Page 69 of Pack Baines

Munro rolls his eyes. “You’d know if it was thunderous. Anyway, moving on with our topics of conversation. Where are you heading now?”

“Library for a couple of hours. I’m working tonight and the guys are all here later today, so I’m going to stick around until one of them is free,” I answer, ignoring how completely mushy that makes me feel, or how very cheesy it might sound.

“You know, I think I preferred it when you were my matching storm cloud,” Munro teases, sighing as though he’s actually disturbed by my happiness.

I shrug. “I’m still your matching storm cloud, just one with a little less rain right now.”

“Ew,” Munro quips, pulling a face akin to someone eating something sour.

“You’re right. That was gross. Let’s not do that again,” I snort, bumping him playfully with my shoulder and receiving one in return.

“So, what’s on your agenda today?” I ask as he accompanies me to the library, sticking close despite my anxiety long since vanquished by the five men I get to call mine. The creepy encounter with that stranger hasn’t been on my mind since before Evron’s surprise date.

A person bumps into Munro’s arm as they pass, and I glare at the asshole who scampers off quickly with a whiff of fear after he glances at us both like he’s outraged that we were there to begin with. Munro’s lips are twitching when he drags me away, answering, “Still on the house hunt, so I’ll be wrangling the twins into scouring the internet with me for a couple of hours so we can narrow down some places to look at or ask about.”

“Sounds… fun?”

“As pulling teeth, yeah,” he snickers, though this one sounds tired, drained of all amusement only to leave behind thetiresome dread and stress that seems to weigh heavily on his shoulders.

Sighing, I stop him just before we reach the entrance of the library and, with all sincerity, tell him, “Ro, if there’s anything at all I can do, just say the word and I’ll do it, okay? If you need someplace to stay in the meantime, I can fix you up. If you need help looking, I’m right here ready to do that. Anything at all, okay?”

Instead of reacting to my words, a gentle smile blooms over his usually stern face and his voice lowers into a soft, brotherly tone as he confesses, “Only my pack ever call me Ro.”

“Yeah, well,” I shrug, rolling my eyes even as I smile back. “I don’t let just anyone call me a thundercloud.”

Laughing, Munro side-hugs me and says, “I’ll let you know if we need anything. Now go study and wait for your pack, you whipped omega. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He walks off with only a glance back to make sure I head into the library, and I wave him off before the door closes behind me, shivering as the chill from the outside is quickly replaced by the almost suffocating warmth that fills the large room.

With a polite wave to Miss Favero, the librarian I’ve spoken to on several occasions since starting here at North Five University, I head to an empty corner seat and pull out several textbooks and assignments we’ve already been handed by our professors. I slide my cell from the back pocket of my jeans, rush out a quick text to the group chat I share with the guys telling them I’m where I told them I’d be this morning, before settling in for a couple of hours of studying and completing assignments.

Only an hour and a half passes before I receive a phone call, my cell buzzing on the desk with Creek’s face appearing on the screen before I answer with a hushed tone. “Hey, handsome.”

“Hey, beautiful girl. How’re you today?” he asks, the steady thumping of workout music sneaking through the speaker.

“Good. I’ve finished two assignments so far, and I’m bored out of my brain. How’re things on your end?” I answer, smiling at the laugh that caresses my eardrums.

“I wish I could say the same,” he says, his laughter fading into a groan. At the same time, a chill slithers down my spine and the hair on my arms stand on end, a strange, sinking feeling forming in the pit of my stomach.

“That doesn’t sound promising,” I whisper, ducking in my seat as I peer around the library in search of what could possibly be making me feel out of sorts and off kilter. There’s an eerie awareness crawling over my skin, one I almost recognize but can’t quite place.

Creek huffs a tired laugh. “It’s not. Doesn’t look like any of us can get out of class when we planned. Apparently, we’re all stuck here for the foreseeable. Geo offered to help coach with training and volunteered me as a part of my first assignment. Lowie has a meeting with his professor, and Leylan is cleaning up after an accident that happened in his lab class. We don’t know how long any of us will be, so if you want to head on home before work, then we’ll meet you at Gabby’s as soon as we’re free.”

I’m nodding along to his words, but my focus is on the chilling sensation I can’t seem to shake. “Mhm. Okay, yeah.”

“J? Are you hearing me?” Creek asks, the notes of concern in his words, which forces my focus to the conversation at hand.

“Sort of. Sorry, I got a weird feeling and it distracted me for a second,” I confess, clearing my throat and peering around once more, an alarming sense of paranoia coming back to me like the releasing of a stretched elastic band.

“Weird?” Creek wonders, and I can hear the frown in his words. “What kind of weird? Are you alright?”

“I’m okay, handsome. Don’t stress. Just a strange feeling, but it’s nothing,” I brush off quickly, not wanting him to worry about me. “What were you saying?”

“We’re all stuck here for a while longer, so no need to wait for us. Go home, get some food in you, and we’ll all meet youat work,” he repeats, the sound of concern growing with every word. “Are you sure everything is okay, babe?”

I shiver at the nickname, but the sudden sense that I’m being watched overcomes me with such ferocity that I harshly whisper, “Something doesn’t seem right.”

“What is it, Juno?” Creek rushes, alarmed now.

---