Page 8 of This Pack of Ours

They were handsome. Of course they were. I flicked through their pictures again. Ez was the smallest, with elf-like features and a cheery smile.

Adrian’s eyes were the same shape as Ez’s but they were darker, and his smile was more subdued.

Jhin, the pack lead, was not smiling. His serious expression and dark eyes were framed by black, shoulder-length hair.

Vander was the last and the most interesting. His eyes were a pale, ice-blue, but I kept coming back to him because he was scowling in his picture.

I glanced in the mirror again, my pale face staring back at me. It was always strange to see my eyes when I was wearing the color-changing contacts. They were green before I’d become a gold pack, but the contacts made them a dark brown. Should I put my hair up? Did it look limp like this?

I cut the questions off with a frown. Who cared if they thought I was pretty? They’d seen my picture. They were here for one thing—to knot my brains out—and that’s all that mattered. A wave of cramping in my belly confirmed that I needed it.

I glanced down at Vander’s expression, his scowl, to remind myself of that.

“Bella! Your pack’s here!” Daisy called from the hall, using my heat name. I stood, taking a breath and wiping my hands on my dress.

I deliberately didn’t look at myself as I went to answer.

Entering the living room, I walked over, trying to ignore the twinge of insecurity about my scent. I think I must have fucked it up after my father died, and the sourness never faded, no matter my mood. I always got tense meeting new alphas because some people were real dicks about it.

Four pairs of eyes flicked over to me, curious. I got closer, tensing for their reaction to my scent. One of them—Adrian?—stood up straighter, a flush creeping across his cheeks. He was taller than me, with tanned skin and soft, messy brown hair. He had large, honey brown eyes that made his face kind of sweet. Vander had twitched, his pupils blown wide and obscuring the icy blue of his irises. He had bleached blond hair that hung over his face and thick brows that were still drawn in a frown. The small one, Ez, was bouncing on his feet, his golden hair framing a sharp, mischievous face. He had the same large eyes as Adrian, but his were a golden-green, almost matching his hair.

Jhin, the pack lead, had taken a deep breath, closing his eyes. When they snapped open, they caught mine and for a second an intense hunger crossed his pale face, making my knees feel unsteady with desire. It was gone as quickly as it came, schooled back into a blank politeness. He was the tallest and had a lean frame.

I stiffened as I scented them as well. I was used to alpha scents, and how my body reacted to them, but this was something else. They were intoxicating, ramping my body into overdrive, causing another cramp to wrack my frame. It took everything in my power not to throw myself at them and start tearing their clothes off, the strength of the urge terrifying me.

I needed Kit to ground me, but it was just me.

Shit, this was bad.

Daisy was up to greet them, giving them a run-down of the rules and security. We never said there were gold pack here, but fancy plush omegas who could safely get to the proper heat clinics never came to us.

Tony, the Safe House driver, gave me a nod. No alphas came in or out without Tony driving them in circles before coming here.

“Good evening," said the tallest one, drawing my attention back to the alphas in front of me. It was Jhin, the pack lead. “You must be Bella.” His voice made my head spin slightly, formal and smooth, as he gave me his full attention. No Kit to hide behind. He was holding something out to me, and I blinked at it.

Flowers.

Right. We hadn’t met them, so they didn’t know my rules. Nothing beyond the agreement. No pretending this was anything other than what it was.

And this was why, because the small gesture was making my stomach flip.

They’d brought these for me? They’d taken the time to pick them out? It was a nice bunch, too, not one of the tiny, cheap ones from the grocery store.

I shoved down the butterflies with a flare of rage and snatched the bouquet from his hands, whirling around and throwing it on the counter like it might bite me. I took a deep breath, grounding myself.

Assholes. They shouldn’t be doing that to me.

“You can come in,” I said, leading them into the kitchen.

I risked a glance at the nearest one—Ez, I remembered—and he gave me a stunning smile that made my heart flip.

Fuck him.

“You run this place?” asked Jhin. Great. I must have contacted them from the main email address, where I always made it very clear I was in charge. I wanted to protect the others in case we ever got into any trouble.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “Have a drink or whatever. I’ll go set up.”

I practically fled from the room, breathing fast, and dove into the heat nest, wrapping my arms around my aching stomach.

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