Page 80 of Pack End Game

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Spencer

"We got the locks replaced," I explain to Mia as I walk her toward the double front doors, digging in my pocket to retrieve the small envelope of new front door keys. I hand one to her and suggest, "Why don't you be the first to unlock our new home?"

She smiles so bright that the sight knocks the air out of my lungs. Then her lips part, her eyes glassy as she tries to hold back another round of unshed tears.

I'm just glad she's graduated to tears of joy.

Seeing her cry, thinking something was wrong with the building she loves, was gut-wrenching. I never want to see her hurt like that again.

"This is so exciting," she murmurs as her trembling hand sticks the key in the lock.

Zack and Freddie both press close to watch her open the door. It feels like a momentous occasion to be bringing her home for the first time. And it's real this time.

The house we had built will soon be nothing but a faint memory. We've already asked Rufus to list the house as soon as possible. Furniture included–since Mia didn't seem particularly fond of any of the choices made by the professional designer we used.

Mia gasps when she steps inside the entryway.

"It smells like my apartment," she says, looking over at me with a soft expression. "How did you make it smell so familiar?"

"The contractors brought in professional cleaners, and we asked them to use the same products you use in your apartment. We thought it would help the building smell more comfortable. And now that everything is clean, we can see what's salvageable as we dig deeper into the renovation." I'm especially glad about that last part. The possibilities seem endless now that I'm less distracted by the smell.

Mia throws her arms around me for a quick squeeze. Then turns to hug Freddie, and then Zak.

"I can't believe you really made this happen." She looks between the three of us in awe. "I know Rufus said you all might be able to speed up the rezoning by going to the city council meeting, but I didn't expect that to mean you could make it all happen the same day."

Here's the moment we've been preparing for. We hoped Mia would be too happy to ask too many questions about the meeting, but we knew we might not be so lucky.

As long as everyone sticks to the cover story we agreed on–

"I bribed someone!" Freddie blurts out proudly.

Zak immediately slaps his hand over Freddie's mouth to keep him from continuing.

Damn.

Why is Freddie always the weakest link when it comes to keeping a secret?

Scratch that.

I'm bonded to the beta, so I know exactly who he is as a person.

Freddie's entire body is made up of more excitement than common sense. I should have known he would forget the agreement to tell our omega a white lie to avoid implicating her in some questionable choices we might have made.

Mia turns concerned eyes in my direction, frowning slightly as she looks to me for an explanation. "Is that some kind of weird Freddie joke?"

"We didn't bribe anyone," I reassure her, but my voice cracks slightly in the most unbelievable way.

She narrows her eyes. "Spencer. Zak. Freddie. Did the three of you bribe someone at the city hall meeting?"

Well...

"Do we seem like the kind of people who would do that?" Zak asks, shifting his gaze dodgily to avoid making eye contact. He lets go of Freddie's mouth to cross his arms over his chest.

Mia looks at Freddie. The weakest link.

"Simon the Sloth wouldn't approve of lying, would he?"