Page 60 of This Pack of Ours

I took a step outside the bathroom, and for the first time since the alphas had come over, my muscles weren’t tensing at the sound of other people in our space. Kit was waiting for me in the corridor, a tender expression on his face that made my heart skip a beat.

“It’s nice to see you back, Juni," he said, pulling me into a hug. “You feel okay?”

“Yeah. I feel… good,” I said, surprised to realize it was true. I walked out into the living room, and Ez bounded over.

“Let’s see!” he piped up, coming close and peering at my eyes. I tried to push him away, but he moved around my arms with a grin.

“Nice. Suits you,” he said, before dodging back. I freed my arm and tried to swat him. Jhin gave me a smile.

“V, you’re not gonna look?” asked Ez, tugging on Vander’s sweater.

“Ez, she’s not a zoo animal.” Jhin frowned.

“No, but she looks super hot,” Ez replied. Vander stopped and turned to look at me then. I glared at him, and he smirked.

Jhin went pink, and I glanced at Kit, who didn’t seem to have noticed.

“We’re gonna watch a movie,” Kit said firmly. “And try to scrub my grandmother from my brain.”

He sat down on the couch, and I sat next to him. Movie sounded good.

Vander didn’t stick around, retreating into the spare room, and Jhin took his laptop out to the deck, saying he had work to do.

“You know there’s only four of us?” I said as Adrian put two huge bowls of popcorn down on the table.

“Trust me. One’s for Ez and the other’s for everyone else.”

Ez climbed over the back of the couch and slid in between me and Kit.

“‘Scuze me,” he said smoothly.

“You’re excused. You may leave,” I said, trying to shoo him away.

“Aw, don’t be so mean, girl.” He made a pouty face. “I don’t smell that bad, do I?”

He actually smelled really nice. His watermelon lemonade was sweet and refreshing, but that wasn’t the issue. I shifted slightly, trying not to smother him with my sour scent.

Adrian settled on the couch beside Kit as I clicked on the TV. It was a snug fit with all four of us, and I looked at all of them, shifting a bit, but no one else seemed to care.

I opened up our streaming app.

“Oh!” Kit let out an excited squeak. “The latest Crimson Fury pack movie is out? Put it on!” He leaned over Ez, trying to snatch the remote. His hands were in his sleeves, so he didn’t stand a chance.

“Hang on.” I moved out of his reach. “We don’t even know what it’s about.”

“I don’tcare, Juni! Put it on!” he demanded. I rolled my eyes, giving in, and hit play.

“Shit, do we have competition?” Ez asked.

“It doesn’t count if they’re not real,” Kit said, bringing his knees up to his chest.

“They are real,” I replied.

“Yeah, but like, we’d never actuallymeetthem, so they may as well not be.”

“Do you think his hair is really that smooth in real life?” I asked as Love’s character took up the screen.

“Probably,” Ez said, grabbing a handful of popcorn.

---