Page 40 of Pack of Crooks

“I’m not sorry for scaring you when you smell this fucking delicious.”

“You’re unhinged,” I whisper, biting my lip to keep from smiling.

“Oh, totally,” he says, groaning as he breathes me in again. The rumble of his voice sends a shiver down my spine and strawberries and musk thicken in the air around us. “God, your scent?—”

“Wolf.”

That one word from Ezra pulls Kill back. The red X eyes gaze down at me, and I can picture the reluctance cutting across his face as he extracts himself, stepping back a respectable distance.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I say a little too enthusiastically. They all chuckle and I glance down, hating that I’m being so obvious. Men don’t like that.

“Hey, Prey?”

My gaze lifts to meet Ezra’s. “Yeah?”

“It’s your first night. I’ll let Wolf rub himself all over you when the others aren’t here, okay?”

My stomach flutters. “Okay,” I breathe, excitement zinging through me.

“Speaking of, we should send her out,” Maddox murmurs, fingers brushing my arm as he strides past me to open the door. “Looks like our prey is here to join the party,” he tells the other members of Resistentia, gesturing me forward.

My mind snags on the way he said it.Our prey. Does he mean it like his pack’s prey or Resistentia’s prey? Do they want me to make this courting like social media official? Prey and her merry band of psychos. Oh! We could make T-shirts. Too fast, Hazel. You’re moving too fast.

Head held high and ignoring the heat prickling across my skin, I walk toward Maddox’s extended hand. The second I join him, he drops his arm around my shoulder. The gesture is reassuring and almost protective as he guides me into the hub. “Who wants to mentor her?”

The two people I haven’t met—both men—raise their hands. Maddox shakes his head. “No.” That one word is full of possession.

The raised hands fall. Bubblepop laughs, stands up, and walks over. “Guess that means you’re mine,Prey.”

Maddox’s mask turns toward her, and I picture a warning glare.Don’t touch my omega.

An omega can dream, right?

She links her arm with mine and I step toward her. Maddox hesitates for a beat before letting me go.

He takes us in, the X eyes of his mask glowing as they settle on us. “Fine. Don’t fuck with her.”

“You got it, boss.” Bubblepop tugs on my arm, pulling me to a vacant desk. The thrumming of my pulse calms with every step away from the pack, and I mourn the loss of adrenaline. The way the pack makes me feel.

“This is exciting,” she says, guiding me to a seat and grabbing a chair for herself. “The pack is definitely vibing with you.”

“Are they always like this?”

The Ghost Face mask takes me in. “Never.”

Did you see that? That was me swooning at the thought of being special.

“Oh.”

She nods. “You, my little bunny foo foo, are a treat. Working with a bunch of bros can be boring. I love a little drama.”

“So I’m the entertainment?”

“Yes, but,” she turns on the computer and monitors, “you’re also exactly what the pack needs.”

“What makes you say that?”