12. Belle #3
Marcus is watching me with an expression of fascination as I go through the list of invitees. Felix has that slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth, like he's genuinely entertained. Theo's dark eyes are completely focused on me, and Adam looks somewhere between impressed and mortified.
I pause, realizing I'm practically lecturing three of the most prominent men in town, but I can't seem to stop.
"Even Jake Sullivan almost threw his invitation away because he was convinced he didn't deserve it.
But he's the one who opens his hardware store at dawn for emergencies, who never charges full price for elderly customers, who taught my neighbor's grandson how to fix his bike for free.
These are the people who make Willbrook what it is, who give and give without ever expecting recognition.
If anyone deserves a magical night, it's them. "
The four men are all staring at me now, and I suddenly realize I've been gesturing wildly with my free hand while completely monopolizing the conversation.
"I just assumed... I mean, you're all obviously successful members of the community..." Adam says, as everyone stops to just stare at me.
"Not everyone who deserves an invitation receives one," Felix says quietly.
These three men are clearly intelligent, successful, and contributing members of the community, but they have been excluded from the same event that somehow deemed Adam and me worthy of attendance.
"Fairness is rarely a factor in social exclusion," Theo replies with the pragmatism of someone who's experienced it firsthand.
"But you're all... I mean, you contribute so much to the community. Mr. Romano is designing our library expansion, Mr. Sterling's development projects have brought jobs and growth to the region, and Mr. Blackwood..." I trail off, realizing I don't actually know what Theo does professionally.
"Provides security consulting," Theo finishes with amusement. "And thank you for the sentiment, but we're used to being excluded from certain social circles."
"It doesn't make it right," Adam says firmly, and I'm proud of him for speaking up despite his usual shyness around intimidating strangers.
"No," Marcus agrees, "it doesn't. But it's the reality we've learned to work with."
There's something profound about this moment as we have an honest conversation with three men who've been demonized by town gossip, realizing that exclusion and inclusion often have nothing to do with merit or character.
"Well," I say impulsively, "if you're ever interested in attending library events, you'd be more than welcome. We're always looking for community members who understand the value of education and cultural programming."
Belle, stop talking. The library is an open space. Of course they know that they can come in. They've done it before. They don't need an invite from me.
"That's very kind of you," Felix says softly. "We might take you up on that."
"Please do," Adam adds. "Belle's right, the library should be welcoming to everyone who values what it represents."
As we part ways and continue down the street, I find myself thinking about the contrast between the Beast Pack's reputation and the reality of our interaction. They were polite, intelligent, and genuinely kind, and nothing like the dangerous, antisocial alphas that town gossip portrays them as.
An alpha in a business suit passes us on the sidewalk, and I notice immediately that I can't smell him at all.
My suppressants are working perfectly again, just like they always have with every other alpha I've ever encountered.
It's only around Marcus, Felix, and Theo that they seem to completely fail me.
The realization makes my stomach flip with a mixture of confusion and something that feels dangerously close to excitement.
"That was interesting," Adam says once we're out of earshot.
"Yeah, they're totally different than I thought they'd be."
"What did you expect?" Adam asks.
"I don't know, maybe more like... brooding and scary? The way everyone talks about them, I expected them to grunt and glare at us. But they were actually sweet."
"And they didn't get invited to the ball," Adam says. "Which is honestly kind of messed up when you think about who did get invitations."
"Maybe that's something we can ask about at the ball," I suggest. "Discreetly, of course."
"Discreetly investigating social exclusion while fake-dating your best friend," Adam muses. "This evening just keeps getting more complicated."
"Complicated isn't necessarily bad."
"No," Adam agrees, looking at me with an expression I can't quite interpret. "Sometimes complicated is exactly what you need to make things interesting."
As we head home with our formal wear and our growing list of questions about the ball's true nature, I realize that our fake dating has already accomplished something I hadn't expected: it's got us actually paying attention to how weird our town really is, questioning stuff we've always just accepted as normal.
And it's given me a reason to figure out why my suppressants only seem to work sometimes. I need to get this sorted out before the ball. The last thing I want is to have everything fall apart in front of hundreds of strangers at the biggest event of the year.
Maybe pretending to be in love with my best friend will teach me more than just how to act romantic. And maybe that's exactly what I need to figure out what I actually want from life, instead of just hiding from what scares me.