1
Ashe
If I hadto hear my cousins Zak and Quinn with their over-the-top schmoopy PDA and their sickly sweet ridiculous proclamations of love one more time, I was going to lose my freaking mind.
It was a beautiful day in the wildlife reserve and the whole family had gathered to celebrate the changing seasons. A clear blue sky stretched overhead, streaked by pure white fluffy clouds. The air smelled fresh and crisp, teetering on the edge of summer and autumn. It wasn't too hot or too cold. Everything was just right.
Except for Zak hanging off his mate Kamari like he was a monkey shifter instead of a wolf.
And Quinn looping his arm around Farley's so hard it looked like they were conjoined twins.
Though they weren't the only ones attached at the waist. We all were, quite literally. Each one of us had a partner for this stupid race. Two of our legs were tied together with a rope so we had "three" legs. My partner was Starry. Lupa and Leveret were partners, while Quinn and Zak were obviously partnered up with their fated mates, Farley and Kamari. Our last two cousins, Cloud and River, were sitting out the race because they were waiting at the finish line instead. Lucky bastards.
"All right!" Uncle Nero announced. "Are you kids ready for the three-legged race?"
Zak snorted at his dad's comment. "Pops, were not kids anymore. Kamari and I have our own kid, remember?"
His son Azure sat off to the side, along with Quinn and Farley's daughter Celeste. Luckily for them, they were too young to participate in this ridiculous game. What the hell was a three-legged race anyway? Nero mentioned it was something they used to do at school back when he lived among humans. We were wild shifters, so I didn't understand why we had to do it, too.
"Farley, your leg hair is tickling me," Quinn said with a laugh.
"Oh, yeah? Like this?"
Farley grinned and shimmied his leg, brushing the hair against Quinn again. They couldn't stop staring into each other's eyes and smiling like lovestruck idiots.
Not that Zak and Kamari were any different. They'd been mates for longer, but you couldn't tell by the way they acted. Instead of chilling out, they seem to fall deeper in love with each other each passing day. Zak's arm was wrapped around Kamari's shoulders in preparation to start the race, but he kept lowering it to not-so-subtly cop a feel. Kamari rolled his eyes and swatted his hand away, but it was obvious he didn't really mind. Gods only know what they would've been up to if the rest of the family wasn't around.
Gag.
I counted my blessings that only two of my cousins acted this way. Including me, there were six of us who hadn't yet been sucked into the black hole that is 'fated mates.' At least the rest of us outnumbered Zak and Quinn and their perfect fairytale lives.
Zak elbowed me, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Hey Ashe, you ready?"
I was instantly struck by a pang of guilt. Here I was, thinking badly of my cousins who hadn't done anything wrong except fall in love. Neither of them deserved my ire, but I couldn't help the jealousy burning up in my stomach.
"Yeah, I guess so," I mumbled.
"You don't sound very excited," Zak said with a sympathetic grin.
Lupa cut me off. "Oh, he's just in a mood. A little jog will perk him right up." She leaned over and poked me in the side. "Come on, look alive, omega!"
I glared at her. Now I wasreallyannoyed. She knew it pissed me off when she brought up my biology since I was the only omega among all of our cousins.
I hated it.
Her twin Leveret, whose leg was tied to hers, asked in a neutral voice, "What does Ashe being an omega have to do with anything?"
"Nothing," I snapped. "She's just saying it to annoy me."
"Why does that annoy you?" Leveret asked.
I loved him to death but I was so not in the mood to deal with his lack of social awareness right now. Leveret wasn't the best at reading between the lines. Since I never actually sat down and talked to him about why being the only omega bothered me, it was an honest question. But I was too annoyed at Lupa goading me to reply properly.
"Nothing, Lev, it's fine," I said through ground teeth.
"Maybe you can use that anger as fuel to win," Lupa suggested with a snort of amusement.
I scowled at her until Starry, my own partner in the race, put her hand on my shoulder and shook her head.
