Chapter 79
WREN
“Are you sure you don’t want to try this face mask? It’s unscented, but the way it leaves your skin glassy as fuck is nothing short of a miracle.” Nikita waves the packet at me from her position bundled on the couch.
“I’m good. Once my toenails are dry, I’ll need to find where I left my phone. I bet I’ll have a hundred missed calls from Connor by now.”
“They don’t understand the sanctity of an Omega mani-pedi date.” Lark giggles. “Especially when champagne lunch is involved.”
“Best idea ever. Brie, bubbles, and blabbing. It should be mandatory Omega therapy.” Nikita holds the polish and brush aloft, then leans back while wriggling her toes to admire her handiwork.
“Maybe that’s my backup to my backup business idea if my career in the world of coaching junior ice skating minions doesn’t take off. ”
“Hold up… you mean you have another backup you haven’t told us about?” Gabbie points her flute of champagne at Nikita, who promptly clamps her mouth shut and, for the first time ever, goes wide-eyed.
“Wait, am I missing something here?” I lean forward and set my bottle of baby pink polish on the table. “Wanna spill the beans and explain to the court why you’re looking like you just got caught with your pants down?”
Nikita seems to snap out of it, regains her composure, then opens her mouth. “I—”
Except whatever she was about to say is drowned out by the noise of thundering footsteps.
From down the hall, the front door opens, then shuts with a dramatic bang.
Deep voices are muffled, but sound agitated.
Then, the next moment the room shrinks with the addition of my three Alphas, all squeezing through the doorway at once.
“Bambi, thank fuck.”
“You’re okay, sweetheart?”
“Peaches.”
Connor, Theo, and Atlas all speak over the top of each other at the same time as bursting dramatically into the small living room. My old house on campus seems impossibly quaint and tiny with them all here at once.
We stare at each other, multiple sets of eyes bounce around the room rather comically and in unison to survey this unexpected arrival. Until finally, Nikita can’t hold her mirth in. She explodes with a burst of high-pitched giggles, fueled by champagne.
Lark pops to her knees on the couch, bouncing on the cushions like a wobbly meerkat.
“Hooooly shit...” Watching her, I suspect my sister might be more tipsy than I realized, as she points between them all.
“You’re the ex’s dad, you’re the star fullback, and you…
” When her one squinted eye and forefinger landing on Atlas with his regulation stern expression, she crumples with a gasp of laughter, clutching her side.
Connor smirks and folds his arms. “Ahh, that’s gotta be a baby Murphy, I presume? Yeah, those two hate-kissed their way into a scent match.”
Atlas appears at my side and bends down to nuzzle my hair.
He murmurs softly in Samoan, and even though I don’t understand what he’s saying, I can feel the exact sentiment seeping through his words.
He’s relieved, was a little freaked out, and at the same time, is happy my sister is here with me.
“Even if I now have another Murphy to contend with, who probably wants to murder me,” he grunts softly, a statement for my ears only.
Meanwhile, my sister is in stitches. “Oh my god, no wonder you were always hanging around. Finch who? This whole time you were heart-eyed over her.”
“No I wasn’t.”
“He absolutely was.” Connor waggles his eyebrows. “A heartsick wretch of a thing. Pathetic really.”
“Wait until they find out about your antics, Renfro. Let the jury decide on which Alpha was truly the most pathetic… if I recall, there was a lot of moping around over an Omega who you didn’t even know the name of.”
“At least I didn’t spend every second I could following Finch Murphy around just so I could moon over his sister.” Connor’s lips twitch, eyes sparkling as he winks at me.
I bury my face in my hands.
“There was no mooning,” Atlas insists.
Lark snorts inelegantly. “Oh… there’s no covering it up now, Atlas Palamo. Everything makes so much sense. Yeah, you totally were. Our brother is not that cool or interesting. God, this is just too good.”
“You can’t say anything.” I wave at her and snap my fingers to get her mirth-filled eyes to focus on me.
“I’d wager that Lark understands that implicitly,” Theo says softly, his voice that soothing velvety tone as his gaze draws me in from where he leans one shoulder on the doorframe across the room.
“We all do.” Gabbie pipes up. Her face is a bit flushed, maybe from the champagne, but she seems a little embarrassed for some reason. Maybe it’s just the sudden intensity of my entire pack gate-crashing our girls' date. It’s a lot, and this room is far too small for seven people.
“Was your flight comfortable enough?” Theo directs his question to Lark.
“Totally.” She nods. “Thank you for the upgrade, by the way. It was a hell of a lot nicer than the ticket I had originally booked.”
“My pleasure.” My Alpha inclines his head, and I gape at him. Clearly, there have been a whole lot of secret plans being made without my knowledge, and I can’t even be mad. I’m impressed they pulled it off.
It might be the alcohol buzzing around in my blood, but I feel my throat growing thick with emotion. They helped bring my sister all the way out to Vermont as a surprise… for me?
My wonderful pack, my handsome Alphas, they’re standing like giants in the room, and I want to drag them all to my old bedroom and show them a proper thank you for their efforts.
But that might be a little too slutty.
Although judging by the quirk playing on the corner of Connor’s lips, and surge of need down our bond, he’s having much the same dirty thoughts as I am.
He rubs the back of his neck, a pulse of energy that can only be described as just you wait ‘til I get you alone flies my way, and he turns to flop onto the unoccupied chair closest to him.
Before he can lower himself, Theo grabs him by the collar.
“You will break that if you sit on it. Don’t you fucking dare sit down. This is all made for Omegas, not 250-pound Alphas... and I am not about to go groveling to the academic board to explain why this furniture needs replacing because of your giant Highlander ass.”
We all lose our shit, the champagne in our systems causing the feminine giggles of four Omegas to bubble freely.
“Oh, c’mon… I’m not gonna—” Connor complains, but his protest is cut short by Theo.
“Jesus, Scotland, you’re like a bull in a china shop.”
“It’ll be fine,” he says with a grin.
Theo pinches his brow. “You know what? Just don’t sit, don’t move, in fact, don’t touch anything.”
“How about we head out to our place? There’s more than enough room for us all out there,” I offer.
“You read my mind, sweetheart.” Theo pats the front of Connor’s chest and hits me with a boyish smile that makes me absolutely melt.
Nikita bounds to her feet, more than a little drunk now, and drags Gabbie by the hand to join her.
“Best idea yet. Lead the way, pack Wren… or can I call you the Wrenches? Oh, I got a better one, what about the Wrenaissance?” She squeaks, claps her hands, and whirls around to give me a fiendish wink.
“Oooh, I know, we should call your pack the Wrenovators… get it? Because each night, they’re hard at work renovating your pussy—”
The rest of her words are muffled when Gabbie slaps a hand over her mouth, apologizes under her breath, and mutters something about changing their clothes, while dragging a cackling Nikita from the room.
“Oh my god. You did not hear that,” I moan in mortification.
Lark has both hands over her mouth, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
“I’ll drive your car, Bambi. We can drop the girls back here later tonight,” Connor says.
“You don’t mind? I know that you’ve all got to be ready for tomorrow’s big game.” I climb to my feet and lean into Atlas’s side, loving the way his big hands instinctively circle my waist to hold me tight against him.
Theo’s gaze is full of certainty, as is his strong and secure energy flowing down our bond. “Anything you want, my birdie girl. You never have to ask.”