Everything happened so fast.One moment I was hugging Bella and Ellie, and the next moment, Dawson—the fucker—was hoisting Ellie off the ground and running away with her into the forest.
After the twins gave me the bracelet as a gift, we all walked together back to the table, with Nadia and Bella beside me, and Ellie holding on to Nadia.
We were almost at the table when Ellie blurted out something I hope I will never hear too soon from either of the twins—that they smell their mate.
“I think I smelled my mate the moment we came, but then the smell became faint, and then it was gone. Is it possible to hallucinate a smell?” She asked in a low voice.
We all stopped in our tracks as Nadia inquired more about what exactly she smelled. And while she was describing it to Nadia, my eyes were scanning the ground, searching for the two unmated males with us, with the exception of my Beta. My eyes found Darvin sitting arrogantly in his chair. But I couldn’t find Dawson.
“Where the fuck is Dawson?” I was growling, turning my body around trying to spot him.
But the moment he appeared and went directly to Ellie, all hope was gone that I would be able to spoil my sisters before they found their mate.
But I still had Bella.
Although it saddened me, I was thankful it was Dawson. He might be crazy and loud, but he was not a fuckboy, and he lived just an hour away. It meant I could see Ellie anytime I wanted to.
We continued eating without them, and the conversation running around the table made me forget for a while that Dawson and Ellie were not around.
Until I saw Bella’s face. And then Sofia’s. And then Katarina’s.
‘I think all the females beside you are sulking.’I sent Nadia a mind link.
‘I know. But I don’t know how to handle it. Just let them be for a while. It’s not fun to be an unmated female in a place where everyone is shouting mate and mine.’Nadia responded, and my gaze drifted to my left, checking the two unmated males beside me.
Dominic and Darvin were having their own conversation, and from the looks of it, both were not bothered by being the only unmated males in the group. It’s either they were not really bothered, or they were just good at hiding it.
NADIA.
Everyone was enjoying their meals when Dawson and Ellie came back hand in hand.
My eyes flew to Ellie’s neck to check if she was marked, but there was nothing. But even with the absence of the mark, I could see that they had accepted each other.
Riley was quiet, like Leandro, but Zahra stood up from her seat as well as Bella. Caleb did as well, and the new couple parted ways to meet their own families.
“Atta boy!” Caleb hugged Dawson, and they tried to outdo each other, laughing. My own lips curved into a smile as I watched the brothers, knowing that they’d been waiting for their mate for a long time already.
“Mom will be ecstatic! Poor Trent! I hope he brought home a mate too.” Dawson told Caleb.
“We still have one unmated female over eighteen. Maybe Trent is mated to her,” Felix added, his eyes teasing Leandro, and Leandro just shook his head.
“One is enough for today. Let’s save Bella for another day.”
I heard Riley chuckle. He was probably agreeing with Leandro because he was not keen on the idea of having both his sisters get mated right away.
“Hello, Dad! I’m here. Let’s not discuss me. I’m too young to get mated.” Bella said, flipping her long blonde hair as she sat back in her chair.
I giggled and leaned closer to Katarinaso I could whisper nearer to Bella. “Wait till you see Trent and tell me you don’t want to be mated with him. He’s gorgeous.”
“I can hear you, Nadia.” Riley’s voice reached my ears, and it was laced with jealousy. I could imagine him frowning.
I giggled and swung my head at him. “Of course, but he’s not as gorgeous as you. Close but not quite.” I winked at him, and from the look that he was giving me, I was sure he was warning me about a punishment I would be so willing to receive.
After the high of Dawson and Ellie finding each other, the rest continued with their meal as I just looked around. And just when everything was calming down, my mate stood up from his chair, taking a glass of wine before he began speaking.
“I would like to offer a toast to my female, my mate. And to everyone at this table, because if you’re here, that means you’re one of Nadia’s favorite people. Of course, that’s after me.”
I chuckled, as everyone did. I grabbed my juice glass and clinked it with my Alpha before raising it to acknowledge everyone around us.
