambrose. Then he wrestles him down onto his back.

Ambrose appears so shocked that he lies beneath Swan, unmoving.

“Ignore them.” Vito shrugs. “Swan clearly is a Beta who’s into manhandling Alphas. Since his brother is an actual Destroyer of Alphas, I think that we got off lucky.”

Vito sprawls on the bed amongst the clothes. He throws a biker jacket at me, and I bury my face in it, taking a deep breath of its delicious vanilla espresso scent.

Benedict begins to weave the clothes together by their sleeves to build walls around the nest, and Vito helps him.

Ambrose glares at Swan. “Get off me.”

“Apologize to our Omega.” Swan’s eyes burn.

It’s like fire meeting ice.

Coldly, Ambrose arches his brow. “I’m twice as strong as you. I’m letting you hold me down. I could throw you out of this room as easily as blinking.”

“Try it.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Guys,” Vito calls, “cute as your dick waving is, we have an Omega who is close to heat here.”

Ambrose draws in a sharp breath, before turning his head to catch my gaze. “I’m sorry, Juliet. I didn’t mean that you’re not a phoenix. I meant that you’vealwaysbeen one. Having a heat or not doesn’t change that for me. The man who I love more than life…” His gaze darts to Benedict, who flushes. “He doesn’t need heats to fly as beautifully as a phoenix.”

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