Chapter 7
SEVEN
JUNIPER
I closed my laptop with a frustrated groan, pushing it aside and into the backseat.
I was currently sitting in my car outside our apartment, waiting to drive Kit to his date. I’d been trying to balance the books for the Safe House, and if I didn’t already have a headache, then looking at those numbers would do it.
I was trying desperately to figure this out, because I was starting to think the Safe House might have to close down, and that couldn’t happen. We had so many omegas relying on us. Once they could come regularly, they could stop using the illegal drugs that threw off their heats. Their cycles could become regular and predictable again. It gave them a chance to get a job. A chance to feel safe going outside, a chance to reclaim their lives. And I might have to take it all away again.
I drummed my hands on the steering wheel, the anxious thoughts eating at me as I tried to ignore the cramping in my stomach.
Speaking of fucking with heat cycles, I’d really messed up by taking those suppressants. My body was having a full-blown meltdown, and I felt like I was back in pre-heat; going through cycles of heat spikes, feeling both irrational and super horny.
And, of course, my brain was fixated on the Argo pack, with them starring in my dreams. Them and Kit, but I’d long ago accepted that Kit would always be there. I lived with his scent all the time, and we’d been at each other’s heat’s for years. He was hot—I wasn’t blind—and I very much knew what he looked like in all manner of sexual activities, so my brain had a lot of material to work with.
Shit, now I was thinking about that again, and I could feel the cramps getting worse. I tore my thoughts away from the sounds Kit made when he got his dick sucked, and tried to focus.
If I’d let my heat run its course properly, when would I have finished? Going by average, it should have been done the same night.
So, hopefully, I’d wake up tomorrow, and be done for another couple of months.
Kit rushed out to the car, yanking open the door and flopping into the passenger seat. He pulled down the mirror and checked his face.
“Do I look okay?” he asked, and I looked at him.
“Did you dress up ?” I asked, blinking at his clothes. Instead of his usual baggy, just-rolled-out-of-bed look, he was wearing all black. Black dress shoes paired with soft, poofy pants. He was in a high-necked crop top that had a heart-shaped hole right between his collarbones. It was made only slightly less scandalous by the large, silky jacket that went almost to his knees.
Topped with a silver necklace and a hint of eyeliner.
“Is it too much?” He frowned. “I know it’s a lot of black, but I don’t actually have a lot of options, and nothing worked except these. And I borrowed the necklace." He shot me a grin. He looked fucking devastating, like some kind of modern succubus.
“No, you look great,” I managed. “I’ve just never seen you…. try?”
He shrugged, tucking his hair behind his ear. It came out again immediately.
“I don’t know. This is a scent match. I’m nervous. High expectations, right?”
“They’ll love you, Kit,” I said, trying to ignore the surging jealousy. Alphas really did obsess over him. To a disturbing degree sometimes. He shrugged, a cloud passing over his usually sunny expression, but it was gone by the time I started the car.
He was going on his date, and I’d be chaperoning from a distance. These were still alphas, and that meant we had to be careful. There was too much at stake to take stupid risks.
We drove to Antonio’s, the restaurant the pack had suggested, and I pulled into one of the last parking spots.
“Thanks, Juni. It means a lot to me.” Kit leaned over and pecked my cheek. I grunted, climbing out of the car and following him.
The pack were waiting outside the restaurant, Vander sulking against the wall. It was very satisfying to watch him do a double take as Kit practically glided over. I stood a few feet behind, hands in my hoodie pockets.
To my shock, Kit practically ran to Vander and pulled the big, grumpy alpha into a hug.
“Thank you so much for saving Juni,” Kit said breathlessly. Vander’s expression was tense, looking almost panicked as Kit pulled away.
Kit rocked on his feet, his hands balling in his sleeves.
“Juni told me what happened. I’m not mad. I’m just glad she’s safe.”
“Whatever,” said Vander, not meeting Kit’s eyes.
God, I wanted to slap him.
“Um, hi,” Kit said, turning to greet the others, who were staring at him.
“Wow,” said Adrian.
“You look lovely,” piped Jhin, lifting Kit’s hand and pressing a kiss to it. Kit bit his lip.
“ Lovely ?” Ez lifted a brow momentarily. “You look so fucking hot, Kit.”
Adrian elbowed him.
“What!? He does ,” Ez said, folding his arms. He turned to me.
“Juniper. Rockin’ the casual look this evening. Still also lookin’ really f?—”
Adrian literally clamped his hand over Ez’s mouth as I gave him a glare. Ez wriggled out of his grip.
“Truth-haters,” he said with a scowl.
Jhin offered his hand to Kit, and Kit took it, shooting me a nervous but excited smile as Jhin pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. I gave what I hoped was an encouraging one in return as Jhin escorted him up the stairs to the door, Adrian right behind.
This was gonna suck.
Vander peeled himself off the wall to stalk up the stairs.
“M’lady,” Ez said, holding his hand out. For a second, I wondered if he was mocking me, but I didn’t honestly think he was capable of that.
“Oh, I’m okay,” I said, adjusting my laptop case.
“Aw please? I’ve always wanted to do this,” he said, his eyes shining with hope. I felt a little guilt tug at me for the way I’d snapped at him at the end of my heat.
“Fine,” I said, and he gave me that stunning grin. He straightened his back, gave a little bow, and took my arm to lead me up the stairs. I rolled my eyes even though I felt a flicker of happiness, but that quickly died as I remembered this was Kit’s date. Not mine.
Antonio’s was dimly lit, and one of the cleaner places to go around here. Neon signs adorned the walls and the TVs by the bar were showing the hockey game playing at Oxford Arena tonight. I tugged my arm out of Ez’s as we entered and waited to be seated at a separate table.
“You’re not sitting with us?” Ez asked. I shook my head.
“Got work to do,” I muttered.
“Okay, see you later!” Ez cheerily waved before stepping beside Kit and smoothly taking his hand. Jhin’s eyes flicked to me before I walked away. I got my own small table in a dark corner, where I could still see their booth, but not hear it over the low music and buzz of conversation that seeped through the place. The waitress came by, and I ordered water and a side of fries. I pulled out my laptop, forcing myself to run through this month’s numbers properly.
Shit. It was worse than I’d thought.
I hadn’t told anyone yet that I didn’t actually know how much longer we’d be able to run the Safe House. I’d started it with the inheritance my dad left me, and no matter what I did, we dug further and further into those funds each month.
Kit’s aunt, Dee, had done all the number stuff at the start. She had been amazing, the one to take my idea and make it into a reality. A safe haven for packless omegas in heat. But she’d passed two years earlier, and I’d been struggling ever since.
My cell phone buzzed, offering a mental reprieve from my depressing reality.
Daisy: How’s he doing?
I’d updated her on the whole Kit-scent-match situation. I glanced over at the pack before typing my answer.
Me: The usual. Like cats to Kitnip.
Ez had his arm around Kit, and Kit was resting his head on his shoulder. Adrian hadn’t looked away from Kit once and had refilled his water glass after almost every sip.
And though Jhin sat formally beside them, the picture of politeness, his face flushed slightly every time Kit smiled at him.
Kit seemed smitten. Why wouldn’t he be? Besides the literal glaring exception—Vander—so far, they’d all shown they were decent people. Kit was a total romantic, and Jhin was the epitome of his dream alpha. He’d probably fallen in love the moment Jhin kissed his hand. Ez, though exasperating, was kind of impossible not to like. And Adrian was quiet, kinda shy, but seemed really sweet.
My heart felt suddenly tight as Ez plucked a grape off the plate and popped it into Kit’s mouth.
Vander looked my way and rolled his eyes. He was sitting to the side of their table in stony silence, the only one resistant to the Kitnip .
VANDER
My head hurt. Kit kept glancing at me, trying to draw me into the conversation with the others, but I was doing my best to ignore them. That had been my plan for the evening, after all, grit my teeth and endure this date.
Then he’d fucking hugged me.
Didn’t he know about personal space? Or consent?
You couldn’t just go around hugging people when you smelled like almond buttercream heaven. It wasn’t like I didn’t have enough to deal with already, with Jhin, and whatever the fuck was happening with Juniper. Just add in a sweet, pink-haired fluffy almond puffball to the equation. I couldn’t even look anywhere; if I looked at the table, my eyes were drawn to him like a magnet, and if I looked away, they’d catch on the grumpy cherry stormcloud typing away on her laptop in the corner.
Ez had just asked about how the omegas’ heat-buddy thing worked, and Kit was stumbling through an answer that painted a picture of both of them being fucked in the same room.
This was too much.
“Need some fresh air.” I stood abruptly, tucking my hands into my pockets and making my way out to the balcony. Once outside I leaned over the railing, looking at the spread of twinkling lights that made up New Oxford and tried to deal with the mess of emotions that were threatening my peace. I heard the balcony door open and sour cherries and spice hit me. I mentally sighed. Of course she’d follow me out here.
“Cherry Bomb,” I drew out the greeting, tapping my fingers on the rail without looking at her. “You here to yell at me some more? Or try and fuck me again?”
“What’s your problem with Kit?” she demanded.
“Ah. The far less fun option." I turned around to face her, crossing my arms.
“Well?” Her dark eyes were glinting in the lights around us, her pretty face pulled into her signature frown.
“I don’t have a problem with Kit,” I said, flicking a bit of lint off my forearm.
“Oh, really?” Her voice was flat. “You’ve barely said two words to him.”
God, couldn’t I get some peace out here, even for a second? Why was it her business, anyway?
”Didn’t realize a scent match required me to talk.” I kept my voice light. “Or sorry, Omega . Let me guess. You think he deserves to be worshipped and fawned over just because he can take a knot?”
Her mouth dropped open as I threw her own scathing words back in her face. I had the satisfaction of seeing her frown turn sullen.
“No. I think he deserves to be worshipped and fawned over because he’s him. And I’d be chewing out anybody who left him on a date without giving him a chance, because Kit is an angel .”
That was just the problem, wasn’t it? He was sweet and kind, and if we bonded him, he’d stabilize us.
Would it work forever? Or would I still slowly poison the bond dooming him along with the rest of us?
I pushed the thought away.
“You know, you get real fucking sexy when you’re angry," I said, ruffling my hand in her hair, and enjoying the snarl she gave me.
“God, you are fucking intolerable, ” she snapped as I stepped past her.
“Yeah.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice. “Well, guess you can count your lucky stars you weren’t the one to scent match me, Sweetheart.”
I walked back inside to the table, and resumed my stony vigil in my seat.
Juniper passed us, sliding back into her booth and shooting me a glare. I shot one right back, my mood as sour as her scent. I was already stuck in this bond with one person who I kept disappointing. Why would it be any different with Kit? At least, she’d said no when Kit asked her to join, so I wouldn't be stuck with letting her down, too.
I clung to that singular thought as I tuned into the conversation at the table.
KIT
The date was going pretty well, especially considering that Juniper seemed to be taking it fine. She was huddled in the corner, working on her laptop and barely paying any attention to us.
I’d had a lot of practice at this part. I was good at talking, good at splitting my attention amongst the pack. Good at figuring out the dynamics and working around them. I was glad I had my instincts to rely on, because being surrounded by my scent matches was completely overwhelming.
It wasn’t just their scents—Jhin’s sophisticated sage and blackberry, Ez’s bright watermelon lemonade and Adrian’s cosy pear and cinnamon all surrounding me right now—they were all mind-numbingly attractive.
I’d be answering a question and look up to meet Jhin’s dark, intense gaze and trip over my words. He sat with perfect posture, his expressions guarded, reminding me of a forlorn prince overburdened with the pressures of the world. Not that I’d ever say that out loud. He was a natural leader; not greedy or overbearing. The others listened when he spoke and glanced at him when they wanted his opinion, but he didn’t join in much when the conversation grew lighter.
Ez seemed to seek my touch without thinking, and it felt so natural to respond. His lean, cheery face was bright and responsive. His smile made my breath catch when he gave it so freely. It lit up his whole face, making his golden-green eyes sparkle and showed off his two cute fangs.
Adrian would blush every time he met my gaze. He had lovely tanned skin, and pale brown hair that looked super soft. He’d mentioned he was Ez’s half-brother, and when he smiled, his eyes lit up just like Ez’s did. He’d been quiet, but as Ez kept dragging him into the conversation, he spoke up more and more.
It was easy, with them, my instincts calling me to be with them, assuring me they were safe… despite Vander.
Vander had sat as far away from me as possible and resisted all my attempts to draw him into the conversation. I think I’d really thrown him off with the hug, but it had seemed like the obvious thing to do at the time. I could barely make out his sharp morning frost amongst the other scents.
“Oh, well, I did attend Hawthorne academy for a bit,” I said, responding to Jhin’s question. “But it wasn’t really for me.”
“Oh wow, that’s fancy,” said Ez.
“It just didn’t work out,” I added, not wanting to get into it.
“So, did you grow up topside then?” Adrian asked.
“Nah. I’m a Gritch kid, born and raised.”
“Same with us,” Ez said. “We all grew up in the same complex. Vander and Jhin had their work cut out for them, keeping us out of trouble.”
I tucked away that tidbit to unpack later.
“Still do,” Vander muttered, the first thing he’d said the entire date. He hadn’t looked at us though, so I turned back to Ez.
“Juni did the same for me. We found each other by chance when I was at the academy, and just… clicked. She kept me on my feet, and we both watched each other’s backs, especially during heats.”
“So, how does the whole heat-buddy thing work?” Ez asked. “Do you and her?—?”
“Ezra, that’s highly inappropriate.” Jhin frowned at Ez. “Please don’t feel like you have to answer that, Kit.”
“We were all thinking it,” muttered Ez.
“Uh, I don’t mind.” I smiled awkwardly. “And no, it’s not like that. It’s more of like, watching out for each other. And if we both liked the pack, then sometimes we’d… I mean, it’s a long time and there are a lot of pheromones so, um… but she and I never have.” I stopped, my face bright pink now, and maybe I shouldn’t have answered, but none of them looked judgemental. Quite the opposite, actually.
Jhin cleared his throat, taking a deliberate sip of water. Ez swallowed and Adrian’s eyes darted to where Juniper was sitting in the corner.
Vander stood up abruptly.
“Need some fresh air," he said, and walked toward the balcony. I watched him as he walked away, my heart hammering.
Had I made him uncomfortable?
“So, like, if you hadn’t been sick, d’you think?—”
“ Ezra,” Jhin barked, and I sat up straight, spine tingling.
Holy fuck.
I absolutely could not get hard in the middle of a date because of one stern reprimand. Luckily, no one seemed to notice.
“I’m just asking, ” Ez said, but then looked a little guilty. “Sorry, yeah, probably wouldn’t have gone ahead if you’d been there.”
“Yeah,” I said, fiddling with the tablecloth and trying not to think too hard about it. Because Juni might have been faced with the choice of them, or sedation and she hated sedation. Which means, it wouldn’t have been a choice really, and so I could have been there with them during her heat.
Fuck.
And what had she told me?
It was like a heat is supposed to be .
And shit, she’d also told me she’d shut Jhin up at the start by ripping open his pants and sucking his dick.
I grabbed my water and took a sip, almost spilling it down my front.
I looked up to see that Juniper was following Vander out onto the balcony.
Ez squeezed my shoulder.
“Aw, I’m really sorry, Kit.” He looked really worried as he met my eyes. “Didn’t mean to stress you out.”
“Don’t mind him. Ez’s mouth runs about twice as fast as his brain,” Adrian assured me.
“Oh, don’t worry, it’s fine,” I said, putting a smile back on my face. “We get that a lot. She’s really… you know.” My eyes found them on the balcony again, where Vander was actually talking to her. An idea occurred to me.
“So, when we were in the coffee shop, before Juni got mad and left… it was because I, um, told her I’d be okay with like, a dual bond.”
I glanced up at them nervously.
“Which I know was like, me assuming a lot without even knowing you guys,” I rambled, nerves getting the better of me. “I mean, I don’t even know if this is gonna work for sure, but I want it to, because you guys seem really nice, and Juniper even liked you, and Juniper doesn’t like any alphas.”
I paused and took a breath.
“And you guys like her too, right?”
“Duh,” said Ez. Jhin was looking at me intently, and Adrian’s gaze had wandered back to the balcony. Vander was heading back over, and I tried not to let his presence derail me.
“Okay. I just… I thought we could give her some time for this to settle. She said she didn’t want to just join us as an extra. So maybe you guys could like, not put any pressure on her, but just get to know her a little more, too? And if things go well, I could ask her again when everything isn’t so tense, because I think if she can trust that you guys like her, and not just as a, um, a pity bond, she might change her mind.”
“You would truly want that, Kit?” asked Jhin. I opened my mouth to tell them the truth; that I didn’t know how to do this without her, that’d I’d be devastated to leave her. But that was too much.
What if they thought I didn’t want them without her, and then she didn’t join us, anyway? Or what if they felt like they had to convince her and put way too much pressure on her?
“Yeah, she’s my best friend,” I said instead. “I think it’d be good. If you guys like her too, right?”
Vander sat back down and gave a derisive huff. Jhin shot him a disapproving look.
“You don’t feel upset… or jealous of that?” Jhin probed.
I shook my head.
“Nah, we haven’t had any omega spats since…” I stopped, turning pink, because I’d been about to tell them about the biting. “Um, when we first moved in together.”
“Well, I’d totally be down for that,” Ez said. “Juniper is awesome.”
He looked over to where she was sitting and caught her eye, giving her a wink. She flipped him the bird, and he grinned at me.
“And Adrian likes her too, right, bro?” Ez tapped him on the arm.
“I’ll be fine either way,” he said, offering me a small smile.
Jhin caught my eyes again, looking at me for a long moment. Eventually he nodded.
“Okay. Great.” I grinned, feeling a bit of relief. “So, no pressure, but just getting to know her, and showing her you like her. And then I’ll ask her again.”
“Indeed. Juniper would be a good addition to this pack,” Jhin said. Vander snorted. His face had gone a bit red, and his mouth was set in a thin line.
“This is fucking bullshit,” he snapped.
I froze, my neck prickling.
Jhin sat up straight, a glare on his face. “ Vander,” he warned. Vander sneered at him as Ez’s arm around me tightened.
“I didn’t even want one omega, but I guess we’re stuck with him because of a scent match. Now I have to deal with two?—”
A cold flash of panic curdled my stomach. To my surprise, Ez clapped his hands over my ears, knocking my glasses askew. It didn’t really do much; I could still hear him as he cut Vander off. He’d leaned toward Vander, and I found myself surrounded by watermelon lemonade.
“Hey. That’s too far, V. Not cool,” Ez growled, his voice harder than I’d ever heard it.
Jhin stood from the table, his stern voice coming back and making my head spin.
“Vander. Come with me. Now.” He turned and walked toward the balcony, and Vander stood and shot me a scowl before following him.
Ez released my ears, looking at me with concern.
“Shit. Sorry about that,” he said, straightening my glasses again. “I swear Vander isn’t always an asshole. He’s just been really off lately.”
“Not that it excuses what he just said,” added Adrian firmly, casting a pointed look to where Jhin and Vander were having a heated conversation. Ez glanced over, too, looking sad.
Vander and Jhin finished their conversation, and Vander was stomping out of the restaurant.
Jhin came back, sitting down in his seat with a sigh.
“My apologies, Kit. I thought he’d be alright to come out with us tonight. I know Vander can be… difficult, but the last thing I want to do is hide this from you. He has no excuse not to be civil, however, and I won’t tolerate that from him.”
“Maybe I can help,” I said, glancing between them and fiddling with my sleeves. “I mean, that’s kind of what we do with our bond. Help balance alphas.”
Or maybe Juniper can, since he can actually have a conversation with her.
“Oh, yeah!” Ez said, perking up. “And the doctor said he totally needed to get laid. Actually, he has been a bit better since the heat.”
Adrian rubbed his forehead and shot me an apologetic glance. Jhin sagged a bit in his chair.
“I understand if he’s too much, Kit, and if you don’t want to continue this.”
“I can try,” I said hopefully. “He is my mate, too. I get if he wants his space, but there must be some common ground. Maybe we can… co-exist.”
I mean, at the very least, he should be physically attracted to me. And if a doctor said he needed to ‘get laid’, I could start there.
I rubbed my nose. He was really hot. He had super thick lashes under a heavy brow, and even if he scowled all the time, it was with those beautiful, full lips.
Was it bad that I still wanted him to fuck me? And maybe have him sneer at me like that while he loomed over me, stripping my clothes off before telling me to bend over… I tried to cut the thoughts off, but my scent had already started to spike, and I stood up abruptly.
“I think I need a drink,” I said, and headed over to the bar.
I needed a lot of drinks.
JUNIPER
It was tense after Vander stormed out, but things at their table slowly settled back into a comfortable mood.
Eventually, Kit stood and stretched, drawing three pairs of hungry eyes to his navel. Plus mine. I looked away as another shot of heat and a cramp made me shudder.
Kit grinned and practically skipped over to me. I could tell he was a little tipsy.
“Okay, so don’t be mad, but I agreed to go to their apartment. Oh, fuck, not to like, stay over Juni, but Ez said he had this really rare figure of Kaizi Kai and I like, need to see it. We’ll just stop by, ‘kay?”
I frowned at him, but his puppy dog eyes were frighteningly powerful.
“Fine.” I slipped my laptop into its case. “See the figure. Then we’re going home.”
Kit nodded happily, before leaning closer to whisper.
“I mean, maybe I’ll fuck them a little bit in between," he snickered, and I raised my eyebrows. Okay, maybe he was more than a little tipsy.
“You can do that when you’re sober, Tiger,” I said, taking his arm.
“Aw. Juni. Please?” he pouted.
“I did not sign up for this.” We started walking back to the pack.
“I’m just saying, if you’ve got to suck Jhin’s?—”
I stepped on his foot, hard, and he yelped, before sulking again. I’d told him that before I knew he was going to meet them all. Hopefully, he didn’t mind that mental image.
We reached the pack, and I raised my chin, making sure to look at them as though everything was fine. Because it was.
“Kit said we’re stopping by your place for a brief visit?” I asked firmly.
“I’d definitely like to visit their briefs,” Kit mumbled, and I kicked his shoe. Ez gave a laugh that he turned into a cough with Jhin’s side eye.
“Yeah, our van’s over here," said Adrian.
Vander was sulking in the back of their white minivan, and didn’t even look up as they piled inside.
Kit and I followed them through the streets in my car, slowing finally when we started down Avalon, and then into a tall, grungy apartment complex. I pulled into a guest spot and locked the doors.
The pack met us and took us in through the stairs.
“Do you guys have an alpha suite?” Kit asked as we got into the dingy elevator.
“Yeah, but we split it with another pack,” Ez said. “It’s still a lot of space now though, compared to what we had before.”
The elevator dinged, and we walked down the corridor. Kit had slipped his arm through Ez’s, head resting on his shoulder. Jhin was just starting to turn the key in the lock when the door was yanked open. A young, skinny alpha with messy brown hair and baggy clothes slipped out, tugging the door mostly closed behind him. For some reason, his clothes were quite wet.
“Hey, Jhin! Funny thing, I was just about to call you—” He stopped as he saw me and Kit, eyes darting between us.
Kit was still leaning against Ez.
“Hey. ‘sup, I’m Travis McKracken,” he said, leaning back against the doorframe and giving me a casual nod. “Or you might know me as MC Kracken.”
I opened my mouth to tell him to fuck off, but before I could, Adrian’s hand slipped into mine, his cinnamon and pear scent flaring a bit. He stepped between me and Travis, giving him a dark look and making my cheeks heat a bit.
“That’s not even his real last name,” he muttered.
“It’s the pack name, so I?—”
“Travis,” Jhin said loudly, reclaiming his attention. “ Why were you about to call me?”
“So, are they both with you, or…?” Travis asked, and Jhin gave a little ahem that somehow managed to be menacing.
“Oh. Right, yeah, so there’s been a bit of an incident,” said Travis, looking back at Jhin. “Trevor and me were muckin’ around a bit and… well, turns out the sprinklers don’ like being hit.”
Jhin rubbed his forehead.
“Let me in, Travis,” his voice was tired and flat.
“Jus’ don’ worry—” Travis started, but Jhin pushed the door open and he scurried back. The apartment was flooded.
“Oh shit,” Ez said as we stared at the puddles of water covering most of the floor.
“You fucking morons ,” Vander snarled, and Travis took two large steps back.
“Look, we’re gonna sort it, right?” said Travis, looking very pale. “Tyler’s on it already, he’s making some calls.”
“Travis,” Jhin said, his voice flat. “Please go fetch your pack lead. Immediately.”
“Yeh, okay.” Travis splashed through the apartment, coming back with a huge, very angry looking alpha.
Jhin pulled him to the side, and they started talking in low voices. Vander had stalked off towards one of the rooms, muttering a string of curses as he went. Ez took off his shoes and socks, and splashed loudly into one of the back rooms. He came back with a tiny purple figure that he proudly presented to Kit.
Adrian was still holding my hand. Perhaps he’d forgotten about it.
Vander came back out of the room he’d disappeared into, holding a backpack and looking murderously around. He saw Travis and started stalking towards him, but the other alpha let out a yelp and dived into another room with a splash. There was a click as he turned the lock.
Kit and Ez were still enthusiastically nerding over the figurine when Jhin came back over.
“So. Tyler and his pack will sort all of this out. I’m going to write them a list of how to follow up and see if we have insurance, and get someone to clean this up. Obviously, we can’t stay here tonight, so everyone please go and pack an overnight bag and we’ll find a hotel,” he said.
“Hey! You guys should stay at ours tonight!” Kit piped up.
Ez brightened.
“No," said me and Vander at the same time.
“Oh, come on, we’d love to host you!” said Kit, sidling over to me, and tugging me to the side, out of Adrian’s hand.
I fixed him with my sternest stare.
“Kit, we only have two rooms.”
“Come on, Juni. You know my room’s essentially a spare room cuz I nest with you anyway. We even have a dryer they can use!”
“We barely know them!”
“We know Vander saved your life yesterday,” he said, raising his eyebrows.
Oof.
“And Vander said no!”
“Ignore him," said Ez loudly.
I glared in his direction.
Jhin and Adrian looked at each other.
“If you wouldn’t mind, Juniper, it would be very helpful to have access to a dryer," said Jhin in his smooth, solid voice. “Just for one night. We would, of course, respect any rules you need to feel comfortable.”
Everyone—except Vander—was looking at me.
I chewed my lip.
I couldn’t let alphas into our apartment. That was a fact, wasn’t it? But at some point, the Argo pack had become the exception in my mind. The idea of letting a pack of alphas into our apartment should make my skin crawl, but with them it… didn’t.
Moments like when Jhin had given me his handkerchief, or when Adrian had knelt to help me clean up that coffee spill. When Ez had escorted me up the stairs, or even fucking Vander when he’d shown up to make sure our door was locked in the middle of the night. I didn’t like feeling like I owed them something. So I could give them this, and then we’d be even. I’d be done with them.
“ One. Night, ” I gritted out.
Kit and Ez high-fived as I sighed. The pack started to pack.