“Ah,” Asher says. “Yes, there is that delightful skill she has. The ability to completely disregard privacy while making sure you know you can’t be mad at her about it.”
I look down at the dog in my arms and pat his ears.
“Tell me the gossip,” I say, changing the subject. Asher glares at me, but just when I think she’s going to call me out, she lets it go.
“Cordie has it bad for Sebastian.”
“I DO NOT!”
“My ears,” I whimper.
“I do not love Sebastien Sol. I’d have to be a crazy omega to like him.”
“They have pills for that kind of crazy,” Asher says.
“Shut up!” Cordie gets up and starts pacing. “Sebastian Sol is arrogant, controlling, insensitive, and a brute. He has no tact and just orders me around all the time.”
Asher and I just stare at her.
“Are you aware that your version of Sebastian is not the one we know?” I say to her.
She turns on me with a hiss. “Yes, it is. He’s a monster.”
“He’s actually really sweet. I remember the time he helped your grandma’s friends all go to a dance class. They didn’t have any guys, so he stayed there and danced with all the old ladies. Now, not a single one of them will hear a bad thing against his name.”
“Wow, Asher, you know a lot,” I tease.
“I lurk at street corners, waiting for gossip to creep by. As soon as I see it, I launch myself at it and memorize the ins and outs of Sebastian’s love life just for these such moments.”
“What do you know about Elijah?”
“Elijah? Not much. He’s quiet, a baker, he loves cooking, and more than one omega has proposed to him, but up until he saw you again, he’s been refusing all attempts of women trying to date him.”
“He has?”
“Mmm, Mack, too, for that matter. Pack Hart is the dream pack of every omega in Sunshine. But there’s only one omega they want.”
I swallow hard, refusing to look at Asher and her mocking commentary.
“Just like there’s only one alpha Idon’twant,” Cordie snaps.
“Sure,” Asher and I say together.
We burst into laughter, and I pull out the protein bars, handing them out.
“The city wasn’t the same without you two,” I say.
“Here wasn’t the same without you,” Cordie says dryly.
We don’t need to say anything more, and I realise the fear that’s been hounding me is gone.
Chapter 16
Sofia
The crashes and muffled shouts from deep in the house have me investigating cautiously. I push open the study door and find Dad, red-faced, his chest heaving, cursing up a storm. If it wasn’t in disarray, it would look exactly the same. The dark red wood bookcases are packed with his old tomes. His massive desk with its old lamp he’s had since before I was born is arranged so he can turn and stare out the window and see the lawn below. The room is painted a dark forest green. It’s a sanctuary that I have always held reverently in my mind because it represented safety, and if anything was wrong, this is where I came to hide.
“Dad?”
