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39
BROCK
“You glad to be back?” Astrid asks from the passenger seat as we roll back into the six-pack territory a few days later.
“Yeah,” I admit, blowing out a breath. ‘Glad’ is an understatement- I’m fucking ecstatic. Relieved. Eager to return to some semblance of normalcy after the roller coaster ride I’ve been strapped into since leaving this place over a week ago. After experiencing the highest highs and the lowest lows, I’ll happily settle into something more mundane.
“How about you?” I ask, flicking her a sideways glance. She’s wearing black leggings and her white Estes Park sweatshirt, her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. As much as I love when she’s all dressed up, I swear she’s prettiest when she’s casual like this. Her natural beauty is beyond compare.
Astrid turns to look at me, her face lighting up with her smile.
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BROCK “Damn, we must be the first ones here,” I say as I pull up to the curb in front of the Stillwater packhouse and cut the engine. True to his word, Gray called a council meeting the day after I returned from Denver. This time, though, we’ve got a few others joining us in addition to the council- Brooke and Quinn, because they’re leading the charge with IT these days, Astrid, because she’s our connection to our Denver allies and has the most information about the shadow pack through her visions, and Fallon, because she wasn’t about to sit this one out while everyone else’s mates participated. Jared’s on the council as my beta, but he had some business to attend to, so he told Astrid and I to go ahead and that he’d meet us here. “Didn’t Gray say six?” Astrid asks, unbuckling her seatbelt. I glance down at the clock on the dashboard, which reads 5:45 p.m. “Yeah, which is more like six thirty in alpha time. Can
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ASTRID I squint against the sunlight spilling in through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the hallway as I step out of my bedroom, stretching my limbs. It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day in Denver, but I can’t fully appreciate it until I get my morning coffee. And speaking of, I can already smell it brewing. I breathe deeply as I pad barefoot down the long hallway, following my nose to the packhouse kitchen. “Good morning!” I chirp as step through the doorway, finding my brother Cole and his beta Sam, perched in their usual seats at the table closest to the coffee pot. I reach up to sweep my unruly curls into a messy bun as I approach them, securing my hair atop my head with an elastic. Upon my entry, Sam shoots up from his chair, tossing a smile my way as he heads for the coffee pot on the counter and starts pouring me a cup. By the time I reach the table, he’s back, holding the mug out in my direction.
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