Page 67 of Pack Down Bad

I still don’t think I should make a habit of it.

Yanking the front door open, I’m stopped dead in my tracks.

“Snow Bunny,” Rhys breathes out my name like he’s been holding his breath since I left.

I launch myself at him, leaping into his arms so he has no choice but to catch me and hold me close so that I don’t fall on my ass.

“Two days without you is too long, so here we are,” Knox explains grumpily.

“We have a grand gesture for you, if you’re willing to let us show you,” Percy interjects, a hopeful high note to his voice.

“The videos?” I ask.

They shake their heads sheepishly. I don’t doubt that all three men must have swallowed their pride to act out my sweet, cheesy scenes for all of the internet to critique.

“I saw them.” I squeeze Rhys tighter for a moment before letting go slowly, sliding down the length of his body until I can stand on my own two feet again. I take a step back to see all three of them clearly. “And I love every single one. Almost as much as I love the three of you.”

All three stare at me slack-jawed. My heart rate increases when they don’t immediately say it back, but I know how I feel, and I’m determined to express myself. I double down on my confession by looking at them each in turn.

“I love you, Rhys.” The first of the alphas that I met.

“I love you, Percy.” The mystery man who’s been editing my books all this time.

“And I love you, Knox.” The grumpy artist who was a little harder to win over than the others, but worth every second of effort.

Before this pack, I would have thought falling in love in less than a week would be impossible. Now, I know better. When you spend days in close quarters, you get to know a person at breakneck speed. I knew more about these alphas in one day than I learned about Jason in the weeks we were dating.

I fell hard and fast even before we made it through my heat together. The way they handled my heat just confirmed what I already knew. They’re perfect for me. They feel like home. They feel likemine.

Knox regains his wits first. He eases forward and grabs my hands. “We were so scared you might not know how much we... We love you, too. I love you so much, Belle.” He gathers me up in his arms and squeezes me tight.

Rhys has to put in some serious effort to pry me away after a minute so he can have his turn.

“Fine,” Knox mutters as he steps back to let Rhys grab hold of me.

“I love you, Snow Bunny.” He gives me a quick squeeze before pursing his lips down at me. “You’re looking a bit thin. We need to get some of my cooking in you, pronto.”

Yikes.

But I feel lucky to love these alphas, flaws and all. Even if it means developing an iron stomach so that I can eat Rhys’s questionable cooking for the rest of my life.

Rhys has a slightly easier time handing me over to Percy. Percy doesn’t immediately squeeze me like the other two, he takes his time running his hands over my arms and sides, making sure I’m real. When he’s satisfied I’m not a hallucination, he wraps his arms snugly around me.

“I love you, Belle, as an omega and as an author. Your new book is incredible.”

“You already read it?” I ask, shocked.

He shrugs sheepishly, pulling back to look at me with a boyish grin. “I still need to give the book an actual edit, but I did a first read the second your email hit my inbox. I wanted to devour your words as fast as possible.”

“Wow,” I whisper breathlessly.

He’s so supportive. There’s something special about knowing I can be with a man who supports my work so enthusiastically.

“And I’m not the only one who’s been reading your work since you left the house,” he adds with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

My mouth falls open as I look past him at Rhys and Knox. Both of them smile nervously back, their cheeks tinged with near-matching shades of pink. They must not have expected Percy to rat them out right away. I like knowing they found a way to feel close to me in my absence.

I like even better that they didn’t let me stay away long before coming after me.

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