“So, uh, Danger, by the way,” I gesture to the dachshund trying to climb his leg. “So, what is Smitten Knot Bitten?” I ask, grabbing anything to change the subject with.
His face drops. “No way, surely you know all about it? This is your mother’s love child.”
Okay, I am terrified now.
“No?” I say hesitantly.
“Your mother and her friends accidentally helped an omega find a pack a few years ago.”
“I don’t like where this is going,” I mutter and start walking. He joins me, and I try not to look at his tanned forearms. They are bronzed, very strong-looking, with rough hands. He obviously works outside in the sun.
“So, they started doing it as a hobby, and they had some success. They call themselves the Pack Makers now.”
My brain stumbles. Pack Makers?
“Oh, for crying out loud,” I mutter.
He grins at me, and I see the boy who spent forty-eight hours as my boyfriend. I was so happy to be his. We were barely old enough to even be a thing at fifteen, but on the third day, I woke up to him gone. He lost everything, and I lost him.
“What are you thinking that is making you so sad?” Mack murmurs.
I shake my head and try to laugh it off, but I could never lie to him. “I’m really sorry about your parents, Mack.”
His expression softens. “Thank you, I am, too. I like to think I can still feel them here. I think it’s one of the reasons I came home. After my uncle took me to the city, everything felt wrong.”
I bend down and unclip Danger. He looks at me with huge, disbelieving eyes and then explodes into bucks and circles before racing down the beach, chasing the water as it recedes.
“Smitten?” I prompt.
“Oh, it’s their Valentine’s Day Pack Making event. On top of our usual loved-up celebrations, all singles have been entered into a matchmaking experiment, courtesy of the Pack Making Queens.”
“What?” I say in horror. “You can’t be serious?”
“I am deadly serious.”
“Luckily, Mum didn’t know I was coming back, so she won’t have time to enter me.”
Mack grins but doesn’t say anything.
“What do you know?”
“Nothing,” he says too quickly. “So, there are three dates, group dates. And then on Valentine’s Day, if you want your match, you can present your love rock to them and make it official.”
“Love rock?” I ask in horror.
“You’ll find out.” He looks at his watch and hisses. “I have to go, but, uh,” he pauses and looks at me with a softness in his eyes. “Can we catch up? Dinner?”
My mouth is dry, but I shake my head. He’s got a pack. I won’t do that again. “I don’t think that's a good idea.”
His smile falls, and he nods. “Of course. Well, maybe I’ll see you around.”
I nod politely.
He lets out a shrill whistle that has Danger racing back towards us. He captures my little bestie and kisses him. It’s totally wrong to be jealous of my dog, right?
“Goodbye, Sofia.”
“Bye, Mack,” I whisper. My omega side wants to stop him, gather his attention back, make him mine. The calm energy of his is as steady as the Earth, and I don’t want him to go.
