Page 9 of This Pack of Ours

My phone buzzed.

Daisy: Need a red light? You seem way off, J <3

I typed back quickly.

Me: Thanks, but I’m good.

Daisy: K. Just ping if u need me.

I just needed to get this over with.

My body was burning up and I needed touch. And fuck, not just touch, buttheirtouch. Now I’d seen them in person, my brain had a lot more fodder to fantasize about.

I whimpered, temperature spiking, and I knew they’d come in at any second, invitation or not, because they were alphas and that’s what they did.

But there was nothing. I dragged myself up, looking at the door, annoyance irrationally spiking in my brain.

Did I have to go andgetthem?

How dare they be so polite. Now I had to stand up again and drag my heavy feet to the door. I gripped the frame, peering out at them, forgetting what I was supposed to say. Each of their names popped into my head, but I refused to use them.

“Alpha.” Was what I ended up croaking, and footfalls were hurrying towards me.

A firm hand touched my shoulder, and I was surrounded by watermelon lemonade. I looked up to find myself lost in Ez’s pale green eyes.

I wanted to reach up and touch him, fall into him, and also slap him for making me feel like that. I wasn’t supposed to be losing my mind yet, not with a single touch.

I gripped his arm tightly as my vision went spotty, and another wave of heat hit me.

“Nest,” I hissed, looking into his eyes. Then, I was being swept up, pressed against blessedly cool skin, and their scents surrounded me.

VANDER

Ez glanced back at his reflection in the car window as we exited the car. He was a ball of excited nerves, his messy golden hair flying everywhere as he practically bounced down the path.

“Do you think she’ll be able to tell?” he asked Adrian.

“Tell what?” Adrian replied, folding his arms.

“You know. That we’ve never done this before,” Ez said, keeping his voice low as the driver led us up the stony path.

“We’re not virgins, Ez,” I snapped.

“We’reheatvirgins,” he continued. “What if we fuck it up?”

“I don’t think that’s possible. Is it?” asked Adrian, sounding a bit worried.

I tried to tune them out. I’d been ambushed this morning, hunkered down in our shared bedroom, ready to spend another day staring at the ceiling. Jhin had sat down on his bed, folded his hands and announced we’d signed up as heat helpers tonight. He hadn’t taken no for an answer, made me shower and next thing I’d known, we were being driven out here.

I was fucking pissed.

We had reached the door, but Jhin stopped us before we entered the building.

“Just give us a moment,” he said to the older alpha who’d driven us here. The alpha nodded, keeping an eye on us as Jhin pulled us to the side.

“Look, I want to go over expectations.”

I scowled. Ez nodded, his attention already sliding back to the house, getting an elbow to the ribs from Adrian.

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