"Ness?"
I clear my throat and stare down at the pretzel. "Uh… I'm between homes at the moment. I left New York, and I'm still deciding where I want to go after my visit here."
Mason leans forward. "What happened with the pack you were seeing?"
"Who says something happened?" I ask, raising a brow.
He shrugs. "Just a hunch."
The words slip out before I can second-guess myself. "After a few dates, I realized they weren't what I wanted and broke it off with them. Then I started noticing them everywhere I went and didn't feel safe sticking around. It was probably me overreacting, but I didn't want to take any chances." I'm surprised at how easy it is to tell them the truth.
"Why would a pack be so obsessed with you?" Zayne asks, frowning at me.
"I know I'm not the prettiest omega out there, Zayne," I hiss out, and his eyes widen. "But I'm still an omega, and the fuckers needed one. I don't need this shit from you guys."
I get up from my seat, ready to storm off, regretting telling them anything, when Zayne growls out, "Sit down."
It's not a full alpha command, but I plant my butt back on the seat and glare at him. "What?"
"Baby girl," he growls, and my pussy clenches at the nickname. Or the tone of his voice. Or both. "The last time we saw you, you were eighteen and a beta. You being an omega is news to us. As gorgeous as you are, alphas barely get possessive over betas."
I look at him, stunned. "My parents never told you?"
He shakes his head and smiles at me sadly. "They failed to mention that part every time we asked about you. They did, however, suggest many times over the last six years to go up to New York and visit you."
"Which I now very much regret never doing," Mason grumbles and Silas nods in agreement.
"Why didn't you?" I whisper, not sure if I want to know or not.
They all share a glance, and I shift nervously in my seat. Finally, after what feels like hours but could only have been a few seconds, Silas answers me. "We didn't think you'd want to see us. Not with how you left."
"I didn't." Not at first. But after being gone for a few months, I started dreaming of them showing up and begging me to come back.
But they never did.
"And now?" Zayne asks, his stormy gray eyes seeing everything I couldn't voice.
"I'm looking right at you, Zayne."
He frowns. "That's not what I-"
"Anyway," Silas cuts him off and smiles at me. The same crooked smile I remember from all those years ago, but somehow different. Better. "What are you doing this weekend?"
I shrug, trying to catch up with the sudden topic change. "Nothing? Spending time with my parents."
"We're all going up to the cabin. Would you like to come with us?"
Mason sighs, shoving Silas hard enough that he almost goes flying out of his seat. Pinning me with his signature smirk, Mason says, "He's a little abrupt, but he means well."
Silas tries to shove Mason, but he's a lot bigger than he was when we were teenagers and doesn't budge. Silas curses and pulls his ear instead. Still the same rowdy boys I remember. "It could be like old times, Ness. Come with us."
"If you want to," Zayne grunts, glaring at his two best friends.
I look around at the three of them and feel my eyebrows rising. I'm struggling with how easily they're talking to me, inviting me to go on a trip with them like six years haven't passed. Then my brain catches up. "Wait, how did you know about the pack I was dating? I never told my parents about them."
Zayne shrugs. "It's what I do."
I narrow my eyes at him. "What does that even mean?"
