“Is everyone all right?” Lorelei asks.
Asher holds up her stone and smiles as she flashes it at Lorelei. There’s a moment of panic before Lorelei erases it completely. Will she say something? She opens her mouth and then sits back, her eyes finding me.
Don’t hurt her.The message is loud and clear. I incline my head, showing I’ve heard her demand, and I will do my absolute best.
“Now that everyone has stones…go find your match.”
People ask us, but I shake my head, not taking my eyes off her as she looks around nervously.
When I get close, Elijah and Mack stand side by side. I hold out my stone. She looks at it, and her eyes get wide. So wide.
“What?”
She holds out her stone.
A perfect match.
How. Very. Surprising.
“Well, would you look at that?” I purr.
She gulps and brushes her hair back with a shaking hand. I catch sight of Lorelei frowning, but when she goes to say something, Franco and Milton whisper in her ear. She shakes her head, and I brace myself for a fight I refuse to lose. Minutes pass, and, finally, she slumps in defeat.
“Has everyone found their pairs?” Lorelei calls out, casting furious glares at her mates.
No one looks terribly happy. Sebastian is standing with a quiet omega who has just moved to town. Felix is ignoring his alpha matches, and Asher is glaring at a mountainous alpha, who is glaring back just as grumpily.
I don’t think they did anyone any good with these pairings.
“Congratulations. We’ll all see you for the first date. I’ll send information via text, and don’t worry about a thing; just show up with you and an open heart.”
People walk away, but I grab Rebel’s wrist and tow her towards the beach before anyone else can interfere.
“I’m so glad it’s you,” she says when she gets to the lookout railing. She toes off her shoes and picks them up, ignoring the way I’ve fallen sideways into a heap at just seeing the familiar way she does the simplest of things.
“How so?” Elijah asks cautiously.
“Well, we can just fake this whole thing and get through it. It might even be fun.”
Fake?
I glance at Mack, then Elijah. “What do you mean, fake?”
“Well, I mean, it’s just logical, isn’t it? I’m not looking for anyone, and you’ve got your housing situation. Plus,” she trails off, looking out at the water as she unleashes Danger. He takes off again. “Plus, I’m sure you’ve got your eye on someone, and I am off limits.”
“Off limits?” I echo, my temper turning dangerous.
“Well, yeah, Sebastian.”
I frown and realise I’m having trouble following her thought process. “That was when we were kids; we’re adults now-”
“Can you help me?”
There is so much quiet desperation in those words, but also, she’s bracing like she expects us to say no.
How could I possibly?
My words die in my throat. “We’ll do anything for you, Rebel.”
