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“Hi, Jonah.” I hugged him back, and it felt natural, easy.
After a moment, a voice was cleared and Jonah pulled back, but he didn’t stop touching me. He stroked his arm down mine until he was holding my hand, then he turned us to face the others.
“You’ve met Toby. And this is his brother, Luke.”
“Hi again,” Toby said with a friendly smile.
Luke put out his hand, and I shook it with the one Jonah wasn’t holding. Blue eyes flashed at me with a hint of mischief over a broad grin. His grip was all confidence.
“Nice to meet you, Sylvie. I’ve heard a lot about you from these two.”
Again, I was struck by the way he and Toby were opposites. Luke was dressed casually, in shorts and a T-shirt with a brand logo I recognized from his climbing videos, while Toby was in a short-sleeved button-down and pale khakis. Jonah was somewhere in between, in a black long-sleeved T-shirt and jeans. We all took a seat, me between Jonah and Toby.
I went to pick up a menu, and Jonah seemed to notice he was still holding my hand. He let go, but he moved his arm around the back of my chair, a finger lightly brushing my shoulder. As if he couldn’t stand not to be touching me somehow. It was all I could do not to pull his arm down and snuggle into his embrace, but sanity held me in check.
The words on the menu blurred as I tried and failed to ignore their scents around me. Jonah’s spicy floral and Toby’s sharp lemon mixed with Luke’s orange blossom and mint. I flipped to the drinks section, suddenly thirsty for a cocktail.
“Are we waiting for William before we order?” No one had explained why he wasn’t there.
Jonah shook his head. “No, we ordered some appetizers right before you got here. He had some other thing already scheduled today that he had to go to, but he’s coming here right after. Probably another fifteen minutes or so.”
Huh. Maybe he didn’t really want to meet me? I wondered if he would actually show. The waiter came, and I ordered a drink with lemon and mint in it, hoping it wasn’t obvious I was trying to get a taste of their scents. When he left, I put down the menu and turned my attention to them.
“So, how do you all know one another? When did you become a pack?”
Toby answered, and I was relieved to focus on him. The other guys were kind of intense, but Toby was steady and calm.
“We all went to the same high school. The five of us knew we were going to be in a pack by the time we were sophomores. We always fit.”
“Five? Is there someone else?”
Jonah’s scent took on a bitter edge as he stiffened next to me. He started to pull his arm back from around my chair, and I didn’t think. I reached around and grabbed his hand, putting it in my lap with my forearm braced against his. He was agitated and upset, and I needed to soothe him. That was all I knew. His grip was rigid, but he didn’t pull away.
Luke studiously drank his beer, but Toby met my worried gaze with a sadness that made my heart clench.
“We did have five,” Toby said. “I probably should have mentioned that. Edward died a year ago in a car accident. Hit by a drunk driver. The other guy died too.”
Their pain hit me like a wave, threatening to pull me under.
“That’s awful. I’m so sorry to hear that.”
There were no words I could say to comfort them. Losing a pack member was like losing a part of yourself. I’d heard so many stories of older packs where all the members died naturally within days of one another, something almost heartwarming about it. But when a member of a young pack died? The survivors had their entire lives to lead while missing a part of themselves. The pain might ease, but it would always be with them.
Slowly, Jonah’s arm relaxed against mine, and he started tracing circles on the back of my hand with his thumb. It was as though I had taken on a little bit of his pain, giving him some relief from it. I wanted to nuzzle my nose into his neck and hold him close.
Omega instincts were riding me hard, and if I thought about it too much, I’d pull away. So, I didn’t think. We could have our moment, no matter how the rest of this went.
Waiters appeared with my drink and at least six plates of appetizers. By the time it was all set out, I noticed that Toby had moved closer, his shoulder brushing mine.
“What looks good?” he asked.
It was an eclectic spread, a few fried foods along with fancy cheeses and meats and some roasted vegetables.
“All of it. Is that calamari?” I hadn’t eaten much at my sister’s party.
Before I could pick up my fork, Jonah speared one of the lightly battered rings and dipped it in aioli, then held it up to me. Oh god, he was feeding me. Part of me didn’t want to encourage him, but another part was squealing with joy at being the recipient of an alpha’s attentions. This was a big deal—I knew that.
I opened my mouth and ate the bite, letting out a satisfied “Mm.”
