I deflated. “Tell me how.”
“We invite her here for a picnic on our property.” Dax knew the most about her out of all of us. He had hang-ups about his worth as an alpha, but he had made the most progress with our omega. Maybe he was right. Maybe I was going too fast. Sylvia loved the simple things in life and so did we. My alpha was getting the best of me. He wanted to impress our mate. Prove to her that we could provide for all of her needs.
“A picnic? Are you sure?” I was still debating if Dax was right or not.
Archer sat up. “I think that’s a great idea, Dax. We’d be outside. Not cooped up. We don’t want her to feel caged in by our energy or our scents. She spent all day with Dax outside. I think she’s comfortable there.”
“Can I buy the best food?” I asked. They all chuckled.
“Sure. Make the best foods for her. I think she would love that. But we have to ask her first before we start planning. Who is going to text her?” Archer pulled out his phone but I was faster. I would’ve preferred a date on my own with her but this would do.
I got on the group chat.We invite you to come over tomorrow for a picnic at our home. Would you like to do that?
It sounded formal after reading it a second time but it was already sent. Too late to back out of it now.
We all waited, phones in hands for over ten minutes. She’d read the message, that much we knew, but there was no answer.
“Was I too pushy?” I asked. “Should I have waited longer?”
“It’s okay. We have been overwhelming her, maybe. Let’s all put our phones down and be patient. She will answer us. She may be busy or having dinner. Maybe babysitting for the little one. Don’t read too much into it.” Archer was the first to practice what he preached. He got up and started to clean up after dinner, putting on some music in the background.
Dax clapped me on the shoulder and went out the back door, putting his phone in his back pocket.
Archer was right. She was probably busy, though she had never taken this long to respond before.
Sylvia was already embedded in my heart. She was the first thing I thought about when I woke up and the last before I fell asleep. We had the nest almost finished, and Dax and I were working day and night trying to get the mating suite finished as well. Sylvia had put a fire under all of our asses in the best way possible.
No, thank you.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and my wolf whined at the rejection. She had accepted the others’ gifts but not my offer to spend time with us. Maybe she liked them and not me. If it came down to it, I would leave the pack so that they could have their future with her, but I didn’t want to.
A thousand what-ifs ran through my mind in between that text and the next one.
How about a picnic on my territory instead?
I looked up at Archer who had stopped cleaning and was staring at his phone. “Her territory,” he repeated Sylvia’s words.
It was hard to hear that she didn’t consider our lands her lands. That we were still separate entities to her. One day, she would see this land as hers. As ours.
“Are we in?” I asked Archer. I deferred to him as the alpha of the pack.
“Of course. It’s not ideal, but we will do whatever makes her comfortable. This courting is on her terms.”
We would love that. We will bring everything. Tomorrow at eleven?
This time her response was immediate.Sounds great.
I tossed my phone aside and threw both fists in the air. We had a date with our omega. Not the one I’d planned or the one in my head, but I soon realized that any time with her was good. I’d take anything she gave me.
“Why did you put your phone down, Mr. Fancy Food? Don’t you have a picnic to plan?”
All the blood rushed from my face. “Shit! You’re right. First, we need fruit salad…”
Chapter Fifteen
Sylvia
When Talon texted me about coming to their place for a picnic, I was happy and excited—but it did catch me off guard enough that my brother noticed and grabbed the phone from my hand. He looked at it and told me very firmly, “No. They can come here.”
