Chapter 1
Kip
I zipped up my suitcase and hefted it up to make sure that it didn’t weigh too much so that it could get on the plane without any issue. Inside I’d packed several different outfits that my closest friend, and brother-in-law, told me looked the best. The skinny jeans and silk shirts were quite different from the work jeans and t-shirts I usually wore. Once I’d double-checked that all the pockets were closed and my toiletry bag was secure, I began my journey down the stairs.
At that moment, I didn’t love that I still lived at my parents’ house. I was a grown man, at age twenty-three, I really should live on my own. Although it wasn’t totally weird for an unmated omega to live with their parents a little while longer. If I was in college like many of the den members my age, living at home would have made even more sense. But I wasn’t in college, I actually had a full-time job. As the only omega enforcer in the den, perhaps I should be more independent to set a good example for the other young omegas.
Perhaps if I was a human, it would make more sense to move out of the family home, but as a bear, I liked being close to my family, and I wasn’t ashamed of it. Although, at times like this, when I was trying to sneak out of the house quietly, being near my family was a detriment. They knew I was going on vacation, they just didn’t like it.
My mom, dad, brother, and his omega, Jules, all sat at the table looking at me when I came to the bottom step. In front of each of them was a cup of coffee and a pastry, like this was some normal family get-together and not a make-shift intervention. I let out a sigh.
“I’ll be fine.”
My mother wrung her hands in her lap. “We worry about you.”
“It’s just a resort. A normal one. Not like the one he went to.” I gestured toward my brother. Like a smart sibling, I tried to deflect as often as possible. It wasn’t easy when my brother was Mr. Perfect and my sister had already provided the family with grandchildren. As the only one unmated, and the baby of thefamily, I got more attention than I wanted. It didn’t help that I was an omega.
“This isn’t about me,” Westley said. My brother had accidentally booked a vacation at a resort where he also booked an escort. They later became mated, but still! That was way more weird than me booking a solo-vacation at a normal resort. Plenty of people went on vacation alone, especially if they wanted to find their mates.
“I spoke to the front desk guy, Branson, just yesterday. He is super nice. My cabin is all ready for me, and there are a lot of activities going on around the resort that I plan on enjoying. I won’t be alone the whole time moping in my room like a weirdo.”
“I just don’t understand why you want to vacation on your own,” Dad said. “Why not wait until the whole family to go? We can help you.”
Ugh. Family vacations were fun when I was five, but at twenty-three? No, thank you. Maybe when I was mated and had kids of my own, but going out with my family as the only single one was just weird and left me feeling like a third wheel.
“What’s not to understand? I want to meet other people. I’d like to meet my mate. Clearly they aren’t in this den, or I would have met them by now.”
I mean, there were plenty of alphas here who were eligible bachelors. Braxton came to mind—only he was so out of my league it wasn’t even funny. He was definitely not my mate. Heand I had known each other for years, and we worked together. He wasn’t mine, and someday he’d meet his real mate. I didn’t want to be single when that happened.
I shook that thought away. As soon as I met my real mate, things would be different. I wouldn’t even think about Braxton and his handsome face or silly teasing. I bet my mate was way better-looking and more muscular than him anyway.
“Honey, have you considered that you might have the same condition your father did, and that’s why—”
“Of course I have! But that’s only a one-sided issue. If my mate was here, he or she would have come forward. That’s why I’m going,” I said. “I don’t want to miss my flight.”
My parents exchanged a glance, but otherwise, seemed to concede the fight.
“At least let me drive you to the airport,” Westley said.
I groaned. “I already arranged for a car.” And I didn’t want to endure a lecture for the next hour.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “You ordered an Uber? You have family who can drive you places, Kip.”
“Yes, and you are all amazing and I love you. It’s a member of the den who does it for fun, so it’s not that big a deal. It’s no different than me having you drop me off.”
“But you’re paying for it.”
“Well, if I had to ride in the car with you, you’d pester me with questions and give me lectures. At least this way, I can ask for silence. Can you all please just trust me?” I looked around the room at all the people who loved me most in the world. They cared about me and my well-being. I knew that. Of course I did. But didn’t they see that I was suffocating here? Everyone around me had met their person, and I was pining after an alpha who would never be mine. Braxton seemed to think of me as a younger annoying brother, and someday, he would find his mate. I had to go out and find my mate. I had to.
“We do trust you, Kip. It’s not about trust. We love you, and we want you to be safe.”
“Right. But to everyone else who doesn’t take me seriously as an omega, even though I’m an enforcer for this den, it looks like you don’t trust me.” As soon as I was home from vacation, I needed to move out. It was for my own good.
“That doesn’t even make any sense,” Westley said. “Nobody else knows that you’re going on this vacation.”
That wasn’t entirely false. People knew I had time off. They just didn’t know that I was actually leaving the den. I didn’t exactly want to advertise that I was going someplace in hopes of finding my mate. It would be embarrassing if I came home without one. If anyone searched the resort I was going to, they’d see a ton of match-making activities and events surrounding finding one’s perfect match.
“I promise that I’ll call every day. How’s that?” I might call when I knew they were all busy and therefore wouldn’t have time to interrogate me, but I’d call.
