Page 70 of Alphas Like Us

No.

Beckett is giving the window a biggerwhat the fuckface.

Sulli cringes. “This is fuckedup.”

Donnelly stands and shuffles between the air mattresses. Trying to reach thedoor.

“No.” Akara points at him, still texting. “No one do anything yet. Don’t turn on a lamp. They’ll be able to see the room light up from thestreet.”

Donnelly listens and stays put, and Thatcher towers at a stance, guarding theexit.

Oscar studies the window again. “We can tell these drunk fucks that this isn’t Maximoff’s room. Get Jane to call out tothem—”

“No,” Thatcher interjects. “Then they’ll start harassingher.”

“I can do it,” Luna offers. “This can be my room.” My sister starts peeking beneath thecurtain—

“Luna, don’t!” I yell, and before I try to slide off the bed, Janie is already pulling my sister away from thewindowpanes.

Paparazzi wait on the street nightly. Camera lenses are constantly pointed at my window. And there is a 100% chance of hecklers with a shower of ridiculetonight.

I don’t want that for any of my family orSFO.

Quinn adjusts the curtains, the room fully obscured from thestreet.

Farrow eyes me and twists his silverrings.

“FARROW! MAXIMOFF!! WHO’S THEBOTTOM?!”

I glower. Bloodboiling.

Oscar quickly heads over to Jack and Akara, speaking hushed to both ofthem.

I’m puttingFarrowin this fucked-up situation. If he weren’t in a public relationship with me, no one would shout that on a goddamn citystreet.

“WHO TAKES IT IN THEASS?!”

Are you fucking kiddingme?

I’m about to stand, but Farrow draws me back on thebed.

Swiftly, he turns sideways and tents his legs over mine. Caging me. “Don’t let that shit bother you,” he says easily, and in his peripheral, he’s watching SFO figure out a plan. “Because my natural instinct is to defend you, wolf scout, and I know yours is to defend me, but we’re a target together and we have to take some of these hits.” He stares deeper intome.

Someof thesehits.

Not all ofthem.

We both have our limits. But these hecklers shouldn’t be a breaking point. This is easy in comparison to what else could be thrown atFarrow.

My chestrises.

People have always tried to hurt who I love. My parents, my sisters, my brother, all of my fucking family. Attacks from online, from on thestreet.

And now the world knows that I loveFarrow.

Youknow that I’m inlove.

Forreal.