Page 31 of Pack Baines

“You cheated, didn’t you?” Creek snickers as he sits on the floor, tucked in the corner closest to Juno.

“Oh, one hundred percent,” Evron answers instantly, and we all laugh as he throws his hands in the air and grins at us all. “What do you expect? The bet was to win five games of Mario Kart. We all know she’s a pro at that stupid game, and there was no way I was going to win. And Hell would have frozen over first before I donned a maid outfit and streaked through the school halls after losing.”

Juno snorts, a fond smile softening her features. “I was going to let you win, you idiot. You didn’t have to cheat by bribing Geo to tickle me. My loss was more of a reward, anyway.”

Lowie gives her a funny look. “How is sitting on a whoopie cushion in Mr. Franco’s class considered a reward?”

“Kept people away from me,” she shrugs, grinning wickedly when we all laugh, Lowie included.

“Not to mention the creative nickname you were blessed with from that day on,” I remind everyone, and Juno groans, dropping her head into the cushions. I don’t even hesitate to put a voice to the nickname we all haven’t heard in years. “Poono.”

Silence stretches between us all for all of three seconds before we’re all laughing, Juniper’s groans and snickers. “Not Poono. That name haunted me for years.”

“Best nickname I’ve ever heard,” Geo admits, grinning over at our happy little omega, and I thoroughly enjoy the smile she returns.

“Whatever,” Juno grumbles playfully, lips twitching with a suppressed smile. “Let us never mention that godawful nickname ever again, hm?”

“But it’s—” Evron starts, turning to look up at Juno with wide, falsely innocent eyes.

“Never again,” she interrupts, raising an eyebrow at him, a no nonsense look on her face that has me hiding my smile.

Ev holds his hands up in surrender, but I see the mischief in his eyes that tells me this isn’t over, not by a long shot. I don’t bother mentioning it, though, because I’m certain Juno sees it, too.

Instead, she sighs and asks, “What time is it, anyway?”

“Almost four in the afternoon,” I answer quickly, because apparently, I’ve been clock watching, internally dreading the moment when she has to leave.

Juniper groans, scratching Evron’s head as she says, “I have to leave. I have my first shift at the diner tonight.”

“At Gabby’s?” Lowie wonders mildly, looking over at Juno only to catch her nod, before he says, “I’ll stop by later.”

I look over at my brother and raise an eyebrow. Pretty sure I’m not the only one, because he rolls his eyes and goes about ignoring us all, picking up his cell to start texting. When he becomes engrossed in whatever the hell he’s doing, my eyes go right back to Juno and she raises an eyebrow to me in question.

Shrugging, since I don’t actually know what’s going on with my brother or what has him so distracted, and ask her, “Do you need a ride home?”

“I drove here, but thank you,” she tells me softly, right before patting Ev’s shoulder. “As much as I enjoy being your personal pillow, I really do have to go. I need this job, and Gabby seems to actually like me. That doesn’t happen often, so I have to make a good impression.”

I don’t like the feeling in my stomach knowing that Juno had to get a job the first moment she got here, knowing she’s worried about money, enough that she accepted the first job she found. I only keep my mouth shut because I know Gabby, know she’s one of the good ones and will look out for Juju. But, more importantly, that’s not an argument I’ll win right now. I’ve known Juno long enough, know she has a stubborn streak a mile wide that has probably grown ten times the size of that in our time apart. I don’t doubt I’ll have to ease Juniper into accepting all we’re willing to offer, especially after she spent the last eight years fending for herself.

But I’m not a quitter, and I’ll be damned if Juno struggles another day in her life.

Chapter 13

Juniper

“You’re doing good, hon,” Gabby comments as she passes, empty coffee pot in hand, exhaustion painted all over her face. Her scent is slightly dimmer, too, probably down to how tired she is.

We’re a little over an hour away from closing, almost midnight, and my feet are aching from wearing heels for the past seven hours with one more to go. We’ve been rushed off our feet up until an hour ago, only stragglers remaining now. A sweet, elderly gentleman sits up front, a couple are tucked away in the back whispering sickeningly adorably to one another as they lean as close to one another as they can get with the table between them, while a thirty-something-year-old gentleman nurses his third coffee of the night as he remains by the window, peering out into the night. I can feel the exhaustion deep in my bones, both emotionally and physically, but I haven’t once lagged in the seven hours I’ve been rushed off my heeled feet despite the undying need for a nap. There’s a warmth under my skin I can’t quite shake, either, but am valiantly ignoring.

“Not my first rodeo,” I tell the sweet lady built like a professional WWE wrestler. I eye her as I’m finishing up a customer’s tab, smiling awkwardly at the little old man as he waves and heads out of the diner, and blurt, “You look dead on your feet.”

Gabby laughs tiredly, collecting the coffee cup left behind from the old gentleman that smelt faintly of detergent, and says, “I love that bluntness of yours, hon.”

I wince. “Sorry.”

“No, seriously. More people need to take the speak your mind approach to life,” Gabby reassures, patting my shoulder as she passes. “As for how I look, you can blame a three-year-old budding alpha for that.”

“You have a kid?” I ask, smiling at the image of a child with red hair and round cheeks causing Gabby havoc.

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