"Since seventh grade." I sit up, trying to tame my tangled hair. "Once she sang the entire Rent soundtrack at a slumber party. The parents called the police thinking someone was being murdered."
Harmony's lips twitch. "That tracks."
The shower cuts off. Thirty seconds later, Stacey bursts through the bathroom door in a cloud of steam, wrapped in a towel barely containing her curves, wet braids dripping down her back.
"Good morning, sunshine!" She strikes a pose. "Who's ready for breakfast and an adventure?"
"No adventures." I pull the blanket over my head. "Just coffee. And silence."
"Not happening." Stacey yanks the blanket away. "Today we explore this adorable town and find Harmony a pack."
Harmony goes pale. "Over my dead body."
"Don't tempt me." Stacey pulls on a hot pink sweater declaring ALPHA MAGNET in silver glitter letters. "You've been hiding for months. Time to rejoin humanity."
"I don't want to rejoin humanity." Harmony's voice goes small, anxious. "Humanity takes photos and posts them online and ruins everything."
"Jessica, back me up."
I look between them. Harmony's hunched shoulders radiating fear. Stacey's determined expression promising she won't take no for an answer. The way my omega hums contentedly knowing my pack is somewhere in this house making breakfast.
"One coffee shop," I offer. "Low pressure."
Harmony looks ready to argue, but Stacey's already throwing clothes at her.
Twenty minutes later, we're downstairs.
The kitchen smells like pancakes and bacon and alpha pheromones so thick I nearly trip walking through the doorway. All four of them are crammed around the island, plates piled high, arguing about hockey statistics with the intensity of men who've been fighting about sports their entire lives.
"Morning." Sergio's eyes find me immediately. He's wearing a navy henley that does illegal things to his shoulders, hair still damp from the shower. "Coffee?"
“No, we’re going to the coffee shop.”
Carlos looks up from his pancakes, spots Stacey's shirt, and grins. "Alpha Magnet. Subtle."
"I don't do subtle." Stacey helps herself to bacon straight from the serving plate. Jessica's giving us the grand tour."
"Tour of what?" Pedro's eyebrow rises. "There's a general store, a coffee shop, and and Irish bar that hasn't updated its menu since 1987."
"Perfect." Stacey beams at him. "We need to scout local talent."
Four sets of alpha eyes zero in on her immediately.
"Not for Jessica," she adds quickly. “The other omega in the room, Harmony. Jessica's clearly very occupied."
Carlos snorts into his coffee. Nacho stands from the table, already reaching for his keys.
"I'll drive you."
"We can walk," I protest weakly.
"It's cold. I'm driving." His tone allows no argument. "And I need something in town anyway."
The subtext is clear. He's not letting us wander around town without pack protection.
My omega purrs.
Twenty minutes later, we're piling out of Nacho's cruiser in the town square. Largo Waters looks like a postcard. Brick storefronts. White church steeple. That ridiculous fountain already drained for winter.
