Page 61 of The Twelve Knots of Christmas
There was no way she wouldn’t clean up after herself unless… She was sick.
Dammit. I hated myself again for being away from Primrose House when I was needed.
I raced up the stairs with Artemis close behind. “Lyla!”
If she was feeling well, she would have heard me by now. She would have come down to greet me and demand I tell her everything that happened.
“Lyla!” I hit the top of the stairs and turned toward her suite just as the door swung open and a shirtless man stepped into the hallway.
Just from the way he held himself, how solidly he was built, and the faint musk in the air, I knew exactly what he was: a nearly naked Alpha.
I let out a yelp and skidded to a stop. Artemis was immediately in front of me, growling at the guy to stay away.
“Lyla!” Oh God. What was going on? Did this stranger break into the house and hurt her?
“Hey now, it’s okay.” The Alpha held up his hands, wisely not moving any closer. “I’m not going to hurt you. You’re Mariska, right?”
How did he know my name? What the fuck was an Alpha doing in Primrose House?
“I’m here, I’m here!” Lyla shouted from her room and came rushing out with a sheet wrapped around her body. Plus a second nearly naked man behind her. “Hi Mari. It’s okay. I know them. They’re safe.”
Her blonde hair was a complete mess and she wore no makeup. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips were swollen, and her forehead shiny with perspiration. I knew that look. I knew it because I’d caught glimpses of myself after I’d spent hours in bed with my Alphas.
This was why she hadn’t texted me and didn’t answer my calls.
“Lyla, no.” I took three steps back, dragging Artemis with me.
“Mari, it happened so suddenly. Then we were snowed in and…” Lyla glanced at each of the men with a coy smile before looking back to me. “Mari, this is Jason.” She put her hand on the shoulder of the blond one and gestured to the other man. “And this is Ozzi.”
“Hey. Nice to meet you.” Ozzi had a gentle smile and was just as big as Balthazar.
I didn’t care what their names were nor that she looked ridiculously happy. For some reason, my brain could only focus on one thing: “This is Primrose House. How could you bring Alphas into our house?”
“It’s not like I planned it. It just happened.” Lyla let out a nervous laugh as if it were all a joke.
The one space I had felt the safest in my life was now ruined. Alphas didn’t belong in Primrose House. My family was horrible, the pack refused to see me as who I was, and now my favorite place was tainted.
I ran for the stairs, intending to flee from the house and go to the hospital without Lyla. Artemis bumped against me and reminded me I couldn’t take my dog with me. I hated to leave her, but I raced to my suite and went inside to make sure there was dogfood and water. I couldn’t let her wander the house in case she attacked Jason or Ozzi.
“Mari!” Lyla had followed me down the hall and slid to a stop in front of my door. Tears shimmered in her big blue eyes. “Please. This wasn’t planned. I went into heat. It happened so fast. You know how it is. It’s like how it is with you and your pack.”
“They’re not my pack,” I snapped and reined in my own tears. “I’m done with them.”
“What happened?” Lyla reached for me, and God, I wanted her to hold me. I wanted to confide in my best friend and have her tell me everything would be all right.
But I couldn’t. She’d brought Alphas into Primrose House. My voice of reason tried to lecture me that it wasn’t something Lyla couldn’t control and that she needed my support right now too, but everything was too fucked up.
With water and food down for Artemis, I exited my suite and shut the door, keeping as far from Lyla as I could. “I’m going to see Miss Eloise.”
“I want to go too, but…” Lyla gripped her abdomen and winced. “My heat’s bad. It hurts so much.”
Everything in me melted. I couldn’t stay angry with her. “I know, at times, it’s horrible, but it’ll get better. Just let your Alphas take care of you. You’ll be okay.” I gave her a soft smile. “I’ll tell Miss Eloise you’re not feeling well.”
“Thank you.” Lyla sniffled as a few tears slipped free. “Could you bring her some fruitcake and cookies and tell her I’m thinking of her? There’s plenty in the kitchen. There’s some for you too.”
“Ew, fruitcake.” I made a blech face and got a watery giggle from her. I closed the distance and hugged her tight. “I love you. Go take care of yourself. I might spend the night with Miss Eloise, so if you could let Artemis out a couple of times for me, I’d appreciate it.”
“Anything for my puppy love.” Lyla squeezed me back and whispered, “What happened, Mari?”
