Page 4 of The Packaged Deal
I shake my head. I am so freaking tired. “Not really.”
“What’s going on?”
What can I say? That I wake up after an hour or two of sleep and pace my house all night with this feeling that something is missing. “It's just nightmares.”
Sven reaches out, putting a friendly hand on my thigh. I jerk my eyes to his face, but there is no sign of flirting, no sign of anything but concern for a friend. I scowl at the door.
“What’s that frown for, Addy?”
“Sven,” I groan, “Don't call me Addy.”
He chuckles, the sound gives me goosebumps. “It’s who you are, though. You're Addy.”
“To everyone else, I'm the scary lone alpha, Adrian. Or Doctor Shultz. No one else would dare to call me Addy.”
“No one else knows you like I do,” Sven murmurs.
I close my eyes. “Sven,” I growl in warning.
Sven shifts closer, and for a moment, I feel his hot breath on my cheek. My whole body turns to stone. His scent is so faint it’s barely there. He never will tell me how he suppresses it, but the licorice teases my senses, making me feel giddy. I inhale deeply and hold him in my lungs, and then the couch shifts as he sits back, further away from me.
Again.
Like usual.
I open my eyes and sit forward with my elbows on my knees. I can’t help the bitter disappointment every single time this happens. It’s torture.
“Addy, I'm sorry,” Sven murmurs. “If I'd met you first-”
“Look, Sven, I'm not here for that. I'm here for the girl. I have to go anyway. I need to go wake up Montford.”
“I'll come with you.”
I flinch. We both ignore it. I grab up my keys and lead the way out of the factory. We don’t talk on the way over to the pack house. I wait behind Sven as he knocks on the door.
Angel opens it with a fierce glare. Detective Angel Montford is a pretty, pretty man. His eyes hold something hard inside them like he will gladly rip you apart. What he lacks in height he makes up for in an aura of danger. Also, some idiot gave this moron a badge.
“What the fuck, Sven?” Angel growls. “Does anyone in this city sleep at night?”
Soren, one of Pack Montford’s two omegas, sporting pink and yellow hair, yanks the door open and turns away. “Come in,” he calls over his shoulder, strutting in a direct tease to his alpha.
Angel turns with a growl and snags the waist of his omega, whispering in his ear. Soren laughs and pats Angel’s cheek before pressing a chaste kiss to his lips.
“We need to speak to Hazel,” I say to cut through their romance. I do not need to see this tonight. “Urgently.”
“Adrian?” Hazel asks from the hallway. She still retains that delicate beauty, looking breakable, but her face has so much joy in it in now. The streaky brown hair is disheveled and in a loose bun, and her eyes are clearly amused, at what, I don’t know. “What are you doing here?”
I clear my throat. “I was called into the Omega Refuge tonight-”
“Is Silver okay?”
I frown and glance at Angel. “Who? Who is Silver?”
“Oh, Onyx’s sister, but nevermind, tell me what happened.” Hazel looks away, her cheeks flushed.
Onyx has a sister? No, I'm getting distracted.
“I was called in because a girl was found beaten half to death. When she came to, she refused to give me her name, said she had no family, but she knew Onyx and Hazel.”