Page 52 of All Packed Up

Nic chuckled. “We all thought so at one point, I’m sure.”

The conversation trailed off into an awkward silence, the elephant in the room breathing down his neck. But he didn’t want to be the one to bring it up. At least not right now, when he was so on edge from the strangers in his home.

Nic would be here a while if this pack was as dangerous as he’d claimed on the phone. They would have time to visit memory lane later.

Griffith would make sure of it.

“Did you sleep alright last night?” Grif asked, changing the subject.

The unfolding of Nic’s brows indicated he was relieved, before his expression morphed into a wince. “Uh... no offense, but I woke up on the floor this morning.”

He knew it. “Damned blow-up mats aren’t worth anything,” Griffith scoffed.

Nic chuckled. “Is there a store we could grab some stuff at? I’m sorry if that seems excessive, but…”

This was an omega they were talking about. “You’re waiting for her to go into heat, right? Are those alphas part of her pack?” He tilted his head toward the ceiling, referencing the two tagalongs.

Nic sighed. “No. It’s not my story to tell, but the pack she left behind are… not good alphas,” Nic offered, brow furrowing. “Those two came along to help protect her, and because we kind of got them all mixed up in this and didn’t want to leave them behind to deal with her pack alone.”

Griffith felt his blood boil at just the thought. “Is she okay?”

“As okay as anyone can be in her position. Once her heat is over, we’re going to help her figure out what to do next.”

Grif had seen her bite scar, and he’d wrongly assumed it must have belonged to one of the alphas that tagged along, even though their scents hadn’t been meshed like a bonded pair. Now he knew her mark, shiny and healed over, was just an iridescent stain of her past.

He knew what that was like.

His first instinct was to protect this omega from whatever, or whoever, was in her past.

“Her heat won’t hit if she’s on a blow-up mattress,” Grif murmured. This was going to be complicated.

“Yeah,” Nic agreed into his coffee mug.

Creaking steps gave way to new visitors, and the pair of alphas rounded the corner. The blond one was clearly more awake, while… Arlo stumbled toward the coffee pot with single-minded focus.

“Mugs in the cabinet above the grinder,” Griffith directed. With his back to the living room, he had a clear view into the kitchen where Arlo began his task.

“Morning,” Tate offered, pausing by the table Nic and Grif were seated at. “Hope we didn’t interrupt.”

“Actually, you came in at a great time,” Griffith began, and tugged out the chair to his right.

Tate slid smoothly into the chair just as Arlo plodded over and sat a coffee mug in front of him.

“Thanks,” Tate said, wrapping a defined hand around the mug and pulling it close. Tate kicked out the chair across from him, providing room for Arlo to plop into it and stare down blearily into his own steaming coffee.

This was a routine for them.

“Why is this a great time?” Nic asked, a confused tilt to his head. It was possibly the most adorable thing Griffith had ever seen, but he somehow refrained from blurting that aloud.

He had some decorum.

“Because we’re gonna need help building a bed for the omega.”

“What now?” Nic asked, blinking at him.

Griffith couldn’t help the smirk that quirked his lips, part bitterness, part humor. “The thing about living this far out is there’s no Ikea. And no, buying online isn’t an option, it would take too long, and it seems like you guys are kind of in a rush.”

Griffith wished Nic was blushing for a totally different reason. Any other reason.