“Good fucking riddance, I say!” Sabs declares, dusting off her hands. “We need to burn all of Grub’s books you have at the next bonfire.” It’s a shame because they really were useful, but she’s right. I can’t support someone so prejudiced, no matter how good his books are. “Let’s use tonight to celebrate!”
Sabs’s room is not your stereotypical calming omega space. It’s hot pink with bright artwork on the walls and a sparkling disco light hanging from the ceiling. Sabs dances over to her speaker to turn the volume up. As soon as the song switches, Delilah winces.
I frown. “Are you okay, Del?”
“Shit, sorry!” Sabs lunges at her laptop, madly bashing the keys to change the song. “It’s on shuffle.”
“It’s okay.” Delilah feigns a smile. “I’ll be right back. I just need to grab my eyeshadow from my room.”
“Oh, fuck.” Sabs flops onto her bed as soon as Delilah leaves. “Damn shuffle! I should have vetted the playlist ahead of time.”
“What am I missing?” I ask.
“Remember the singer Delilah had the best sex of her life with last year? Jagger Knight?” Kady answers my question. “Well, that’s his band.”
“Pack Fire?” Even a small-town girl like me has heard of them. They’re huge.
“She was convinced they were scent matches,” Sabs explains glumly. “He even told her so.”
“Until he left town without saying goodbye.” Kady shakes her head. “Don’t beat yourself up, Sabs. She’ll be fine.”
“It doesn’t help that those fuckers are so popular. You can’t get away from them,” Sabs groans. “At least she didn’t burst into tears this time. She had a breakdown in Nora’s Nest Nook a fewweeks after it happened last year.” Sabs puts her hand on her heart and vows, “I’ll never listen toPack Fireagain.”
Delilah’s gentle footsteps sound as she returns without eyeshadow, her eyes are a little red, highlighting the greenish circle around the pupils of her brown eyes. No matter what she says, she’s obviously still not over it. Someone like Delilah, who lifts others up and swoons over happy endings, deserves so much better than an alpha like Jagger Knight. Regardless of how many platinum albums he has.
“So what pack is Amora part of?” Kady thankfully changes the subject.
I never thought to ask. “Should I know that?”
Kady’s eyes roll, but Sabs jumps in. “She’s part of the Princeton Pack. Her alphas are Carmen, Taj, and Leon. Don’t you remember her? She lived in Persephone House last year. Maybe you need to leave the library long enough to meet our neighbors?”
“Honestly, Sabs, I don’t know how you actually get good grades with how little timeyouspend in the library,” Kady retorts. “You’re almost as bad as Laz. It must run in the family.”
Sabs grins while Delilah reapplies her mascara, looking a bit cheerier now that we’ve taken her mind offPack Fire’slead singer.
“When I met Carmen earlier today, she said something happened at Persephone House last year with Amora,” I bring up the topic that’s been nagging at me. “Do any of you know anything about it?”
They shake their heads. Weird. Whatever happened must be an inner circle thing.
“Honestly, I try to keep my distance from the Persephone omegas. They’re…” Delilah pauses, her eyes on the ceiling like she’s carefully choosing her words. “Cliquey.”
“Bitches,” Sabs blurts at the same time Delilah speaks, making Kady snort. “Not Amora, though. I don’t know her well, but she always seemed nice. Kinda quiet.”
Kady fastens a delicate silver necklace, creating a timeless look along with her little black dress. Delilah has opted for a leopard print jumpsuit while Sabs is wearing a neon crop top with hot pants that looks like swim wear. I opted for a lavender dress with Delilah’s white belt to cinch in my waist.
“We’d better go if we want to be fashionably late.” Kady grabs her Fendi purse. “And not just rude.”
Giggling, we tumble out of Stella House. Sabs hired what she calls a, “party cart” which is an upgraded golf cart complete with blaring music and strobe lights. After spending a lot of time with the Silverwoods, it’s great, having a girls’ night with the Stellas.
Sabs drank a few cocktails while getting ready. She claimed they were Sex on the Beaches, but Kady argued they were more like, “Death on the Beaches” because of the ratio of alcohol to juice. Luckily, Delilah’s our designated sober driver for the evening.
The journey passes quickly with Sabs singing at the top of her lungs while waving her arms to every song that comes on. The Princeton Pack live in one of the coveted beach houses, and seeing them up close highlights how gorgeous they really are.
“This is the one.” Delilah points at it before parallel parking in a tight spot. There are many golf carts around and actual cars too. “Pretty nice, huh?”
With their house just feet from the sand, the party has spilled outside onto the beach where a DJ booth and barbecue are set up.
On the house’s porch, I spot Amora gazing across the lake, leaning against the railing. She looks lost among the sea of people until a tall, handsome man with black, shoulder-length,wavy hair puts his arm on her shoulder and whispers something in her ear, making her smile. He must be one of her alphas.
