Page 2 of Pack Larsen

“Luckily, that isn’t your decision to make,” Pace smirks, another indication that he’s softened toward the unnaturally grumpy omega. I guess sharing a trauma experience would do that, I suppose. It’s no less annoying, because I found her first. She was my friend before theirs, the thieving bastards. Now they’re all ingrained in her life just as deeply as I am, and I have to share my unbiological sister with the bunch of shitheads who keep laughing at my misery.

Hiding my smile over the fact that I’ve accidentally given Juniper more family than she probably bargained for, I climb out of the car after Juniper and my pack mates, all of which are already staring up at the building with a look of distaste. I can relate. The place looks like a bit of a shithole, which I find incredibly misleading.

Juniper holds up the piece of paper with the property listing on it, blocking our view, and then she drops it to reveal the shitty building. Lifts the paper, then drops it. She repeats the action one more time before she says, “You guys see this, too, right? I’m not seeing things?”

“It’s… not quite as they’ve pictured,” Aero attempts strategically, squinting at the building like it’ll change how it looks.

Juniper shakes her head. “You know, you guys are lucky all of my guys are in class today and Munro and I have a free day to goof off, looking at this shit. If they were here, they’d be dragging you all home and forcing you to live with us, Evron’s free-hanging balls and all. Let’s go look at this place so we can reject it quicker.”

She doesn’t even wait for us before she’s striding away in her torn-up, black skinny jeans, biker boots that would surely hurt if you received a shin kick with them, and an attitude that would rival an alpha’s.

Pace looks over at me. “Is she always like this?”

“Always. You should know by now. You’ve spent enough time with her,” I volley, grinning like a smart-ass.

Aero outright laughs behind me as I walk away from the two, following the stubborn omega as she sneers at the cracked cement and mutters, “That’s a tripping hazard. I’ve lived in some dumps over the years, but I never once had to worry about tripping over fucked-up concrete. A burglary, sure, but not the damned concrete.”

Slinging my arm over my best friend’s shoulder, I lead her away from the stare down with the sidewalk and drag her into the building where the elevator is broken and the stairs look like they could do with a hose down.

Groaning, Juniper sends me a pleading look. “Do we really have to go up there?”

“Get that ass moving, honey,” Aero quips, shoving her up the steps before she can make another comment. “You never know, the inside could surprise you.”

“Only for the worst,” she quips under her breath, but she dutifully trots up the stairs, leading the three of us to the apartment in the listing.

And, what do you know? The place is as much of a shithole as the outside appears, and before we even take a step inside, Juniper is glaring at each of us with a narrow-eyed expression that promises an omega-level bitch fit if we even consider this place.

“Go on. Have a look. I dare you,” she pushes, and I’m pretty sure Pace, the serious, stern, alpha takes a step away from her.

Fucking hell.

With a raised eyebrow, I do as she dares, and I take a look around while she stands in the doorway. Reluctantly, the other two follow, checking the rooms and the kitchen quickly. It takes very little time to deduce that this place is not worth the rent money we’d be pouring into it, but I’ll be damned if we give the omega the satisfaction of telling her that she’s right.

“Act like you’re interested,” I whisper to my alpha and omega, warning them with my eyes that I will inflict bodily harm if they don’t.

Apparently, I’m scarier than Juniper Baines, because they start narrating their false thoughts as though they’re actually interested in the place with yellowing walls and stained carpet.

By the time we’re done dragging it out, Juniper is leaning on the door frame with an unimpressed look on her face. “You guys done dicking around? We have three more places to see before lunch, and my hopes have severely dwindled down to half percent.”

So, with the bossy omega that has ingrained herself into our lives, we go about checking out the other places, each one only a smidge better than the last. All in all, it turns out to be a bust, and all of our moods but Juniper’s have turned cloudy bordering on stormy.

“Cheer up, guys! This means we get to have slumber parties and barbeques and shit,” Juniper tries, a cheery voice to match her cheery attitude. Actually, I’m pretty sure this is the cheeriest I’ve seen her since her birthday and she was reunited with Leylan and Lowie’s parents.

“We’re still not moving in,” Pace reminds her for the billionth time. “We still have a few places to look at later in the week, and we still have time to find somewhere.”

Juniper parks the truck outside the motel we’ve been staying at and turns in her seat to give Pace a pleading look that doesn’t bode well for me. That alpha bastard is a sucker for a pleading look, even if he’ll deny it until he’s blue in the face. “Alright, fine. How about this, I’ll stop nagging you guys to stay with me, if you let me call someone to see if they’re still wanting to rent out of a few of her rooms.”

I frown. “Who’s ‘her?’”

“I didn’t say ‘her,’” Juniper tries to deny, and I squint at her.

“You did,” I say at the same time as Pace and Aero.

Juniper fakes a perplexed look and mutters, “Huh. Well, whatever. Let me call her.”

“Now that depends entirely on who that ‘her’ is,” I state, the start of a glare appearing on my face, because I’m pretty sure I know where this is going, and I know for certain I’m not going to like it.

I receive a challenging look from Juniper, and with more confidence than she should possess, she states, “Oh, you already know her. She’s your favorite person in the whole wide world.”

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