Chapter 53
Wilder
After a year of living in Starlight Grove, I’d successfully avoided all of their almost weekly festivals.
Well, except for last year’s Easter egg hunt, when the fire department had been called after Easton brought dozens of plastic swords and organized a battle for the eggs resulting in a small fire, two children stuck in trees, and a number of lacerations requiring first aid.
The alpha in question was currently wearing an apron as he weighed Felix and Blossom in his hands to see if he could juggle them.
“Don’t ruin their outfits!” Lucy shouted across the store. She caught my eye and blew me a kiss. My cheeks heated.
Felix and Blossom were both wearing hats in the shape of cakes.
When we first got here, Lucy had set up a whole photo shoot with the two of them, using the colorful bakery walls as her backdrop and a tower of desserts as props.
Desserts that somehow kept disappearing, although no one would fess up to being the thief.
Lars and I had been given the task of moving picnic tables from the community center basement—an area I was very familiar with after Stanley told us we had to clean it to prepare for speed dating…
even though speed dating was not held in the basement—to the street in front of the bakery.
I didn’t mind the manual labor, but my chest felt like it was caving in every time Lucy was out of sight.
“It’s hard to leave them, especially at first,” Lars said as we loaded up the final picnic table in the back of his truck.
“What?”
He sighed and pushed the strands of hair that had escaped his bun out of his face—a gesture familiar to me.
“When we first started courting Olive, I thought I would lose my mind every time we were apart. It gets easier.” He frowned.
“Well, maybe not easier, but the bond means I know she’s happy and safe right now. ”
I hadn’t known what to expect from Lucy’s family, but this was much more welcoming—
“Not that I’m saying you should bond her,” he muttered. “And if you hurt her, I will kill you.”
Well, that was more of what I was expecting.
His words echoed in my mind as we finished setting up the tables. The bond means I know she’s happy and safe. My mouth fucking watered, my alpha urging me to pull my omega away from the bakery counter and sink my teeth into her skin.
But Lucy and I would never have that.
I needed to tell her why I would always be on the edge of this pack, no matter how much I wanted her. Fuck, I should have come clean the first time we met. At least if she had rejected me then, I wouldn’t know what she felt like in my arms and tasted like on my lips.
She’d already ruined me. I just hoped I wouldn’t ruin us.
Lars and I were finishing up with the picnic tables when Lucy joined us outside. She’d braided her hair in a crown around her head and looked like a princess.
“It’s almost go time.” Her eyes sparkled as she curled into my side. “Everything looks good.”
“You did an amazing job, sweetheart.”
She glowed with pleasure, and I pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
Stanley had approved the closure of this section of Main Street so Summer could set up picnic tables in the middle of it, making the area feel like an old-school block party.
The bakery itself was an explosion of color, with its yellow awning and the colorful triangle things strung up in the air.
A bright flower garland—the one Leo had finished up yesterday before speed dating—hung over the front door.
It wasn’t long before a line formed outside the bakery. Surprisingly, Stanley and his husband, Harry, were first in line, both wearing bright yellow Suns Out Bánhs Out T-shirts.
The afternoon flew by in a blur of loud music, laughter, and endless food. For the first time in years, being around people didn’t feel like work. The citizens of Starlight Grove were meddling and eccentric but also perfectly happy to accept my quiet, grumpy self.
Leo, King, and I spent most of the party together while Lucy was busy helping her friend.
The best part of the afternoon by far was watching Blossom torment King.
He’d been thrilled when she’d fallen asleep in his arms…
until he stood from the picnic table and his button-down shirt fell open.
Apparently the naughty bunny had secretly chewed off all of his buttons, leaving his bare chest exposed.
Leo and I couldn’t stop laughing, especially when an outraged King placed Blossom on top of the table to lecture her on proper decorum.
Instead of looking guilty, her expression was smug as she turned her back on him, no matter how many times he turned her to face him.
I’d never understood how a group of strangers could form a pack just because they all wanted the same omega, but somehow it worked.
Leo and I were still laughing when Lucy wrapped her arms around me from behind. Her plush lips kissed my prickly cheek. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing,” King muttered as he pulled his shirt together and crossed his arms.
Leo pulled her down between us. “How’s it going?”
“Amazing! We’re completely sold out. Summer said specifically to thank you three for all your help.”
King, Leo, and I shared a smile. I didn’t need a bond to know we were all relieved to have Summer’s approval.
Blossom hopped over to me and nudged my hand until I put her on my shoulder. She snuggled into the crook of my neck, much to King’s outrage. He pointed two fingers at the bunny and mouthed “I’m watching you.”
“What are you doing, azizam?” Leo kissed Lucy’s shoulder as he peered at her phone screen.
“I’m just editing some of the photos from today.”
“I think Felix ended up liking his hat,” King said. The mayor was sprawled on his back on top of our table, his big belly protruding to the sky. His cake hat was askew, but he’d refused to let anyone remove it. Blossom’s matching hat tickled my jaw.
“He always complains about his outfits, but he secretly loves them.”
“Do you use the pictures for anything?” King asked.
“Well…” She shifted, her slightly bitter scent putting me on full alert.
I gripped the back of her neck, squeezing lightly. My alpha clawed at my chest, desperate to fix whatever was wrong. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I just…” Leo nudged her with a reassuring smile, and she took a deep breath. “I have a social media account for Felix. Well, it was originally for Felix, but I’ve posted a couple pictures of him and Blossom together and people really like them.”
“What’s the account?” King whipped out his phone.
“The Real Mayor Felix,” she mumbled.
I peered at her screen. “What social media is that?”
Leo snorted. “What, no electricity or internet at your cabin?”
I scowled. I had electricity.
Lucy giggled and handed me her phone. I squinted at the tiny squares of Felix dressed in elaborate outfits.
“You have six hundred thousand followers?” King’s jaw dropped.
“Shh.” Lucy waved her hands. “Don’t say it so loud.”
Leo tucked her hair behind her ear. “I didn’t realize it was a secret. Why don’t you want people to know?”
She chewed her lip. “I started it like a year and a half ago just for fun, but it really took off. The first people I told were the guys I was dating at the time.”
A loud snarl escaped me before I could stop it. I didn’t know much about Lucy’s exes except that they were fucking assholes.
She took my hand and squeezed. “I was really excited about making costumes for Felix, but they said it was a silly idea and I should do something more serious.”
“What the hell?” King snapped. “Where do they live, baby girl?”
Lucy just shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips. “It’s fine. I shouldn’t let what they said bother me, but I just kept going with the account in secret. Now it’s been so long I feel weird bringing it up to everyone.”
King and I locked eyes, and I knew we were in agreement that nothing about this was fine. Those fuckers required sufficient payback for how they’d treated our omega.
“It’s not like they were wrong—the account is silly—but I’m finally realizing that maybe it’s okay to do something just to make people happy.
My followers love giving me outfit ideas, too, which forces me to learn new techniques.
I don’t have a lot of experience making stuffed animals, for example, but I’ve learned enough from making these cake hats that I think I can make some now.
I thought you might like to have some in your truck to give out to kids.
” She glanced up at me through her eyelashes.
“That would be amazing.” My tone was gruff, my chest aching. The world would be a better place if people had a fraction of her thoughtfulness.
“Show me how to sign up for an account.” I held out my phone to her, but before she could take it, the screen lit up with a call from the station. I sighed, wishing I didn’t have to answer. Getting a call on my day off was never a good sign.
My fears were confirmed when Ezra told me a large warehouse fire had broken out in Briar’s Landing. They needed another engine.
“I have to go in.” I gripped Lucy’s jaw and pressed a hard kiss to her lips.
“Stay safe.” Her wide eyes met mine and she squeezed my hand hard. “Give us an update when you can?”
“I will.”
I jogged away, feeling like I was leaving my heart behind.