51. Olive
51
OLIVE
Marisol and Carmen were ahead of me in line at Beans ‘n Bliss and immediately pulled me into their conversation. The sisters were wearing matching cherry-red rain jackets and glittery eyeshadow.
“Olive! It’s so good to see you, cari?o. We’re hosting another dance night soon. You should bring all those hunky men of yours,” Carmen said with a wink.
“You and Easton were the stars of the evening,” Marisol added.
My cheeks heated at the reminder of what terrible dancers we were. “Um, thank you.”
Marisol leaned in and lowered her voice, although for her that just brought it down to a normal volume. “How is it going with them?”
I clutched my phone as if I could will them to respond to my message. “It’s good. They’re wonderful.”
Carmen nodded. “They’ve always been good boys. Poor Easton with that horrible mother of his. I think the whole town celebrated once she finally moved away.”
“And losing Carina and Fredrik was awful. The whole town attended their funeral,” Marisol said .
“I cried for days.” Carmen dabbed her eyes. “And I’m so glad Lars has finally gotten over that other omega.”
I froze as her words echoed in my head like some sort of horror movie soundtrack.
“Other omega?” I asked, keeping my tone as nonchalant as possible.
Marisol gasped. “Oh, I had completely forgotten about that. Years ago, Lars scented an omega and became absolutely obsessed with her. It’s one of the reasons he’s barely dated—he was waiting for her.”
“It was quite romantic,” Carmen said with a sigh. “But also unhealthy, I think, to be so fixated on someone. It’s much better he’s with you now.”
The line moved and it was Carmen and Marisol’s turn to order, saving me from answering. Not that I would have been able to form words right now. My heart was pounding, sweat was pouring down my armpits, and the room spun around me.
Lars had wanted another omega for years ?
He’d been obsessed with her?
And he’d never said anything, even after we talked about exes the other night?
I ordered my latte and stepped to the side as I waited for it to be ready. My chest was tight and I was on the verge of hyperventilating. I squeezed my hands into fists as I tried to keep my breathing even, but it felt hopeless—my omega was equally devastated and filled with rage.
The barista called out my name. My hands shook as I put a lid on my drink.
“Olive?”
I held in a frustrated scream. I didn’t want to talk to anyone now. All I wanted was to be home, in my nest, alone.
I turned around and saw Frida, Lars’s mom, sitting at a corner table. I slightly softened seeing her and forced a smile on my face.
“Hi.”
She looked around for a minute. “Are you here alone?”
I nodded. “The guys left earlier to get something for the restoration. I just wanted some coffee, but I do have to head back to the lighthouse to monitor the storm.”
There was a loud crack of thunder, and Frida’s brow furrowed. “How’re you getting home?”
“I have my bike.” I wasn’t looking forward to riding it back. It might be a better idea to walk it back. The path to the lighthouse was probably muddy.
“Absolutely not,” Frida said with a frown. “I’ll drive you.” She immediately started packing up her things—a laptop, a small notepad, and a pen.
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. You should stay.”
“Nonsense. I’m done with my work, and it’s probably best for all of us to be home before this gets worse.”
I should have protested more, but the truth was I was too intimidated to argue with this alpha.
“That’s a nice rain jacket,” she said as we headed to the door, throwing out her empty coffee cup. “I always say there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.”
A pang of longing went through me. Just then, Frida had sounded so much like my dad. I wished more than anything I lived in an alternate timeline where my parents could come with me to a family dinner at the Andersson-Spring house.
I pulled up my hood and braced myself for the cold wind and rain. Luckily, Frida was parked right in front of Beans ‘n Bliss. I opened the passenger side door and got in, but right before I closed it, Felix leapt inside. He was absolutely drenched.
“Oh my goodness,” I gasped, pulling the door shut. “Did you get caught in the storm?”
Felix meowed pitifully. I put my coffee in the drink holder and unzipped my jacket so he could crawl inside.
Frida shut the driver’s side door behind her and pulled down her drenched hood. “Felix, what on earth? I have never seen him act like that. He’s usually quite reserved.”
Reserved was the absolute last word I would use to describe Felix. Diabolical mastermind, meddling matchmaker, and mystical otherworldly creature felt more accurate .
“He seems to like the lighthouse cottage, so we’ve spent a lot of time together.”
Frida pulled away from the curb and headed to the access road that allowed cars to drive up to the back of the lighthouse. “I don’t think it’s the cottage he loves. Lars said he’s been staying at your house pretty much since you moved in. Felix usually picks a new home every night to sleep in, so this is unusual behavior for him.”
The idea that Felix had specifically chosen to spend time with me made me tear up and hold him tighter.
I sent another text to my guys and stared at my phone screen, desperately wishing they would respond. My heart felt raw and exposed, like I was teetering on the edge of a gaping hole of loneliness and rejection. Why had they abandoned me? What if something happened to them? What if they were hurt?
I wouldn’t be able to handle it. They were mine.
Except for Lars, the traitor.
And then I burst into tears.
“Oh dear,” Frida said. “Olive, honey, are you okay?”
“The guys aren’t responding to me,” I choked out as I tried to hold in my sobs.
“Reception around here is absolutely terrible with storms,” the alpha said, speaking in a low, soothing tone. “I’m sure they’re absolutely fine. I’m sure they’re not ignoring you.”
Her words just made me cry even harder. Great, now she would definitely regret offering me a ride home.
The car came to a stop and I squinted through the window, realizing we were already at the lighthouse. The rain was coming down so hard I could barely see the back entrance.
“I know this is a delicate question,” Frida said slowly. “But are you close to your heat, honey? Your scent is quite strong.”
“Oh no,” I said, covering my face with my hands. “I’m so sorry.” Now her car would smell like me, and I’m sure that would upset her omega. “I’ll just go.”
“Stop.” A gentle hand encircled my wrist. “Your scent doesn’t bother me, and it certainly won’t bother my pack. What I need now is to know my son’s omega is taken care of. ”
Her son, who was apparently settling by being with me when he’d spent years dreaming of someone else.
But that wasn’t a conversation I could handle right now, so I needed to pull my shit together.
I took a deep, shuddering breath. “I’ll be fine, I promise.” I curved my lips into a watery smile, but the expression felt foreign. “I’m sure they’ll be back this evening. This is just hormones.” I waved at my tears. “And I have Felix to keep me company.”
The cat chose that moment to poke his head out from his cozy spot under my jacket. He locked eyes with Frida and meowed.
Frida didn’t look convinced, but she sighed. “At least let me give you my phone number. If you need anything, please reach out. You won’t be any bother.”
She needed to stop being so nice to me or I would never stop crying. We exchanged numbers, and the whole time I wished my mom was here.
“Thank you,” I said. “For the ride and… just thank you.”
Frida gave my hand a gentle squeeze, and then I was out of the car and clumsily running to the door, making sure Felix was securely tucked into my jacket.
Ten minutes later, I had changed into dry clothes, wrapped a blanket around Felix, and made a cup of hot chocolate. After all that drama, I’d forgotten my latte in Frida’s car.
I perched on my chair in the lighthouse observation room, a dry Felix curled up on my lap. I had the radar pulled up and the radio on to catch any ship or Ocean Rescue transmissions.
The radio crackled with static. “Attention: Ocean Rescue is needed for a fishing boat that’s run into rocks. Starlight Grove is the nearest marina.”
I sat up straighter. Ocean Rescue generally didn’t leave from Starlight Grove since Briar’s Landing had the larger port.
“Ocean Rescue responding.” A female voice crackled through the radio. “We have a team dispatched to Starlight Grove Marina that is set to arrive in ten minutes.”
“Copy that, Ocean Rescue.” The man reported the details of the ship’s location. “There are three people on board and no injuries are reported. The name of the boat is My Sweet Olive .”
I froze. My knuckles turned white from how hard I was gripping the table. Did he just say what I thought he said? I fumbled with the radio until I hit the correct button.
“This is Starlight Grove’s Lighthouse Keeper. Did you say the boat is My Sweet Olive ?”
“Affirmative.”
The room spun around me and the edges of my vision grew black. I pulled myself together enough to adjust the lighthouse settings before picking up the radio again.
“The Starlight Grove Lighthouse is now unmanned. The beacon’s storm pattern is lit.”
If there was a response, I didn’t hear it. I was already sprinting down the stairs, grabbing my rain jacket and boots as I went. Felix chased after me and batted at my leg.
“It’s them, Felix,” I shouted, almost falling on my ass as I pulled on my boot. “That’s why they’re not responding. They’re on the fucking boat.”
Because there was only one fishing boat with that name.
And only one reason it would be on its way to Starlight Grove.