Once Hunter released me, Cora wiggled her way through the alphas and threw her arms around me, careful not to touch Slade, who stood close to my left side. “I’ve never been so fuckingturned on in my life watching you take on the boys like that,” she breathed against my ear, and I heard Warrick groan in the background as he muttered.
“Fucking great. Not only did I lose to these bastards again, but now I have an erection while standing in the middle of the Reeves pack.”
Cora threw her head back and laughed. “Don’t worry, mate. I’ll take care of that soon.”
She barely got the sentence finished before she was snatched out of my arms and thrown over Warrick’s shoulder. “Carry on without us,” he said, as he stormed off. “I need to have a little chat with my mate.”
Over his shoulder, Cora waggled her eyebrows at me, and I covered my mouth to hide my laughter. I couldn’t believe I’d ever thought she was prim and proper. Sure, on the outside she held an air of refinement, but beneath that calm facade she was all fire.
“Have fun, kids,” Kellan called, and then he grasped my hand, tugging on it gently. “Let’s do presents while they’re gone.”
I planted my feet and shook my head. “This is more than enough present for me. I’ve never had a better day, and… anything more would be overkil?—”
Finley caught my eye, and while his expression remained neutral, I couldn’t help but recall what he’d said earlier. While parts of today would be too much for me, it made my pack happy.
And making them happy was one of my goals in life.
No one pushed me, and I found myself saying, “Thank you for one of the best days of my life. Let’s do presents.”
Hunter’s hand wrapped around the back of my neck in a possessive squeeze. “Good girl,” he rasped in a low voice near my ear. “You’ll be rewarded for that later.”
Okay, then. Presents were now thesecond-bestway to end this day.
CHAPTER 30
EMME
Kellan led me into what he dubbed the “present room,” which was actually a private parking lot on the other side of the main entrance. This one had metal gates to lock it off from the rest of the track, and at first I couldn’t figure out why we were here, until we reached a large shipping container.
Crap. What had my insanely generous alphas gotten me for my birthday?
“Mine first,” Kellan chanted as he dropped my hand to dash for the doors of the container.
He lifted the latch with his free hand and swung both sides open.
“Are you guys kidnapping me and shipping me off to another country?” I joked, trying to peer in through the opening. It was too dark to see much more than the first few feet in, and there were no visible presents there.
“If we could find a country where you’d be safe,” Hunter grumbled, while Slade nodded and said, “Excellent idea.”
Okay, then. No more giving them ideas.
Kellan disappeared into the depths of that massive unit, and I tried not to fidget as I waited for him to return. Slade steppedin closer until his heat caressed my spine, and I sucked down a groan when he pressed his hand to my lower back, as he’d done that day in Silver City. Grounding and comforting me.
Kellan was back in no time, wheeling a familiar but also unfamiliar motorcycle. Joy lit up in my chest as I ran my gaze over the newest Ducati Panigali to come into my life. It was an almost exact replica of the one I’d lost in the blast, but I could tell that this was brand new, with a differently designed color scheme.
“Kellan, you beautiful alpha.” I huffed in excitement. “Oh my goddess. You got me another bike? I don’t even know what to say.”
I was crying, which was partly why I hadn’t wanted to do presents—it was just too much for me. These alphas seemed to crave my stronger emotions though, as they all watched my tears like they wanted to lick them from my face.
“Baby,” Kellan laughed, and then shook his head as he caressed my face, wiping up the tears, “this is absolutely nothing, but I’m thrilled to see your pretty face this time when I hand over the dream bike.” He turned to shoot the other alphas a gloating stare. “Dream fucking bike for our dream mate.”
When he released me, I gave my bike all the attention she deserved. I brushed my hand across the silky paint, noting that this time it was mostly black with a few pink accents. Across the tank was a flaming pink wolf head, and the leather seat was wrapped in the same shade. “It’s perfect,” I rasped. “I love it, and I love you, Kellan Jackson.”
His grin was so wide it almost split his damn face as he leaned over and kissed me. “That’s not all, pretty mate.” He left me to caress the seat as he grabbed a black and pink leather jacket with Shortcake stitched across the back and the same wolf and flames embroidered below, along with a black and pink helmet. Lastly, he had a set of hardcover books in a boxed set.
I stared at the books, and he shot me the cheekiest grin so far. “Now these are really a birthday present for me, because I plan on reading this spicy-as-fuck series to you every night, and then we’re going to reenact the scenes.”
The very thought had heat rising in my cheeks, which helped stem my emotional tears. “When is your birthday?” I asked him, realizing I wanted to make their days as special as they’d made mine.
