Page 30 of This Pack of Ours

“It smells like… both of them?" he said.

“Oh. Yeah. Get this. They’re roommates. Most of their stuff smelled like both of them,”

“Oh shit, you got to go to their place?”

“It wasn’t a social visit, Ezra,” Jhin said. “Likely just to wash up and… change.”

Ez wrinkled his nose. “God, you sound like my dad when you call me that.”

Jhin paled, and I found myself grinning.

“So, uh, you gonna keep those?” Ez side-eyed me, leaning back casually. “Not really your style, you know? I could take ‘em off your hands.”

“He’s not keeping them," said Jhin. “We’ll wash and return them as soon as we’re able.”

Yeah right. If Ez had anything to do with it, they’d get ‘lost’ along the way.

I pulled out my phone, but I wasn’t looking at the screen. I was thinking about Juniper and Kit, living in that tiny apartment on that sketchy street. It was just the two of them there, and shit, hadn’t Juniper said he always forgot to lock the door?

SIX

KIT

Juni: Hey. I’m upstairs.

I looked at my phone and felt like I could finally breathe again. I gently placed the baby aloe plant into its tiny pot and reached for the mini shovel.

We’d waited at the coffee shop until Vander called, and then I’d had to drive her stuff home. It wasn’t that far, and I was sure I’d find her curled up in our nest when I got home, but she wasn’t there. Wasn’t responding to my texts until now.

The last thing I’d done was hurt her. The way she’d looked at me after I’d opened my stupid mouth—that was pure anger. Atme. She’d never, ever looked at me like that before.

I’d fucked up so bad.

I’d made it seem like she wasn’t wanted, when the truth was I had always, always wanted to find a packwithher.

I knew she’d reject that, though. She knew how useless I was—she lived with me. She’d probably say something polite but firm and secretly be glad she wouldn’t be burdened with me anymore.

I filled the pot with soil and dampened it with the mister, staring at it sadly for a moment.

Fuck, I had thought this was my chance. Iknewshe’d liked this pack, and she just needed to trust herself and open up a bit, just let them see that she was like, the perfect omega. She was both sweet and kind, and fierce and strong. Smart. And once anyone saw that, they’d be smitten.

This pack had seen that… before they met me. My mates. I’d caught the scent of Ez’s watermelon lemonade first, and that was enough. These alphas were mine, and I was theirs, their scents inviting me in, to embrace them as the center of the world, only I hadn’t. Juni was the center of my world, and I hadneededher to be part of this, too. So I’d blurted out my offer.

Stupid. So stupid.

“You think I want to be your pity bond?”

She wasn’t one hundred percent sure they wanted her—that I wanted her. How could we convince her now, when this was a scent match?

I cut off that voice before it finished and put the baby plant on its shelf.

“Juni’s back!” I called to Emery as I walked to the counter.

“Aw. Thanks for your help, dear,” she said, pulling me into a warm hug.

“Anytime.” I gave her a kiss on her powdered cheek and walked around to our apartment door. Shit, I’d forgotten to lock it again; Juni would probably not be pleased. But she didn’t have her keys on her, so it worked out this time, right?

I slowed as I climbed up the stairs, arms wrapping around myself. I needed Juni. I needed to make this right again, because it had gone so, so wrong.

---