“I didn’t mean to cause drama or anything. I just couldn’t help it,” I mutter at Dad. The guilt that has been low-key destroying my focus finally spills out.
“Oh, Son, we all know that. Your pack seems nice, though.”
That thought jolts me. I’d been so jealous of Devon. Some part of me wished we would end up together, not because I liked him but because we were best friends, and he was familiar. When he met Mack and Elijah, I was a jealous idiot, and I put distance between us that didn’t need to be there.
Meeting Katsu and Fox has changed everything. The connection is instantaneous. It’s like having someone who has been missing all this time suddenly appear. Like I’ve been waiting for them. They make things clearer, calmer; they dial up my senses and bring the world to crystal clarity. I am attracted to them, and I want to know them and have them know me.
I have only felt that with my Cordelia, so finding it now has hit hard, but seeing her feel the same has brought some hope that we can break this stalemate. And I can bridge the distancebetween us. We’ve been sitting on opposite sides for so long, I don’t even know how.
And their reaction to her…it doesn’t bother me. I’ve had to chase off some alphas who have come sniffing around Cordelia. Inferior, unacceptable alphas. But these two, I don’t have any issues with. In fact, I approve of it. Flashes of erotic fantasies with Fox, Katsu, and Cordie have been flaring all day.
But their reaction validates and confirms what I thought. All my thoughts. She is mine. But there’s something else.
I think she’s my scent match. I think they are my scent matches. All this time, no wonder I couldn’t look at anyone else. It’s always her.
“How did you approach Mum to court her?”
“Carefully,” Dad says without thinking and then flinches. He holds a whisk in my direction. “I did not say that.”
“Yeah, fine. But seriously. You all said Mum didn’t want alphas, so how did you do it?”
“One date at a time. Learn to read the room and when she needs space. You’re going at her speed. Cordelia has been alone for a long time, and her mother is not a fan of alphas.”
“She likes me.”
“That is true, but you haven’t tried to date her daughter yet.”
I freeze, my eyes widening. “I didn’t say….”
“I don’t think you need to, Son, I think everyone in town has been waiting for this moment for years. You will be the biggest source of entertainment for the decade.”
I growl, but dad just smiles, grabs three mugs full of chocolate, and disappears.
I grab my cup and go out onto the porch, staring at her house. I pull out my phone and check my email. There’s nothing there.
Disappointment fills me, but I don’t push it or her.
I just go back to working. I’ve got five projects at the moment that all have deadlines, and I need to pack up my room.
There’s so much we need to figure out, so much I need to do. I rush inside, fill a thermos, and then find myself walking back to Cordelia’s before I can think it through. I use my key and call into the house.
Nothing.
I creep up the stairs, knowing I should not be doing this. Cordelia is singing, off-key and horribly, and I find it adorable.
I push open her door and see her sitting at the computer, her fingers flying across the keyboard.
She has no idea I’m here. I should turn and go away. But she’s shifting in the computer chair, and her scent is stronger, thick like I’ve never smelled it. I try to shake it out of my head, but I can’t.
I step closer. She spins, her eyes go completely wide and massive, fear but something else, something more delectable.
“What are you doing here?” She shrieks and slams her laptop shut.
I glance around her room, looking at her bed; it’s messy like she was lying on it. I want to lay on it with her. My throat aches, and I hold out the flask.
“Peace offering.”
She comes closer, and a rumble explodes out of my chest. She jumps back, but it continues until I feel it in my soul.
