“Ah, ah. You wait for us.”
We made our way over to the beer gardens, dodging people with full glasses as they mingled. Tara got a Jack and Coke, and I ordered the Damsel, one of the speciality drinks of the night, quick to pay before Charlie could swoop in.
When he brought the pink martini glass rimmed with sugar and a cherry, I wasexcited. It was fruity and barely tasted ofalcohol at all—an absolute delight, since I’d never been much of a drinker.
I passed it to Tara, who scrunched her nose as she took a sip. “Too sweet for me.”
“No such thing,” I said with a smirk. I had a notorious sweet tooth. “Nothing for you two?”
“Nah,” Charlie said with a shrug. “We’re on messy omega duty.”
“Wooooow,” Tara laughed. “That’s how it is, huh?”
“Sure is,” Jesse said with a grin up at Charlie. “Though, I could absolutely fuck with a lemonade.”
“You two go on,” Tara suggested, handing them their respective leads. “I want to yap with Eva a minute.”
Both stopped for a quick kiss before heading off in search of the food stalls, Charlie casting a stern look at Tara back over his shoulder in a clear order to be careful.
Jealousy bubbled in my chest.
Even though I was happy for her, I couldn’t help but resent that she’d managed to secure the life I’d be craving—and by accident, no less. I’d always craved a pack of my own, or at this point, even just a partner who wasn’t an insane douchebag, but it was obvious that wasn’t in the cards for me.
Not right now.
Maybe notever.
“Hey, none of that,” Tara huffed, making me look up at her.
“None of what?”
“That face,” she said, her finger circling in front of my nose. “The pouting. Stephen is a cockhead and doesn’t deserve your sadness. He didn’t even deserve the same air you breathed.”
I snorted at that. Both at the insult and the assumption that I was thinking about my ex right now. “I know, it’s not really that,” I said, pausing to think about it a second. “Okay, well, it’s alittle bit. But mostly just… wishing I had a pack. You know, basic omega problems.”
Her face shifted, turning serious in a way it didn’t normally. “I get it, you know? You’re amazing, Ev. There’s no way it won’t happen for you. You just need to… You know…” she grabbed the hand that wasn’t holding my drink, holding it up to show me my bright green bracelet, alerting the entire room that I was down to fuck. “Put yourself out there. I wouldn’t be surprised if your alphas were waiting for you somewhere in the park.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “I sincerely doubt it.”
She shrugged, and I could tell she disagreed, but the likelihood of that being true was like, negative a million. It would just betooconvenient.
I’d never had luck like that. It’s why I didn’t bother with scratch tickets.
Me and gambling never went well together.
Fucking Stephen.
“Such a pessimist,” she sighed disapprovingly.
“A realist.” I said, rolling my eyes and turning to look at the crowd, a moan nearly escaping me as a whiff of heavy, smoky alpha pheromones met my nose.
“Such a realist,” Tara smirked. “I know what a girl who just smelled a hot alpha looks like, E.”
“Fuck, sue me, it’s what I’m here for, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, so follow your nose and go find him. And if you need me, I have my phone, okay?”
“I will go—but not to find the alpha, I need another drink.”
