Lia’s lips curve into a smile, though her eyes are still searching mine. “You’re not upset or anything?”
I meet her gaze and don’t look away. “I could never be upset with you wanting more for yourself.”
And that’s the truth.
At least, part of the truth.
Because beneath the calm, beneath the support, beneath the carefully measured Alpha restraint, a decision locks into place in my mind with absolute clarity.
I’m not letting this happen again.
I don’t know how I’m going to do it. I don’t know how I’m going to convince her that her life is here. That her life is with us, her pack—something I’m still wrapping my head around.
I won’t force her. I won’t pressure her. I won’t clip her wings and call it love. But somehow, someway, I will show her that her future is here. That she can have her dream bakery and a pack that respects her, all without having to uproot her life.
I won’t go down without a fight.
And it starts with me winning on Friday night.
Lia
The neon lights of the bowling alley buzz with the excitement in my veins.
I park my car toward the front and already see Eli waving me down from the awning that hangs over the alley’s entrance. It’s Friday night, and I’ve been looking forward to this all week.
Bowling is my safe space. It’s the one thing I do that’s just for me. And now, I’m about to share that with three Alphas that have become a part of my daily life.
It’s refreshing being around people that don’t define me by my ARS.
Honeysuckle Grove has become a refreshing place to be.
I check my reflection in the little pull-down mirror in my car for a split second, wiping at a smudge of lip gloss in the corner of my mouth. The faint smell of fried food and resin from the lanes hits me the instant I step out of my car.
The other scent that hits me is him.
Eli.
“Hey, hey, hey!” he says as he jogs over, his usual bright smile in place. “You made it!”
He comes in for a hug, and I surprise myself when I take it. His arms are long and arm, and I find that my head plants itself nicely against his chest.
“Where’s the little one tonight?” I ask, wondering if Amber’s joining.
“Grandparent sleepover,” he says, his arms keeping me tucked against him. “Both sets have her tonight. They’re all at my parents’ place.”
I’m not ready to step out of his grasp yet. “Does that happen often? Grandparent sleepovers?”
“Just about every weekend.”
His hug is… nice. His hand works its way up and down my spine, calming the shiver I feel ricocheting through my muscles. My pre-heat has been rough today. I was worried I’d have to cancel. But that tea from Dr. Quinn and those vitamins, plus my hot showers, are keeping me as planted as I can be.
“Hey now,” Knox’s voice chimes in from behind us, “I want me one of those. Come here, Sunshine.”
Knox’s scent wraps around me like a glove as I pull away from Eli and find myself trapped in his embrace. Where Eli’s arms are long and lean, Knox has strong arms from all of the handyman work he does.
His muscles press against my back, stoking a heat in my gut that makes my toes curl in my tennis shoes. My Omega side is greedy and my nostrils flare, just to draw in a little more of his scent while I’m practically buried in his chest.
Then I feel Knox’s hand wandering to my side before his fingertips move quickly over the dip in my waist.
