Page 89 of Rhett

I stared at the mouthwatering spread on the low table. “Thank you so much, Imani.”

She winked at me. “You’re family now.”

I smiled, touched by the genuine friendship and family that she offered me.

Imani, Nyx, Izzy, and I packed our plates with food.

“Sorry, Rose. I didn’t bring enough vegetarian options,” Imani lamented.

Rose loaded her plate with fruit. “No worries, darling. I’m just happy to be here in the company of new and old friends.”

We all sat on pillows, tucking into our food.

Taking a sip of coffee, I moaned when I recognized the tastes of brown sugar, milk chocolate, honey, and a hint of a bright fruit flavor. “Is this Kona coffee?” I asked Imani.

Imani grinned. “Yes. It was made with a hundred Kona beans from Hawaii’s most celebrated craft roaster.”

My eyes widened. “Well, ain’t you fancy.” I adored Kona coffee for its smoothness but didn’t drink it often because it was quite pricey, especially the single-origin options.

“Small town don’t mean small budget,” Nyx quipped with a wink.

“Let’s enjoy our meal,” Rose ordered while sipping coffee. “Isn’t this picnic so much fun?”

“I’m here for Nova and the food,” Izzy said around a mouthful of taco.

Nyx jabbed Izzy in the side. “We have to do this again.”

I laughed. “Hopefully next time it will be outside the station.”

“I would stream music from the app on my cell,” Nyx said, “but those fuckers outside would probably hear it and have a fit.”

Imani speared a piece of pineapple. “Knowing them, they’d rather hear the sounds of loud wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

“Sadistic assholes,” Izzy retorted. “I want to sage the hell out of them, ridding them of all that negative energy seeping from their pores.”

Picking up another popover, I took a bite of the cheesy, bacon goodness. “I didn’t realize how ugly people could get, but last night was horrible. The rage and hate that I felt and smelled wafting from the crowd were so thick, I could practically taste them.”

Izzy stared at me with wide eyes. “If you smelled that riotous sludge, that means your animal is awake.”

“She’s been awake since the owl-shifter attack,” I divulged.

“And the lucky man is?” Rose cooed.

“Rhett,” I answered. “And yes, our eyes turned amber last night.”

Rose slapped a hand over her heart. “Ooh, my goodness. Shifter jackpot. Rhett is a good man. When the unmated females find out he’s off the single market, they’ll turn green with envy.”

“I think they already know,” Izzy said. “That’s why there’re more women outside foaming at the mouth.”

“Straight-up jealousy,” Nyx contributed.

Rose shook her head. “It’s so sad when women don’t support one another.”

“True that,” Imani agreed.

“Their eyes turned amber in the presence of each other, so the mating match is official now,” Rose said. “Those jealous hags protesting outside is just sour grapes.”

“I’m just happy it’s official,” Nyx admitted. “You’re staying in the Ridge, right?” she asked with her fork midway to her mouth.