Page 63 of Pack Down Bad

I don’t even think packing will take long.

“Knock, knock,” Mia calls from the doorway.

I roll over onto my tummy to look at her with a sheepish smile, knowing I probably look like a little kid lying on the floor the way I am. “You can come in.”

“Are you sure?” She raises an eyebrow. “Because I’m pretty sure I woke up to the sound of you announcing you were going to touch yourself.”

I slap my hand over my face as my cheeks flush.Of course she heard that.I sort of forgot she was still here, sleeping on my couch after our long night of wine and gossip. She knows pretty much everything there is to know about my alphas besides some more personal details, so she should know better than to think there’s a real threat of me touching myself.

My thighs are still achy and shaky from the aerobics of my heat.

“I’m just teasing you,” she reassures me as she wanders further into the room and plops down on the floor next to me. This is why we’re such great friends–Mia is always happy to join me rather than judge me. And the true test of a friendship is how much two people are willing to make fools of themselves together.

Based on some of the dance moves we performed last night while intoxicated, we’re truly the best of friends. My hurt from the bar is far behind us, though I know we’ll still have to talk about her scent-match eventually.

I’m not quite ready.

“I slept in so late. You’ve always been an earlier riser.” Mia yawns as her eyes skim my office. She doesn’t come in here often. “How are you this morning?”

“A little sad,” I admit.

She nods thoughtfully, waiting for me to say more.

“So many things are about to change, and that’s scary because the last time things changed for me in a big way was when I lost my mom.” My dads struggled to cope, moving away to a new house soon after, since they couldn’t bear the memories.

We still spend holidays together when we can, but none of us has ever quite been the same. My mom was always the glue of her pack. We’re all a little lost without her.

“Your mom always knew the right things to say,” Mia reminisces with me.

She’s right. If my mom were here, she would know just how to encourage me to go after what I want instead of hiding scared from the rest of my life. If she were the one I called to pick me up, she would have taken one look at the guys and left my ass with them.

My mom always believed in facing things in life, especially when thethingswere hot men. She let my dads get away with murder sometimes and still looked at them with stars in her eyes.

I wonder if I look at my alphas that way, too?

I’ll never know if I don’t hurry back to them.

“I can’t give advice or pep talks as well as your mom,” Mia says slowly, “but I think I know what she would want me to say to you right now.”

“What’s that?” I perk up, interested.

She smiles as she reminds me of something my mom said often to me, “There aren’t many things in life better than being loved right.”

Mom always put extra emphasis onloved rightto make sure everyone knew she was making a sex joke. Her crude humor could rival Rhys sometimes.

“That’s the best pep talk I could have asked for.” I lean over to wrap my arms around her in a tight hug. I’m lucky to have a best friend who cares so much about me. And even though I miss her so much that my chest aches thinking about it, I’m so glad my mom always said such wild and memorable things so that her silly wisdom could live on.

I think I’m done moping around my apartment. I don’t need weeks to confirm what I already know, that I’ve been loved so,soright.

I push up to my feet and march toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Mia scrambles to her feet and chases after me through the apartment.

I only pause at the door long enough to grab my door keys and smirk back at Mia, who has committed herself to going along for the ride since she’s stuck around this long. “We need to run to the store.”

“For more alcohol?” She frowns.

“Nope.” My grin widens. “For moving boxes.”

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