Page 45 of Follow Your Instincts

“You okay?” Bridget asked quietly.

I gave her a tiny smile and shrugged. “I don’t know. But thanks for asking.”

“Well, if you want some company tonight, we can watchClueless,” Bridget said. I looked at her blankly for a moment, and she returned my small smile. “I heard you watchingWhen Harry Met Sally,You’ve Got Mail… andSleepless in Seattle. Let’s give Meg a break.”

I snorted despite myself.

“So, did your fairy tale pack not turn out like you expected?” Jess asked.

I glared at her. “Can’t I be depressed about something other than men?”

“I don’t know, can you? In my experience, dumbass men are usually the problem,” Jess said.

I sighed. Jess didnotneed to know about my obsession with four guys I barely knew, one of whom I was pretty sure hated me. “I think maybe I’m going through those stages of grief for my old life. You know… anger, bargaining, depression. Maybe I’ll get to the acceptance part sometime next week.”

“Good for you, dear,” Steffi said sincerely.

After lunch, Austin bullied me into helping with the dishes and then making another batch of cookies. Despite my determination to be in a terrible mood, Austin was so friendly that it was hard to stay miserable.

The next morning, I bullied myself into going on a run and returning Kira’s many, many calls and texts.

“Oh, thank god,” Kira said when she picked up my call. “I watched this documentary last night about an Omega center that was actually the front for some weird sex cult, and I was about to come out there and bust you out.”

“Why the hell were you watching that?” I yelped. “That’s horrible!”

“Yeah, no shit! A lot of these documentaries about Omegas are dark as fuck, Mags, you have no idea,” Kira whispered.

“Okay, stop watching true crime, my life has enough crime in it without you adding things. And come on, Steffi is not a sex cult leader. Andre probablycouldbe, but I think he mostly uses his sexiness for good.”

“So, why have you been MIA for three days if you haven’t been used in an underground brothel?”

“Nothing. Sorry. It’s stupid. I’m fine now,” I said.Liar, I thought. I had dreamed about those kisses with Ben and Soren until they’d turned into much more than kisses and finally satisfied the base layer of arousal that had settled into my bones over the last ten days. Apparently, Omegas can have wet dreams. Yay.

“Yeah, okay, very convincing,” Kira said sarcastically. “What happened with that pack? Did you see them over the weekend? If you weren’t being pimped out I at least hoped you were getting some Alpha dick.”

“Nope. Sorry to disappoint but I don’t think there will be any Alpha dick happening any time soon. It didn’t exactly go well,” I admitted.

“Aw, man, were they weird little freaks? Did they have a sex dungeon?”

“Kira, you havegotto stop watching these documentaries. Your brain is rotting. And no. Three of them seem nice. The house was gorgeous, and I don’t think there were any sex dungeons. One of the Alphas got territorial about his pack or something, kind of freaked out, and growled at me. Clearly, he has a problem with me.”

“I’m sorry, Mags. That really sucks. So you’re just gonnaghost them?” Kira asked.

“They wouldn’t want me around anyway if I’m fucking with their pack dynamic,” I said.

This didn’t seem strictly true. Ben had tried to call me the day after the disaster, but I didn’t answer. Then he and Soren had both texted me apologies and made it clear they wanted to see me again if I was open to it. There was no mention of Lachlan. I ignored the messages.

“What about that other pack? The boring ones,” Kira said.

“They weren’tboring. They were sweet,” I said, thinking back on my meeting with Matt, Oliver, and Reese. There hadn’t been the insane, overwhelming attraction I felt for Pack Murray, but they did seem nice. “Either way, I’m taking a break from the pack matching thing. I need some more time.”

“Yeah bitch, ya think? You presented as an Omega like five minutes ago, and you were already trying to shack up with a bunch of hot strangers. Take a second to chill before you end up bonded to a pack that wants a bunch of Omega sister wives,” Kira said.

“Seriously, stop with the true crime. I mean it,” I said sternly. “You’re gonna give yourself nightmares.”

“Whatever. I’m trying to look out for you, and this is the thanks I get. Can I come out and see you this weekend?”

“Yes pleeeease,” I said. “Bring Indian food.”

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