Chapter 1
Cordelia
Ijog up my front steps, trying not to fall on my face while simultaneously avoiding the grasping hand trying to yank me back around.
“Get lost, Sebastian.”
I shove my front door open, but his massive hand reaches past and pulls it shut. The growl in my throat would make any other person back down, but not him. I spin around, but he doesn’t back up.
“It’s hard to get lost in Sunshine,” he says far too cheerfully, but then he’s got the upper hand today.
“Try harder,” I say through gritted teeth.
“It was an accident.”
“Falling over is an accident; spilling a coffee is an accident. You told a total stranger that had just asked me out that we were siblings and then pretended to kiss me. It was humiliating!”
He chuckles, which only infuriates me more. “He was weird. The guy had a look about him.”
I let out a tiny shriek. “What do you care if I go on a date with someone?”
“I don’t,” he mutters. “But he wasn’t right. He looked like a serial killer.”
I throw my hands in the air. “You are the biggest pain, Sebastian Sol. You are-”
“A delight?”
I spin back to the door and turn the handle, fighting his grip to get it open.
“No!” I snap, thoroughly exasperated. “You are an overbearing pain in my-”
“Careful, Cordie,” Sebastian murmurs from behind me, making my skin prickle.
For three long seconds, I’m frozen, then I attempt to wrestle the door free with even more urgency so I can escape with my dignity bruised but intact.
“Oh, come on, Cordie, don’t be like that. I was only trying to help.”
“Help this, you rat!“ I snarl over my shoulder as I finally get into my house and slam the door shut in his stupid face. On the other side of the wood barricade comes his mocking laughter, so rich and warm. I hear that sound in my sleep. He is everywhere; there’s no way to escape him. Sebastian and Sunshine Cove are synonymous with each other.
I lean against the wall, listening to him talk to me but ignoring the words. The memory of the way he leaned in, his hand on my mouth, his face so close to mine, ignited all my feelings I’ve been trying to hide. I was sure he’d see through me. My omega scent had risen and spread through the café, drowning out everything else, azaleas and cold winter rain, throbbing with an icy heat, revealing everything to everyone. Awakening a part of me I thought was going to sleep forever.
I should have known better.
My omega woke up, and I know he felt it. His eyes had stared into mine, hungry and alarmed, before the beta hadbroken the spell, screaming about incestuous crimes. Just because Sebastian had noticed me at that moment doesn’t mean anything will change. It won’t. He’s Sebastian Sol, and I’mjustCordelia Lake.
I grind my molars and stalk through my house, pausing to paste a perfect smile on my lips before I walk into my lounge room. I hope I can get just a few minutes’ respite from him before I need to deal with taking Don Ulrichtes restored painting down to Felix and Asher’s gallery.
Mum turns when I enter the room, her hands float at her sides. She’s wearing an orange and pink maxi dress and has her black hair in the plait I put it in this morning, though I did not add all the flowers to it.
“Baby! Oh-oh, what has he done now?”
“Hey, Mum,” I say and do a quick assessment of the room. She’s got flowers in vases everywhere, on every surface. I knew this new hobby was taking root, but apparently, the flower delivery came today. Her protein shake is untouched, and the pink velvet pillows are still on her mauve lounge, meaning she hasn’t even watched her favourite show because she has been so obsessed. Everything looks…good. Fine. Safe. Familiar.
She looks happy, even if her eyes are a little unfocused and seeing a world I can’t. She flounces back to her chair and lets out a tittering laugh as she reaches for the remote to turn off the old romantic movie that’s playing on mute. I wonder if it’s the first time she’s sat down since I left.
I blow my hair out of my face and try not to start the inevitable interrogation. Have you eaten? Where are these flowers going to go? What new hobby are we learning now?
“Nothing, he, Sebastian, well…nothing, it doesn’t matter.”
