Page 204 of Altius
She disappeared around the wall of boxes in the living room.
The second the door to her suite clicked shut, Rory dropped his cutlery on his plate and pushed away from the table, stalking into the kitchen.
Alijah followed him, quietly comforting the young omega while Joaquin gathered empty plates, leaving Piper on the receiving end of Cal and Owen’s combined glowers.
The longer they scrutinized her, the more defensive her posture became.
“What?” Piper bristled, setting her champagne flute on the table with a harsh click. “I’m not wrong. Morgan’s just going through the motions because she doesn’t want to upset Kels.”
Kelsey exhaled, planting her elbows on the table, fingers digging into her hair. “This is ahugechange, Piper—for both of us. It’s only natural to have mixed feelings about it. But it was always going to happen sooner or later. There’s no need to make things more difficult than they already are.”
“You sure about the mixed feelings?” Piper asked, eyes darting from one alpha to the next. “Seems more like Morgan’s way of having her cakeandcock—”
“Anyone ever tell you coconut smells like crap when it’s mixed with jealousy?” Rory asked, pretending to gag.
Piper shot to her feet. “I amnotjealous!”
As the siblings bickered about which one would benefit more from a thorough knotting, I got up and headed over to crouch beside Kelsey, whose head was fully buried in her hands.
“You okay?” I asked.
Her voice was so quiet I barely caught it. “Was this a mistake?”
“No,” I reassured her. “You know how much Morgan wants this for you. Jacobi, too. And it’s obvious how excited you are about decorating your new loft.”
Kelsey exhaled deeply and sat up, rubbing her eyes, trying to hide that she’d been on the verge of tears. “You’re right…but how much is she hiding?”
“Honestly, I think the Garroway Forest rejection hit her harder than anything.”
“I agree,” Cal added, snagging the last biscuit before Joaquin could clear the plate.
Piper’s voice rose. “Don’t be so immature.”
“You’re the one fighting with a literal teenager!” Rory countered.
Owen stood up, sending a cold shiver of silence through the room. “Thank you for the meal. It was…enlightening.”
One long finger pointed at Cal before abruptly turning in my direction. Then he gestured across the hall. We had no choice but to follow him.
Settled in the leather chair, tapping his steepled fingers together, Owen looked like a supervillain about to announce his plans for world domination.
I sank lower on the couch, waiting for whatever unpleasantness was about to come out of his mouth.
But his words weren’t cruel or cutting.
They were brilliant.
“It might be best if Morgan is absent this weekend.”
“A change of scenery?” Cal tapped his knee. “It’d get her away from the noise. Maybe help get her mind off work and the job hunt for a bit, too.”
Owen fixed me with a steely gaze. “You have a gymnastics meet on Friday, correct?”
I nodded. “Yeah, why?”
“Rory’s planning to borrow Morgan’s car for the week, so he can help finish packing between classes.” Cal’s enthusiasm grew stronger by the second. “We could prep a bag for her and hide itin your trunk. You could leave right from the fieldhouse after the meet ends. Surprise her with a romantic getaway weekend.”
An idea immediately came to mind, but I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself. “Am I the only one going, or is this a group thing?”
