Page 98 of The Packaged Deal
He was like a carnival coming into my one-person home town. All shiny and full of lights and colours, sounds and scents. He was exciting, and we had so much in common. It was easy to be his friend.
It was natural to fall in love.
Kandi is a person I trust. A woman I’ve never seen as a threat but as an equal. I wasn’t lying when I said she was family. She’s pack.
Jade is the bigger picture, showing me the pieces I was holding and how they fit into my life.
Jade. She’s midnight magic. A black mysterious void with diamonds twinkling in her. Something that shouldn’t exist in my rational world.
I close my eyes. Do I deserve her?
Does it matter?
She’s chosen me. Her heat is here. There’s no backing out.
I couldn’t back out, even if I wanted to.
I never dreamed I could be so fortunate. I never dreamed I’d meet a pack of my own.
But now that I have them, I’m never letting them go.
One bond at a time, I’ll make my pack mine.
What do I need certificates for? No, what I need is them. The crazy warmth of a manic little omega, the teasing, sultry seduction of my alpha, and the solid camaraderie of the beta who I could easily see myself becoming friends for life with.
I pull the door closed on my office, shutting all those self-doubts away. In the back of my dark house, I hear the soft inviting murmurs of my pack and head in that direction.
If I do this, I’m making a choice. I will embrace them, but I will reach out and embrace all the things I’ve avoided. I’ll be a worthy alpha to my pack.
When I walk in, Kandi hands me a plate of spaghetti and gestures to the spot at the table. Jade has a fork poised in mid-air while she stares at Sven, intently listening to a story he’s telling with a grin that makes my chest flutter.
It’s such a strange and warm picture, it’s a picture I want to keep. A world I want to fight for. This is the future I’m going to dream of now.
twenty-six
Jade
My pack is starting to feel like a pack. The warmth in my chest is growing. I steal out of the room and spot a door that has been calling to me. This morning, Adrian had shown me what is supposed to be the nest.
I say ‘supposed to’ because it looked like a nest; it was all fluffy and cute, and I tried to smile and be grateful, but my skin had crawled. That was not my nest. Nope, I have the perfect pack, the perfect home, now I just need to find the perfect nest.
When the door opens, I almost turn around and back away. The stairwell is thin and steep, but I climb up, driven by need. When I get up to the top, my mouth falls open.
Oh, this is perfect. The attic has a huge space, a sloped roof that makes it feel cozy. It’s clear, of course, it is. Adrian is too much of a control freak to allow a single room in his home to be less than perfect.
What’s even more exciting is the huge bed up here. I wander the space. There’s a skylight, power. Lights. The walls are painted a deep burgundy, and there’s five mismatched rugs lying on the floors that are all in creams and greys.
There’s a feeling. The first time I got it was when I saw the other omegas and realised I didn’t have to be what my mother decided I was. When I saw Adrian for the first time, I felt it. When I saw Sven, I felt it. It grew in my chest over time with Kandi until it was as strong as what I felt for the alphas. I’m getting that feeling right now.
I’m calling that feeling destiny. Or fate.
An hour later, I’m even more convinced than I was before. This is the place that will be my nest.
I've become the world’s best thief. I’ve stolen food and snuck it up to the nest. Bottles of water. Their clothing, my clothing. A huge stash of the softest blankets I've ever felt got carried up there. All the pillows I can find, and I found that Kandi keeps rocks, glittery crystals. I brought them up, too.
The urgency isn’t easing. It’s growing. I need to have everything right. Just right. I steal back down and find Adrian sitting on the couch, writing in his diary. I straddle his lap and rub my face against his.
“You okay?”