Page 176 of All Packed Up

“Maybe a bit,” he conceded.

“All I did was make him a list,” Arlo interjected, lifting his head from Tate’s chest. “The rest was all Grif.”

Each cheese was already sliced, ready to grab, no knives necessary.

Wendy went for a slice of creamy-looking cheddar and bit a corner off. It melted on her tongue in a buttery texture of tangy flavor. Then she went for the carbs, grabbing crackers to pair with the cheese.

It was quiet in the tent as they munched, and Wendy’s heat was content simmering for the moment. As polaroid snapshots of her heat so far flashed across her mind, she chased a shiver away and tugged the sheet up over her breasts.

Oh yeah, she was still naked too.

Wasn’t much a point to dressing when her waves were getting closer together.

But they were eating…

“Finally cold like a normal human?” Grif snorted as soon as Wendy took a drink of her water.

Something soft landed in her face, obscuring her vision. She froze, wondering at the audacity of some alphas. Who did he think he w—

Her mouth watered as she breathed in, her annoyance melting away as Griffith’s fresh baked honeyed cornbread scent invaded her senses.

And the shirt was still warm.

Resisting the urge to crawl over the cheese tray and rub herself all over the alpha, she lowered her water bottle and capped it without looking before pulling the fabric off her head.

“You didn’t even turn it right side out,” she complained, proud she’d found something to say instead of submitting to her baser urges of thanking the alpha.

Nic chuffed a laugh at them while Wendy pulled the shirt over her head. She silently inhaled as it passed over her face, getting one last hit of that decadent alpha smell.

But she was taking that secret to the grave. Handsome alpha be damned.

An apple was perfect to scoop into the melty brie, and Wendy couldn’t help but wiggle happily at the treat.

“What time is it?” she asked.

Her heats usually never lasted longer than a day, but inside the soft glow of the tent, it was like a world of their own amongst the pillows and blankets and alphas and Nic. It could be any time of the day and she’d have no idea.

“It’s close to midnight.”

Wendy hummed at the information provided by the beta. It had only been around one in the afternoon when her and Griffith had returned from shopping.

Alpha.

Wendy winced. It’d only been a handful of hours, and she’d already given into Griffith. Heat hormones were that strong.

Or maybe Griffith was just so… alpha.

She noticed neither of them attempted to help themselves to the cheese, so she prepared a cracker and handed it to the beta.

“Well, Grif… thanks. Guess you aren’t like, a terrible alpha after all.”

“Gee, thanks,” said alpha replied dryly.

“You’re welcome,” Wendy retorted cheerily, munching on another apple paired with—she didn’t even care. She didn’t care at this point, it was like her body realized she was fucking starving. Chasing the bite down with a sip of water, she went back for more almost immediately.

“Speaking of not so terrible alphas,” she began, catching Nic’s gaze with a curious tilt to her head, “and the conversation that shall not be spoken of… I think love is kind of special. And I think it would be sad to let it wilt.”

“Oh, would you?” Nic asked, crossing his arms.