Page 49 of All Packed Up

But his hands were clammy and heat rushed to his face. He increased his pace and took the stairs two at a time—before coming to a complete halt.

“Whatcha doing?” he asked Wendy.

The omega froze, turning to him guiltily in the middle of the hallway, torn between the two rooms they were supposed to sleep in. Her hands were full with his backpack.

Wendy’s cheeks flushed, but she continued her journey anyway. “I don’t wanna sleep alone,” Wendy explained. “So you’re moving into my room.”

“Why not mine?” Nic challenged.

Wendy arched a brow. “Because mine’s bigger.”

A laugh sounded from behind him, and Nic flinched. He’d forgotten the alpha was even there, let alone watching Wendy inform his ex that yes, they had slept together, and probably would do so again.

Nic cleared his throat and carried the last of their bags in.

“If you’re sure,” Nic said once he dropped the bags next to the bed. Well… blow-up mattress. It wouldn’t be the comfiest place to sleep, but Nic wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. “I don’t want to mess with your omega… ah, vibes?”

Her pink lips curled up into a smile. “Vibes, huh? I like that. You’re familiar,” Wendy explained, and curled herself around one of his arms. His cheeks heated, his brain struggled to fire their synapses, and he glanced down at her.

Her blue eyes were laced with mischievousness, and she slid them in the alpha’s direction.

Following her subtle hint, he glanced toward Griffith, where he was setting down the litter pan.

And in the second it took for him to stand, Grif’s gaze fell to the grip she had on Nic’s arm, and something in his features… tightened?

Was Griffith jealous Wendy was clinging to Nic? He’d met the omega five minutes ago!

“I’m going to let you guys get some sleep. If you need something and can’t find it, come get me, but there should be towels and stuff.”

“Okay, we will. Thank you again,” Nic said, hoping his voice didn’t betray his nerves.

Griffith nodded, his dark hair falling across his forehead, and left the room.

“So, what do you think?” Wendy asked, stepping back.

Nic blinked. “About what? The room you picked? It’s nice.” Done in natural, clean wood tones, Nic could tell Griffith had put a lot of care into maintaining it. But what had happened to all the furniture? All that remained was a wide dresser.

“No, Nic,” she said with a sigh. It drew his attention, and he glanced away from the decor. Wendy stared at him as if he were dumb. “You said he’s your ex, so I’m trying to prove that you won.”

“Won? Won what?” Was this a game?

“The breakup,” she hissed, exasperated.

Nic stared at her. “What?” How was he so confused? What was happening?

Wendy sighed impatiently. “When you break up with someone, there’s always a winner and a loser, you know, the one who does better than the person they were with? So I’m trying to prove you won.”

His arm was still warm from where she’d clung to him. Oh. “By making it seem like I’m with you?” he clarified.

“Yep! And he seemed pretty jealous…” Wendy dragged out the last word with a little half smile and bit her bottom lip. “It’s working already,” she whispered.

Horror dawned on him, and he groaned. “It is not working, and we don’t need to fake date to make Griffith jealous. It wasn’t like that with us.”

Wendy rolled her eyes at him. “It’s like that in every relationship. Don’t play dumb. He’s an alpha. Of course he’d be jealous that you found someone new. And an omega at that. Come on, play along!”

Nic really didn’t want to tell her that they’d split up because Nic had been a coward. That he hadn’t been there when Grif needed him. That she had it all wrong, Grif was jealous of Nic, not Wendy.

That alpha needed to find someone good for him. Even if that someone was the omega in front of him.