Page 27 of Pack Me Up

Nobody says anything. The only sound is the hum of the fridge, two rooms away.

Colton breaks the silence. “We won’t let them get to you,” he says, and even though it’s a cliché, it sounds like a contract.

Cody nods, slower, but with the same certainty. “That’s what we do.”

Saint says nothing, but his hands curl into fists. I know that look. It’s the same one he gets before he punches a wall or calls a lawyer.

Hunter leans forward. “You worried about the tour?”

Brittney nods, eyes shining but not crying. “It’s a big stage and easy to find me. I want to do it, but I can’t be looking over my shoulder all the time. That’s why I said yes to the security thing. I thought… I don’t know. Maybe with you guys, I’d have a chance.”

Her voice goes soft at the end, like she’s embarrassed to admit she needs help.

Cody’s already scanning the room, like he’s looking for snipers in the ficus. Colton shifts closer, closing the space between his chair and her on the couch, just enough to bump her knee with his.

Brittney flinches at first, then lets the contact sit.

Hunter’s bouncing his leg, the nervous energy leaking out in every direction. “We’ll kill anyone who comes for you,” he says, not joking at all.

The words hang in the air, heavy and sharp.

It’s too much. I see the way Brittney’s breathing speeds up, the way her body sinks back against the velvet throw I brought down. The room is saturated with alpha intensity, and she’s drowning in it.

I get up and signal for them all to move back so I can put space between the alphas and Britney. I’m not thinking, just moving, and say, “They’re alphas. They want to protect you, and they would never hurt you.”

Saint rolls his eyes, but the tension in his jaw eases. “We will try not to overwhelm you.”

Brittney looks at me, really looks, and the fear flickers. “The way I was raised… It’s left a mark. I have anxiety, I hate crowds, and I’m always looking over my shoulder.”

There’s a pause, and I take it. I put my hand on her shoulder, gentle and light. “We’re not just your security. We’re the pack that wants to court you, if you want us.”

Brittney looks from me to Colton to Cody to Hunter, then finally up at Saint. “I thought you’d just…claim me. Like, make it official. That’s what usually happens.”

That’s what she thought? We needed to make this more straightforward from the start, but we didn’t want to come on too strong.

Saint shakes his head, slow and certain. “Not with us. We will give you all the time you want.”

Cody gives her a crooked smile. “We want to court you.”

“Until you’re as obsessed with us as we are with you,” Colton adds.

Hunter’s tone is dead serious. “We’ll protect you and we’ll wait for you, too.”

She leans into my side, just a little. “Okay,” she whispers. “I’d like that. I’ll move in here with you so I can get to know you and keep myself safe.”

The room changes, all at once. Each alpha eliminates the space I just forced them to give her. The tension breaks, and in its place is something looser, lighter. Colton slings an arm around Brittney’s shoulder, Cody relaxes into the couch, Saint sits on the armrest instead of looming, and even Hunter’s breathing slows.

We sit like that for a while, not talking, just being. Brittney’s pulse slows under my hand. I feel the warmth of her, the shape of the future flexing into something that could hold all of us together.

Brittney

OMEGA BUZZ GOSSIP COLUMN

STADIUMS SELL OUT FOR MENDED HART TOUR

April 22nd

Istand in the hallway and watch as each member of the Phoenix Pack brings my meager belongings into their house. It only took one truckload to bring over the things I’ve collected since leaving my parents. Their house already looks different than the last time I was here, the space is clean, decorated, and cozy. It’s like they stayed up all night making it perfect for me.