Page 44 of Stella

Relief washed over me. Her cousin. Someone else to protect her, not compete for her affections.

Zephyr dismissed me once he found out who I was. “Did you want to talk with them?”

Stella nodded. “New plan. We’re going out to the banquet hall.”

We started down the hallway when Ember came back with an armful of shirts. “Meredith is getting settled. In the meantime.” She shoved a shirt at Stella with a squeal. “They finally came.”

Stella held the shirt up. In pink glittery writing across the middle was “Put the ‘O’ in Omega.”

“Perfect,” Stella laughed.

Ember shoved a shirt at Zephyr.

“Really Ember?” Zephyr sighed.

“Yes. Wear it while you do your rounds.”

Ember looked at me and then paused. A moment later, she shoved a shirt at me. “Here you go.”

“Alphas on Top?” I looked at the shirt.

“Jerrick is a beta,” Stella said with a smirk. “Evan’s an alpha.”

“Of course.” Ember shoved another alpha shirt at me before handing me a new one. This one said “Betas Do It Best”.

Stella laughed and dragged me outside.

Whoever designed the resort was smart enough to pay attention to the layout of the buildings without placing everything on top of the other.

“You have a good family.”

Stella shot me a shocked look. “What?”

“Your sisters and cousins all take care of you.” I thought about my cold childhood. Meredith and I were supposed to be bettering ourselves, so we spent most of our time away from home. When we were home, the big manor was quiet. Father was rarely there, and when he was, we never seemed to measure up to the picture he had in mind.

Mother was a little softer, trying her best to add warmth, but it was no match for Father’s expectations.

I imagined Stella growing up at the resort, surrounded by her family, and smiled.

“We stick together.” Stella’s grin lit her from the inside out, and my heart stopped.

She was stunning. Beautiful and wild and I wanted her, no matter the cost to myself.

It was the rest of the pack I was worried about.

We took a short stone path up a hill and reached the lodge. It was brown wood with a large stone fireplace at the end of the building.

“A banquet hall?” I arched an eyebrow.

“Sure. All sort of corporate types book weekend getaways here to bond as a team. Or several packs related by family, families on vacation…” She shrugged. “We have a few packs in the area that work as contractors.”

“Impressive.”

I’d assumed this was a spa where they all held hands and talked about their feelings, but clearly there was more to it than that.

The lodge was spacious with arched ceilings. The bottom floor was stone inlay, with exposed beams on the walls to really give it the California cabin vibe. A large brown couch dominated a sitting area, a sage, dark blue, and brown area rug covering part of the floor. It was homey without being too sterile.

The scent of omega and alpha lingered in the room. Hackles raised, I stepped closer to Stella as she went from the large front room to a door on the side that opened up into a giant kitchen.

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