Page 21 of Pack’s Prize

“I promise, I’m not.” I was surprised to find it was true. I was doing it, mostly, because… well, because last night–before the crying, and the mortification, and the self-doubt and panic–last night had been the hottest thing I could remember.

I couldn’t help myself. Despite the humiliation of what had come after, I wanted more ofthat.

Theo was silent. I didn’t know–or care–if he believed me, just as long as he didn’t ask me to elaborate.

He navigated the city streets with an ease that surprised me, given he wasn’t from this city, and soon, we were pulling up outside my apartment building. I took in the peeling paint on the brick facade, the bars over the lobby door, and cringed. I hadn’t thought about him seeing the sorry state of my living situation in the light of day, about what he would think of it after I’d just seen his luxury penthouse.

He stood from the car and followed me up the steps of my building to the door, and I turned to say goodbye.

He kissed me.

In the space of a breath, he backed me against the apartment building’s chipping paint, his lips finding mine like a bolt of lightning finds a lightning rod, the touch of skin on skin sizzling down deep into my veins just as it had that first time his hand had found mine, in the darkened hallway of Ardor.

I gasped, and he deepened his kiss, his tongue slipping between my parted lips to tangle with mine, the taste of coffee alongside his own tobacco scent making my blood buzz in a way that all the espresso or nicotine in the world never had. My hands moved of their own accord, finding his shoulders, warm and solid under the plain white shirt he wore, pulling myself into his embrace even as he took yet another step toward me, pinning me between the hard wood of the door and–

Fuck, he was hard, too, his cock rigid against my stomach, and my next breath came out as a moan, remembering the way it had felt against my center last night, separated by far too many layers of clothing as he teased me and Michael and Elias.

He still wanted me. I dropped my hands to the waistband of his dark trousers, the simple leather belt he wore, holding him to me like a lifeline.

You’re in public, Ava,I remembered, but I couldn’t find the will to be embarrassed by it. Instead, I wanted more. “Do you want to come up?” I heard myself ask, then squeezed my eyes closed as he froze against me.

His chest expanded against mine as he took one long breath, then stepped back, the space between our bodies yawning into icy crevasse.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” he said finally, glancing away. “For our… courtship.”

“Oh. Right,” I said, the warm arousal in my veins turning to hot shame. He’d kissed me outside my building,in public, because we were supposed to be undertaking a courtship,in public.Not because he wanted to kiss me, but because it was part of our agreement. “You’re right, of course. I’ll just…”Hide.I turned away, pushing open the door I’d been so shamelessly arching off of, trying to get closer to him. “Bye, then.”

“No, Ava,” he said, and the door stopped, held ajar by his hand, long fingers wrapped around the edge. I dragged my eyes from his sternum to his face. “You’re right. I’ll walk you up. I should.”

“No, no, you should get back–” I stammered. My face was hot.

He pried the door open easily, his muscles flexing under his shirt. I had no choice but to let him into the dingy lobby. I led him up the stairs and down the hallway.

“Thanks,” I said, as we stood awkwardly outside of my apartment. I turned and unlocked the door, but didn’t turn the handle. This was bad enough. I didn’t want him to see the unpacked boxes, memories of the life I was trying to leave–Ihadleft–behind. “Sorry about that–”

I hadn’t thought I could get more embarrassed, after his little reminder of ouragreement, but as I opened the door to my apartment, his next words to me were even more mortifying:

“Thisis where you live, Ava?”

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

Elias

The soft chimeof the elevator arriving on our floor alerted me to Theo’s return. I got up from the place on the couch where I’d been flipping through portfolios–not that I knew what I was looking at–and went to the kitchen, taking down a fresh mug and pouring him a second cup of coffee. He’d hardly had any while Ava had been here–too keyed up, I thought. We all had been. What if she’d said no? What if, after a night of sleep, she’d woken up a little too clear-eyed about what she’d seen last night and decided she didn’t want to have anything to do with a pack like ours? She wouldn’t have been the only omega who thought the way we lived was unnatural. Unfair.

Selfish, even.

Their kind were rare, but it wasn’t like alphas were plentiful, either, and omegas like her depended on us for their very survival.

The scent of orchards that breezed in after the elevator’s chime made my hands freeze on the handle of the coffee pot. It wasn’t the lingering perfume we all wore this morning, but a sweet, rich note that either meant he’d had amuchbetter time dropping her off than I would have ever expected of Theo or–

She was here.

My hand went automatically to the cabinet to get a second mug, my brain preoccupied sorting out a tangle of sheer panic and uncontrollable glee.What was she doing here?

“Elias,” Theo said, rounding the end of the hallway from the elevator, his steps quicker than his usual unhurried pace. He was holding a large cardboard box labeledIMPORTANT SHIT.

“Theo,” I said back, but he was barely listening. “What’s–”

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