Page 169 of Lost
One month later
HOLLIS
Looking around the room, I grin happily at how full it is. I asked my sister and her pack to come over for Sunday dinner and I think it needs to become a tradition.
Caleb and Felix are discussing something in hushed tones and I want to be obnoxious and cuff both their ears while reminding them that ‘secrets don’t make friends.’ Although I do really love my secrets.
Mal is cooking up a storm right now, and Lars is in the kitchen making sure the dessert he’s baking doesn’t burn. Hopefully they don’t kill each other.
“There’s a lot of testosterone in the house,” I tease my sister. She glances at me and I notice that she looks a little preoccupied. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to move but my little house is too small for my pack,” she groans.
I feel a moment of panic and tightening in my chest at the thought of her leaving.
“I like that you’re so close,” I murmur.
“I do too, and I feel like we’re just getting to know each other. I don’t want to move,” she wails. “Every open property I’ve looked at is at least a half hour away. That’s too far to walk over and have coffee at!”
Fuck. It's like she’s been thinking about this for a while.
Every male in the room turns to look at us, clued in by the intense feelings we’re both experiencing. Even Lars and Mal pop their heads out of the kitchen worriedly, their gazes on us.
“Everything okay?” Remy asks. “Things feel heavy over there.”
“Nova is worried about moving away,” I sigh, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms as I glare at my best friend standing in the doorway of the kitchen.
“I haven’t brought it up,” he denies. “Even though I have to regularly duck my head to make sure I don’t knock myself out.”
“Mmhmm,” I mutter. “Well, while I can respect that your pack needs more space, I have to say that I’m not a fan of her moving half an hour away.”
“Who said anything about that?” Caleb asks.
“I did a search for homes in the area that would be large enough for us all,” Nova explains, her lip quivering. God, she’s going to kill me. “They’re all really far away.”
The last words are said on a wail and every alpha in the room fucking flinches. I guess our voices are more similar than my sister and I think. Especially when we’re upset.
“What if you build on the property we own next door?” Malcolm says quickly. “Come on guys, it’s not like we have a plan for it. We bought it as an investment.”
“At least let us pay for it,” Caleb says.
“Please don’t,” Remy says, shaking his head. “It came up for sale a few years ago and we bought it on a whim.”
“Do you really think we had any tenants before Nova?” Felix adds. “Mal felt fucking pulled to her when she posted that she was looking for a place. Not in a mate type pull, calm down, people. It was more that he felt the need to protect her. We’ve all come to feel that way.”
“Wait, what?” Nova asks, tears still flowing.
“The very idea of you living in your van or with some creepy fuckers as your landlords made me feel like I was going to break out into hives,” Mal explains. “I responded to your posts and told the guys we were going to have a roommate on the property.”
“We believe in trusting your gut,” Brice shrugs.
“But you didn’t know me, and you hadn’t met my sister yet,” she says vehemently, her gaze shooting over to me. I shake my head, taking her hand when she holds it out to me. “Why would you take a chance on me like that?”
“Faith. I also would have had nightmares otherwise,” Mal says honestly. “There are too many omegas who go missing, as we all know.”
Nova nods, her encounter still fresh in her mind from a month ago as she brushes away her tears.
“Has there been any more information about your sister?” Nova asks Caleb and Lars.
