1
Lucy
I fanned my hands aggressivelyin front of my face to dry the tears welling up in my eyes.
My jaw clenched. This was ridiculous. I was about to turn twenty-nine, not ninety-nine. My life wasnotover.
A rogue tear dared spill down my cheek, and I brushed it away with a huff. My looming birthday, just three days away, was a painful reminder that I was entering the last year of my twenties without achieving any of the things I thought I would.
No doting pack.
No prestigious job at a fashion house.
No big city apartment.
Felix head-butted my leg with a loudmeow, and I scooped him into my arms. He purred, the low rumble soothing as it vibrated against my chest.
“I’m just being dramatic. I’m a bright, young woman with my whole life ahead of me.” My voice cracked, and Felix looked distinctly unconvinced. “How old are you, anyway?”
He half-heartedly swiped at my face. Hmm, maybe I wasn’t the only one sensitive about my age. Felix had appeared in Starlight Grove eight years ago, right after Stanley became the mayor. Well, the mayor on paper. We all knew Felix was really the one in charge.
“You don’t need to worry about aging, you magical immortal being.” I kissed his forehead. “Do you want to come with me tonight? It should be fun.”
His jaw parted with a massive yawn.
“Okay, Mr.Mayor. You can stay here and snooze.”
I carried Felix over to his bed by the fireplace and tucked him inwith one last chin scratch before turning to the large pile of clothes on my couch. I’d been putting off spring cleaning with the excuse that it wasn’tofficiallyspring for three more days, but it had gotten to the point where every time I needed to sit on the couch, I had to shove aside the mini mountain of clothes.
My phone vibrated loudly on top of the coffee table.
Olive
Your chariot awaits! We’re outside
Summer
Ivy just picked me up! See you soon
“Why is it that no matter how early I try to get ready, I’m always running late?” I muttered.
By the time I located my jacket—a mauve peacoat I’d embroidered with gold flowers—most of my clothes were on the floor. Oh well, I would take care of that later. Probably.
“Bye, Felix! Have a good night!” I shouted over my shoulder as I raced to the door. In my distracted rush, my foot caught on the corner of a large box and I hit the hardwood with a gracelessthunk. I blinked away my tears, telling myself it was definitely my stinging knees causing me to cry and not the fact that my very soul felt sofragile, like one more inconvenience would end me. I had a good life, so why did I feel so lost?
I slowly pushed myself up and rested my forehead against the door.
Get your shit together. You’re stronger than this.
Except…sometimes I didn’t want to be strong. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? I needed to toughen up.
I drew in a deep breath and slipped out the door with a fresh determination and a soft smile plastered on my face. Tonight marked a new start. I was determined to make this last year in my twenties count…and hopefully find myself in the process.
“Oohhh, it looks sopretty!” Olive leaned forward to get a better look at the festival through the window.
The two of us were squished in the back of the truck with Finn, one of Olive’s alphas. Her other two alphas—Easton and my brother, Lars—sat up front.
She turned toward me, eyes bright and happy. “Have you been to this before?”
