Lucy Andersson-Spring’s twenty-ninth birthday comes with a side helping of a quarter-life crisis. She loves her community, her sewing shop, and her secret social media account featuring Starlight Grove’s cat mayor, but maybe she needs to be more ambitious, more self-sufficient. At least, that’s what the alphas she dated last year kept saying . . . before they cheated on her.
Lucy is determined this year will be a fresh start, but her quest to leave her romantic dreams behind keeps being thwarted. First, a disastrous camping trip leaves her stranded with Wilder, the reserved fire chief. Then, a grumpy businessman named King bursts into her shop with a desperate proposal. And then there’s Leo, the cute florist who brings her bouquets, but never the dinner invitation she hopes for.
Like Lucy, these guys are facing crossroads in their lives, but when their hesitancy in wooing the stunning omega leaves her feeling rejected all over again, they realize they can’t live without her. Determined to win her over, they embark on a journey of self-discovery, complete with a meddlesome cat, mischievous bunny, and bizarrely specific horoscopes, to become a pack worthy of her.
A Pack for Spring is as poignant as it is playful, with themes of found family, self-acceptance, and scorching hot spice, of course! It is a standalone MMFM why choose small town romance. It is part of the Cozyverse shared universe, bringing you cozy omegaverse full of heart, heat, and humor.
Release date:
April 14, 2026
Publisher:
G.P. Putnam's Sons
Print pages:
480
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1
Lucy
I fanned my hands aggressively in front of my face to dry the tears welling up in my eyes.
My jaw clenched. This was ridiculous. I was about to turn twenty-nine, not ninety-nine. My life was not over.
A rogue tear dared spill down my cheek, and I brushed it away with a huff. My looming birthday, just three days away, was a painful reminder that I was entering the last year of my twenties without achieving any of the things I thought I would.
No doting pack.
No prestigious job at a fashion house.
No big city apartment.
Felix head-butted my leg with a loud meow, and I scooped him into my arms. He purred, the low rumble soothing as it vibrated against my chest.
"I'm just being dramatic. I'm a bright, young woman with my whole life ahead of me." My voice cracked, and Felix looked distinctly unconvinced. "How old are you, anyway?"
He half-heartedly swiped at my face. Hmm, maybe I wasn't the only one sensitive about my age. Felix had appeared in Starlight Grove eight years ago, right after Stanley became the mayor. Well, the mayor on paper. We all knew Felix was really the one in charge.
"You don't need to worry about aging, you magical immortal being." I kissed his forehead. "Do you want to come with me tonight? It should be fun."
His jaw parted with a massive yawn.
"Okay, Mr. Mayor. You can stay here and snooze."
I carried Felix over to his bed by the fireplace and tucked him in with one last chin scratch before turning to the large pile of clothes on my couch. I'd been putting off spring cleaning with the excuse that it wasn't officially spring for three more days, but it had gotten to the point where every time I needed to sit on the couch, I had to shove aside the mini mountain of clothes.
My phone vibrated loudly on top of the coffee table.
Olive
Your chariot awaits! We're outside
Summer
Ivy just picked me up! See you soon
"Why is it that no matter how early I try to get ready, I'm always running late?" I muttered.
By the time I located my jacket-a mauve peacoat I'd embroidered with gold flowers-most of my clothes were on the floor. Oh well, I would take care of that later. Probably.
"Bye, Felix! Have a good night!" I shouted over my shoulder as I raced to the door. In my distracted rush, my foot caught on the corner of a large box and I hit the hardwood with a graceless thunk. I blinked away my tears, telling myself it was definitely my stinging knees causing me to cry and not the fact that my very soul felt so fragile, like one more inconvenience would end me. I had a good life, so why did I feel so lost?
I slowly pushed myself up and rested my forehead against the door.
Get your shit together. You're stronger than this.
Except . . . sometimes I didn't want to be strong. But that was the problem, wasn't it? I needed to toughen up.
I drew in a deep breath and slipped out the door with a fresh determination and a soft smile plastered on my face. Tonight marked a new start. I was determined to make this last year in my twenties count . . . and hopefully find myself in the process.
“Oohhh, it looks so pretty!” Olive leaned forward to get a better look at the festival through the window.
The two of us were squished in the back of the truck with Finn, one of Olive's alphas. Her other two alphas-Easton and my brother, Lars-sat up front.
She turned toward me, eyes bright and happy. "Have you been to this before?"
I shook my head. "Parisa said this is the first time they're having it here. Before they drove down to Boston to celebrate."
I'd met Parisa a couple of months ago at a networking event for local business owners. She owned a home goods boutique in the nearby town of Maple Glen. We'd hit it off and now messaged each other most days to chat about our lives and businesses and everything in between. The other day, she'd invited me to her town's inaugural Iranian New Year, or Nowruz, celebration.
Lars parked, and I pushed my door open, crinkling my nose at the horrendously loud creak. I threw my brother a pointed look. He loved his vintage Volvo truck, even though it had the bad habit of breaking down at inconvenient times.
"Don't give me that look," he grumbled.
I patted the truck's light blue frame. "I know Gustav has been good to you, but you do know Volvo has actually come out with cars this century, right?"
I jumped to the side to evade his shove.
"Hey!" Olive shouted. "Don't be mean to Lucy."
"But she insulted my truck!"
I laughed at how petulant he sounded.
"That's no excuse for violence." Olive sniffed and joined arms with me.
I stuck my tongue out at my brother as we headed toward the entrance of the Maple Glen fairgrounds. I'd been here a couple of times growing up when the traveling carnival came to town, but it had never looked like this. The air pulsed with vibrant music and laughter while kids ran circles around the food booths and the adults greeted each other with warm hugs and cheek kisses. Lines of orange and pink streaked across the sky as the sun danced lower, and the dozens of small bonfires scattered around the field made everything glow.
We stopped at the entrance to wait for the rest of our group.
"What's the deal with the fire?" Easton asked, tripping over his feet before slinging his arm around Olive's shoulders.
"Iranian New Year is the first day of spring, but tonight is the bonfire celebration and you're supposed to jump over a fire to symbolize leaving the old year behind," I said. When Parisa had explained it, something had clicked inside me. Maybe this was what I needed-a ritual to cleanse my life of all the bad energy and encourage new beginnings.
"Seems unsafe," Finn grumbled.
"You don't have to do it if you're scared," Olive said sweetly, and I snorted a laugh.
Finn and Easton had practically lived at my house growing up, and it was fun to see the wild boys I knew become overprotective alphas.
"Oh, they're here!" Easton said, waving his arms above his head.
Ivy and Summer skipped toward us with linked arms while Ivy's guys-James, Rome, and Logan-jogged to keep up. The transformation in Ivy these past few months had been so special. She'd always put so much pressure on herself with her teaching job, and seeing her relaxed and happy, doted on by her pack, warmed my heart.
Summer and Ivy half crashed into us, and we piled into a tight omega hug. The tension in my chest eased. No matter what happened in my life, I had my friends. I would be okay.
"I'm starving," Summer said once we pulled apart. "I can't wait to check out the food scene." She rubbed her hands together, a gleam in her eye. She had always been the foodie of our group, but it was even more true now that she was close to opening her bakery. Every meal was an opportunity for research.
We slung our arms around each other and headed into the festival, laughing as our shoulders bumped against one another. We hadn't gone far when someone shouted my name. I turned and my heart leapt when I spotted Leo Azad-Parisa's brother and my newest neighbor.
The storefront beside mine had become available this past winter when Ms. Ito retired, closing her long-standing gift shop that inexplicably specialized in socks with unique messages on them-I was currently wearing my "Jump Rope Is the Meaning of Life" pair. Summer had long been convinced that Ms. Ito was running a money-laundering scheme because there was no way her fancy sports car and designer bags were funded by socks. However she got her money, she'd decided to sell her shop and travel the world, accompanied by a string of attractive men. Leo had purchased it a few months ago and opened a thriving florist business.
The firelight danced across his warm skin as he approached. My eyes flitted down his body-only because he was wearing the black pants I tailored for him and the red shirt I'd embroidered with gold thread, not because I found his muscular thighs and arms distracting.
Luckily, Olive saved me from having to form actual words.
"Hey, Leo!"
"Hey, Olive. Your alphas staying out of trouble?" he asked, smirking as he glanced back at Lars, Easton, and Finn. Leo had been on the ocean rescue team that had saved Olive's guys when they crashed a boat in a storm last year.
"Mostly." Olive grinned. "They haven't even capsized a boat this week."
Finn pulled his omega to his side with a scowl. "Be careful, pretty girl." He leaned down and murmured something in her ear that made her cheeks turn bright red.
A pang of loneliness and jealousy seized my chest, but then Leo turned his attention to me. "Parisa said she'd invited you, and I was hoping you'd come." He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture that I found ridiculously endearing.
"I've been looking forward to it."
A stilted silence fell over us, and Leo shifted his weight onto his other leg. I bit my lip. I'd had a crush on the cute beta since our first meeting, when he came into my shop with an armful of flowers to introduce himself, but he always seemed uncomfortable around me. I would have chalked it up to social anxiety, except he seemed at ease and charming with everyone else in town.
"We're going to get dinner if you want to join us." I glanced over my shoulder and grinned when I realized Summer had snuck away and was already standing in line at a food stand.
"I told my family I'd eat with them," he said.
For the briefest moment, I thought he might ask me to join him.
"Here." He held out a small paper bag and I took it. "It's a mixture of fruit and nuts. It's supposed to grant wishes."
"Oh, thank you."
"Well, I hope you have fun. Nice to see you again, Olive." Leo turned around, moving stiffly like he couldn't get away from me fast enough.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "You, too, Leo."
"That was weird," Olive said, cocking her head.
"Yeah, it was." Summer inched up beside me, a bowl of noodle soup in her hands. "Did something happen between you two?"
I shook my head. "No. He's always kind of like that with me."
"What, super awkward because he's clearly in love with you?"
I scrunched my nose. "What are you talking about? I'm not sure he even likes me."
"Lucy," Olive said, her eyebrows furrowed with reproach. "You can't possibly believe that. Everyone loves you."
My heart was too raw to have this conversation. I'd been nursing my secret crush for months, and I couldn't handle false hope.
I opened the paper bag and grabbed a handful of the nut and dried fruit mixture. "Let's get food."
Olive and Summer looked like they wanted to push it further, but Ivy put her arm around my shoulder. "Excellent idea. There's a kebab food truck over there that's calling my name."
I popped a pistachio in my mouth and made a wish.
After we’d eaten, I wandered through the rest of the booths, stopping at one with a goldfish tank. They were surprisingly mesmerizing as they swam around. Maybe I needed a pet.
"Lucy!"
The second Azad sibling of the evening bounded toward me.
"I'm so glad you're here!" Parisa engulfed me in a tight hug, her bright citrus scent swirling around me.
"Thanks for inviting me. This is all so cool."
Her eyes sparkled. "It is, isn't it? It's amazing to see my town show up and be so supportive."
A large alpha with brown skin and short-cropped black hair joined us. I didn't recognize him, but the possessive way he pulled Parisa to his side made it clear that he was one of her alphas.
"There you are," he said with relief. "Don't go running off again."
Parisa pursed her lips and shook her head. "Overprotective alpha. Amir, this is Lucy, the friend I was telling you about."
"It's nice to meet you." Amir's voice was deep and kind.
"Oh, and there's Sloane, my other alpha."
I turned to see a blond woman with a tray of food headed toward us. Amir took the tray from her when she got closer.
Sloane kissed her omega on the forehead and introduced herself. "Are you getting a goldfish?"
I peered back at the tank. "I'm trying to decide if Felix would eat it if I brought one home."
"I'm really hoping Felix is your cat and not your roommate," she said with a grimace.
I burst out laughing. "Yes, my cat. Well, not mine. He's too powerful to belong to any one person. He's Starlight Grove's mayor."
The two alphas stared at me, clearly trying to figure out if I was joking or not. I just smiled sweetly.
Parisa snorted. "Better not risk the goldfish's life, especially since they represent rebirth. Might be a bad omen if Felix eats it." She took my hand. "Come over here. I want to introduce you to my family." She led me over to a picnic table, her alphas following close behind.
"Parisa, azizam, come sit down." An older woman with curly gray hair held out her hand.
Parisa leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "I want to introduce you to my friend. Lucy, this is my grandma, my Bibi."
Her grandma's eyes lit up and she reached out to take my hand, pulling me down to kiss my cheeks. "It is very nice to meet you."
"It's so nice to meet you," I murmured. This woman radiated warmth and immediately put me at ease.
"And this is my maman, Tara, and my baba, Mahmoud."
Her mom was stunningly beautiful, with golden skin framed by curly black hair and deep brown eyes. She drew me into a firm hug. "I've heard so many good things about you, Lucy, from both of my children."
My cheeks flushed. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Azad."
She patted me on the cheek. "Call me Tara, please."
Her husband stood and put his hand over his heart. "It's very nice to meet you."
I was surprised to realize Parisa's family members were all betas. I knew she hadn't grown up in a pack, but I'd assumed one of her parents was at least an alpha. It was exceptionally rare for an omega to be born to two beta parents.
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