“Liv?”
Liv’s shoulders drooped. Giving Fern a pleading look, she said, “Please know I never wanted to lie to you. But I was born one.”
Fern’s mouth fell open.
“Humans don’t know about us. Our populations are small. It’s too dangerous if they found out,” Noa chimed in, clarifying.
Olivia Montclair hadneverbeen a human. Betrayal and understanding played tug-of-war within Fern, hot rope burn searing her chest andtightening her gut. “This whole time? We’ve been friends for adecade.”
Liv’s mouth fell farther into the largest frown Fern had ever seen, and she reached for Fern down the table. “I’m sorry, lovey. I can explain everything now.”
She nodded, appetite slowly returning at Olivia’s contrition. Lifting her burger, she awaited her answers.
It turned out Olivia Montclair had been born to two alpha wolf shifters, but she was inert. That, Fern learned, meant Liv had an animal buried within her that she couldn’t access until she came to Beckett Falls and met Ben. Olivia promised Fern an additional conversation on the topic later.
Moving on, Fern learned Ben was elected alpha of the pack four years earlier, and Olivia joined him in leadership after they mated. With all the details before her, Beckett Falls sounded like a big HR department… withomegas, which she helpfully pointed out.
Liv fought a smile. “It’s different. Alphas at the top, then betas—”
Fern nodded knowingly, but Olivia gave her a teacher look and shook her head.
“No. They’retitles, that’s all. Alphas at the top, then betas, then the enforcers who protect the town, and everyone else is an omega—the people who work in standard jobs for the pack.”
“No heats?”
“Not really.”
“What do you mean, ‘not really’?”
Liv’s impatient sigh prompted Fern’s laughter before she launched into more clarifying questions that carried them through lunch and back to the pond.
Of note, she learned there were no worms or lobsters or horses, but there was a honey badger in town. They could only turn into animals from the Carnivora order, an oddly scientific quirk of the magic.
“Are there other types of magic?” Fern asked as she braided Noa’s hair by the waterside.
“Like what?”
“Vampires? Demons? Witches?”
“No. No. Dunno.”
“Dunno?” Fern snapped Noa’s hair tie and gave her braid a tug, letting her know it was finished.
“I’ve never met any, but I’ve heard stories.”
“Like charms and spells and stuff? Or tarot?” she checked.
“Sorta. I’m going to grab a beer. Want another one?”
“Yeah,” Fern replied, and Noa bounced away. Waving Adam over, because she still needed a lot of information, she asked, “Can we rewind for a minute? I have another question.”
“What’s up?” He swam up to where she sat on the stone, her feet in the water and a formerly cold beer in her hand. “Is this about the boats?”
“No.” She’d gotten permission to use one of his kayaks on Monday, but that’s not what she was curious about. Primarily, she was wondering where the fuck Elliott went, but she wouldn’t ask that one. With no shortage of things she wanted to learn, she went with: “You guys said Liv became alpha when she and Ben mated. What’s mating?”
Adam dipped under water and pushed away, gliding across the pond like a human torpedo.
“I’ll take that one, I guess.” Noa chuckled and joined Fern on the rock, handing her a fresh beer. “Mating is like marriage.”
