Page 25 of Truth or Pack

"Deal," I said, trying to make my voice have some sadness in it.

Had he forgotten that I could just sit on the floor in front of her? That way there was room for all of us.

"Is there really something that you’re needing from the car?" he asked as we got closer to the wreckage.

"Nah, but we have big personalities. We don't want to overwhelm Taryn with them all at once," I reminded him. “She’s finally not trying to escape every five seconds.

"She's an omega, I'm sure she knows how alphas are," he said. “She wasn’t shying away.” He looked smug but I knew not to underestimate our mate. She didn’t trust us… at all.

Something I hoped we could change.

"Hey, if you want to be the asshole, go ahead. We’re trying to win her over, not have her run again," I said, not bothering to joke around this time. I couldn’t risk her.

"Do you ever get sick of being right? Or does your head just get bigger?" he asked, a slight smile on his lips as he glanced at me.

"Which head?" I asked innocently.

"Ugh, you are a sick fuck," he groaned as he dug around for something to rescue from the SUV. Going back empty handed would make it obvious what we were doing.

"You're just mad that you didn't stop and think about what you were asking me," I laughed, stepping out of range when he tried to smack me.

"Why are we still friends?" he complained.

"You’re just lucky, I guess," I answered as I joined him. Most of this was ruined, still dripping in water. "All this is soaked. How was Mathias's gismo fine?"

"He probably had it wrapped in a weatherproof pack," Holt said. “You know how he is about his stuff. It might have come in handy this time.”

"I vote he packs for all of us from now on," I said as I pulled out a soaked pair of briefs and held them up.

God, are these even mine?

Another loud crack of thunder and a bright flash of lightning had me dropping the boxers and backing away.

“Okay, I think we’re better off getting out of here,” Holt said, pulling me toward the door before I could protest.

This time I actually kept my mouth shut. The storms out here this time of year were apparently no joke.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Taryn’s voice was gentle as we walked in. I closed the door quietly behind us and smiled as I saw her reaching out for Mathias. He was frozen in place, every muscle coiled so tight that he looked like a statue.

As if she sensed us standing there, she looked back with panic on her face.

“He’s breathing too fast,” she said, giving his hand a squeeze but it didn’t seem to work.

Holt moved around, putting his hands on Mathias’s shoulders and leaning in. She didn’t let go as the alpha started talking, urging our beta gently to breathe. Reminding him that he was safe with us.

When another crack of thunder hit, he didn’t seem to notice. That was definitely not a good sign.

“Move for a second,” Taryn said, hooking her leg over his until she was straddling his lap. There was nothing sexual about the move, she was forcing him to focus only on her. “Mathias, you need to breathe. Now.”

She lifted his hand to her chest, laying it there and taking an exaggerated breath.

“Breathe with me. You’re not in a car, you’re in the lakehouse. We were going to watch a movie, do you think you can come back out of this for me? If you’re lucky there might be enough time to make popcorn on the stove. That’s one of the few things we had here still and if you like popcorn in the microwave… then you’re missing out.”

It was obvious that she was rambling, trying to center him in the present. He’d started to come back around after she climbed on him and was now hanging onto every word.

“What if I didn’t like popcorn?” he managed. His voice sounded strange and shaky still, but was much stronger than before.

“Then we’d have to rethink this. That’s a dealbreaker.”

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