Page 15 of This Pack of Ours

That Lila chick was still watching us as we gathered our stuff. Juniper had gone into the bathroom and hadn’t come out.

That was weird. She hadn’tseemeddone when she stood up and left. And I thought heats ended with, like… pack cuddles? I’d been looking forward to that. Maybe it would help Jhin and Vander fix their bickering. They had some serious shit to sort out, and cuddling would definitely help.

My pants were by the bathroom door, and I paused as I heard her voice, wondering—hoping?—she was speaking to me, but it must have been someone on the phone.

“It was, um, fine…”

Fine?Oof. That stung. But I brightened at her next words.

“Shut up. I just meant I think you’d like them.”

Oh. Maybe ‘fine’ was prickly-omega-speak for good. Great, maybe. Amazing?

“Try mental breakdown. Kit, I told them my name.”

But that was a good thing, right?

“No, Kit, this is bad. Pretty sure they’re going to hate me.”

There was a pause, and the sound of running water. What? She thought we wouldhateher? Why the fuck would she think that?

“Okay. See you soon.”

She hung up the phone call, and the bathroom door creaked open. She’d put on a bathrobe and, yeah, she no longer smelled like she was in heat. She didn’t look good though. Real pale. Almost waxy.

I bobbed on my feet, wanting to make sure she knew I didn’t hate her. Like, that was literally impossible. I think she’d completely rewired my brain to revolve around her.

“Can I, uh, make you breakfast?” I said, “Or, lunch—not sure what time it is actually?”

She turned to me, and her expression could have frozen a hot tub. She still looked achingly pretty, her long, sleek hair in a messy bun above her rosy cheeks.

“No,” she said, as if I’d offered to dump cockroaches on her head. I winced, glancing back at the bed, because if Vander had heard that—shit.

He was already lifting his head, expression furious.

“That’s fine,” I said, backing up a bit, trying to come between her glare and Vander’s.

“He’s just trying to be nice.” Vander’s voice snuck around me to attack her anyway.

“It’s fine,” I repeated, more firmly.

“No need to be nice,” she said, turning back to pack her stuff. “We all got what we came for. No need to pretend it’s something it’s not.”

I felt a flinch through the bond from Adrian, followed by Vander’s snarl.

“He wasn’t asking you on a date. He just offered breakfast.”

“Dude. It’sfine,” I said, shooting a helpless glance at Jhin’s hurt face. Where were all his rules and shit when we needed them?

“And I saidno,” she whirled to face Vander, some of her hair falling out of her bun. “Is that not allowed? Do I suddenly lose my free will just because you’ve fucked me?”

This was like, next level bad. Like what I’d always thoughtVander v. Vanderwould be like.

I mean, vibe-wise, not physically. I’d already seen that the one time I dyed my hair blond to match his. He eventually agreed to pictures of me being his mini-me if I let him shave my head after.Worth it.

“Where do you get off, princess?” Vander was getting to his feet, completely unfazed by the fact he was nude. I mean, he did look pretty impressive but still. “You’re the one who invited us here. And you think you get to sneer at us and treat us like trash?” he continued.

She balled her hands into fists, trembling, her mouth indeed curling into a sneer.

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