Page 119 of This Pack of Ours

Jhin started splinting Vander’s arm, and Adrian took a look at where the glass had scratched up my skin.

“Thank god. I was worried when I saw all the blood on the glass,” he said.

“Yeah, Rick cut his arms up real bad punching through it.” I shuddered at the memory.

“He must have run when the other two died,” Adrian said. “Won’t go far with that much blood loss, though.”

“Jake?” I asked, nervously.

Adrian’s face darkened. “He had a pulse when I left him,” was all he said.

Jhin was walking over to where Valerie’s body was still impaled on the art display. His hands clenched into fists, and he took a step forward, but Vander caught his arm.

“You know,” he said, steering Jhin away. “There are a bunch of security cameras around here. Caught this whole thing. Which is good because it’s a pretty open and shut case of self-defense and really shitty luck. Even got me checking her pulse to try and save her. No foul play. No desecration of bodies.”

I gave a nervous giggle, and Vander winked at me.

A siren started in the distance, then another, coming closer and closer.

“Lovely. The authorities. Just in time to help, as usual,” Vander said.

“Should we go?” I asked.

“No. Everything was on camera, but we should stay and give statements.”

Kit closed his eyes and leaned on Ez’s shoulder, muttering, “Fuck. I need my vape.”

TWENTY

JUNIPER

The police and the GPRE had a lot of questions, which I got through with Kit by my side.

The ambulance had taken Ez and Vander to the hospital, and Adrian drove us to see them when we were done.

Vander was at Ez’s bedside when we arrived, his arm in a cast, and watching Ez with a haggard look. He stood up when he saw us, and Jhin folded him into an embrace, pressing his forehead to Vander’s in a deeply intimate gesture. I could see the tension bleed from Vander’s face as they stood there together, and then Jhin tipped his chin up to give him a kiss.

Vander shot me a nervous grin after, his cheeks a bit pink and I smiled back. Jhin laced his hand in Vander’s as we followed Adrian to Ez’s bedside.

Adrian reached out, sweeping a stray lock of golden hair out of his brother’s eyes, and swallowed thickly.

Ez’s scent was off, somehow, his watermelon lemonade was tainted with a metallic tang, and his aura was… messy.

He was suffering, and I felt a pull toward him, an urge to hold him close. Kit gave a whimper and climbed onto the bed next to him, while I hugged myself, rocking on my feet. Kit reached out to me.

“He needs us,” he said, but I wasn’t sure. Kit, yes, with his sweet almond buttercream and his soothing aura. Butme?

Would sour cherries really work to help him?

A doctor came into the room, the clinical smell of scent dampers around her. She peered at us with mismatched eyes, one white and one red. A seer. Her eyes lingered on Kit, eyebrows raising a bit.

“Well, that aura certainly will help him,” she said, and looked at me. “Go on, then. Two will be faster than one.”

I glanced at the pack and made my way toward the bed.

“I don’t know if I’m going to be helpful,” I said, hovering at the side.

“You are. I can see it, even that close,” she said briskly, as Kit grabbed my arm and tugged me down to Ez’s other side. I was reminded of our movie night, when Ez had pulled us both close. I wasn’t sure how I stood with the pack, but it felt right to be here. I looked up at Ez’s tanned skin, his messy golden hair, and relaxed into his watermelon lemonade scented chest.

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