I grab my phone from the nightstand and immediately find half a dozen increasingly frantic messages from Marcy.
Where are you?
Anita, your followers are LOSING IT.
You can’t just disappear for days without warning.
Are you alive???
ANITA, I SWEAR TO GOD!
If you don’t respond in 24 hours, I’m calling the police.
I panic slightly and quickly type back:So sorry! I actually had my heat, and four Alphas helped me through it. I’m fine. Better than fine. Amazing, actually.
Her response comes back almost instantly:FOUR?! FOUR ALPHAS?! ARE YOU INSANE? I NEED TO HEAR EVERYTHING IMMEDIATELY.
I laugh out loud and type:Promise I’ll tell you everything, but I’m guessing we need to do a session tonight?
Marcy: Your followers are going to hunt you down if you don’t. They’re going INSANE needing to know what happenedwith the investigation and where you’ve been. Yes, let’s do tonight. How soon can you be ready?
Me: Just give me a couple of hours. I need food desperately and to properly wake up and get things ready.
Marcy: You got it. I’ll be ready when you are.
I head downstairs following the most incredible smell—garlic, butter, meat cooking, something savory and perfect.
The kitchen and dining area come into view, and all four of them are there. Jasper is at the stove, Slater is setting the table, Mason is opening a bottle of wine, and Dylan is pulling something out of the oven.
Jasper grins when he spots me, looking up from whatever he’s stirring. “There she is. Sleeping Beauty awakens.”
Slater is on his feet first, crossing the space in three long strides, pulling me into his arms, and kissing me thoroughly. “How are you feeling? Ready for more?”
I laugh against his mouth. “I think I’m good for today. Pretty sure my heat has finally calmed down. But that was intense, right? Tell me that was abnormally intense.”
He chuckles, his hands warm on my waist. “It was spectacular, and I will never forget it for as long as I live. None of us will.”
“Best days of my entire existence,” Mason confirms from across the room, raising his wineglass in a toast.
Jasper just grins wider. “Unforgettable.”
Dylan pops out of the kitchen, carrying a massive plate piled high with creamy mashed potatoes, perfectly seared steaks, and roasted vegetables that smell like heaven.
I’m literally drooling just staring at the table. “You have no idea how hungry I am. I might eat everything on that table by myself.”
They bring me to a chair, all five of us settling down, and the moment I cut into my steak, I moan embarrassingly loud.
“God, this is incredible,” I say around my first bite.
“You’re starving for meat,” Dylan observes with dancing eyes.
I point my fork at him. “Don’t.”
“Can’t get enough of it in you, apparently,” he continues with a straight face.
I laugh so hard I nearly choke, then grab the dinner roll from my plate and throw it at his head. It bounces off his forehead perfectly.
“Inappropriate!” I declare, but I’m grinning.
