Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Today is the day.
I’m going to meet Sax.
I’m going to be sick.
After puking up my guts, hair and makeup fixed me back up, and Drew came to collect me and take me to the house. He’s quiet, almost somber, as he climbs into the golf cart to take me to the other side of the complex.
He pulls us into a spot in front of the house. “This is a good thing. I promise. It’ll all be worth it.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Why are you talking like I’m going to the gallows, Drew?”
“I’m not. I know you’re scared, and I want you to know that things will be fine. It’s going to work out between you and Sax.”
“Have you met him?”
Drew ducks his head and rubs the back of his neck. He doesn’t make eye contact with me. “I sat in on the interview with Bradley.”
I want to grab him by the front of his stuffy polo and demand that he tell me everything, but I don’t. I’ll find out for myself in just a few moments.
The Expected house is incredible, but I knew it would be.
From the outside, it is unassuming, but inside, it’s pure luxury.
It has all the latest gadgets, some not yet released, is impeccably decorated, and is outfitted with cameras everywhere except the bathrooms. Drew shows me how I can turn off the bedroom cameras as he walks me through the house.
“But if you do, or if production thinks that something juicy happened off camera, there will be a mandatory interview the next morning to go over what happened while they were off. It’s better to leave them on, if at all possible.
The mics on them are sensitive, and there are more hidden around the house, so you won’t need to be mic’d.
Just remember, the crew has seen it all before.
You don’t need to worry about what they see.
They’ll edit out or censor the most salacious bits. ”
“I think I’ll take the interview, thanks.”
Not that I think Sax and I are going to fall right into bed with one another, but if the mood arises, I wouldn’t say no.
Bridgette comes gliding into the living room with Bradley, her husband and cohost, beside her.
This is the first time I’ve met him, since he was the one who interviewed Sax.
He’s just as beautiful as his wife, but his is manufactured, while hers feels natural.
With his unnaturally tanned skin and bleached blond hair, he looks like every other reality television host.
“Are you excited, Ariana?” He adjusts his tie and beams at me. “This is the moment that will change your life.”
“No pressure, then.”
Bradley laughs heartily, clearly playing it up for the cameras. They are always rolling in the house, and there is no telling what footage will make it into our episodes.
“In a few moments, we’ll leave the house and send Sax in.
After that, the doors will lock, and we’ll be communicating with you via the televisions.
” Bradley points to a small camera mounted above the television.
The TV is on, and the show’s logo fills the screen.
“Expect us to pop up every so often to update you on anything that you need to know over the week.”
It’s not enough that Sax and I will be getting to know each other in person, but the producers make a game of it. Over the next week, they will give us daily challenges tailored to our relationship.
I’ve seen everything from team-building exercises to trivia games. One time, they even hooked one party up to a lie detector when the other didn’t believe a word they were saying.
We will get incentives for passing their challenges. Some of them don’t seem like rewards to me, but we had to fill out a lot of forms about what we liked and disliked before filming, so they can make sure it’s something we would want.
I have no idea where they come up with the challenge ideas, but I keep telling myself it’s worth it to get to spend some time with Sax.
Bridgette gently touches my shoulder. “Ariana.” Her smooth, kind voice interrupts my thoughts. “This is going to be a good thing, I just know it. Keep an open mind, okay?”
Why does everyone keep telling me it’s going to be a good thing? Why would they assume I’d think it’s not? Despite how difficult it was to leave my home and put myself at risk, finally meeting Sax is worth all the discomfort.
I can do this.
I’ve done this.
I’m here.
I’m chewing on her words, trying to decide how I’m supposed to react to them, when Bradley angles his body toward a camera mounted on the front of the refrigerator. Odd place for a camera, but what do I know?
“We’ve got Ariana all settled here in the Expected house. Doesn’t she look beautiful? Sax is going to be blown away.” He winks dramatically at me before facing the fridge again. “And now, my beautiful wife and I are going to send in Sax. Ariana, I hope this is everything that you expected.”
My heart beats loudly in my chest as I watch them leave out the front door. The sound it makes as it closes is deafening in the tense silence.
That door is where he’s going to come in. That plain wooden door with the golden knob. It’s going to open up, and he’s going to cross the threshold, and my life is going to change forever.
Do I wait here and watch him walk in? Is that weird?
Maybe I should sit on the couch and pose myself beautifully, with this uncomfortable dress spread out around me. Or go into the bedroom, recline on the bed all sexy like, and have him find me.
Should I make a drink to offer him when he comes in? Have it in my hand like a vintage housewife?
No, Sax wouldn’t want that. He knows who I am. He won’t want me to pretend I’m anything I’m not.
I run my hands down the front of my dress, a knee-length A-line copper satin number that wardrobe shoved me into this morning. Apparently, the outfit I packed for this moment wasn’t “dramatic” enough. It tucks in my waist and pushes my breasts up, giving an enviable silhouette.
I still look like myself, don’t I? What if I don’t? What if, God forbid, we get intimate, and he hates the way my body looks outside of this dress?
What if he isn’t as attracted to me as I am to him?
He has to be at least a little attracted to me. All the sensuous phone calls during my heat couldn’t have been faked.
I’m still standing in the middle of the room like an idiot when the front door opens. The sun momentarily blinds me, but when my vision adjusts, he’s standing right there.
Sax is standing in front of me, haloed by the sunlight, every bit the person I expected him to be.
He’s just as gorgeous as he was on my tiny phone screen. Tall, with a trim waist and broad shoulders. Classically handsome, with a strong nose and shy smile. He’s the type of man people salivate over.
And I hope he wants me the way I want him.
He’s taller than me, with blond hair that is neatly styled, longer on top and faded on the sides in a trendy, fresh cut, and slate grey eyes shimmer behind his glasses.
They dressed him in an uncomfortable-looking pair of slacks and left the top two buttons of his collar undone, highlighting sand-colored skin that I just know is soft.
An unreadable expression flashes across his face as he stares at me from the doorway.
“Onion.” It sounds like a prayer on his lips, and my throat immediately tightens. I didn’t realize how much I needed this. How much I love him. “Hi.”
“Hi.” I don’t know what else to say. I’m afraid that if I try, I’ll devolve into relieved, desperate sobs at finally standing in front of him and scare him away.
We stare at each other for a moment in a heavy silence. My heart is skipping in my chest, and I want to run to him, but I can’t seem to make my legs move. They’re heavy with the weight of this moment.
He takes a few steps forward, and several things happen at once.
The mouthwateringly sweet scent of fresh-baked pecan pie swirls around me, causing a whine to build in my throat and my panties to grow slick.
Oh, fuck.
No no no no no no no no.
This can’t be happening.
This can’t be happening.
Sax is my scent match.
My scent match.
I know that as surely as I know my own name.
And that isn’t the scent of a Beta. It’s too intense, the reaction it produces in me too primal.
He’s an Alpha.
Sax is an Alpha.
And he lied to me this whole time.
Ten years down the drain. Ten years of lies and deception.
I take several steps back, tears threatening to spill down my cheeks, and his face falls.
“Onion, wait.” I try to tune out his pleading tone as he takes another step toward me. “You have to let me explain.” His pupils are blown wide, and I know my scent is having the same effect on him as his on me, even though it is no doubt sour with distress.
I can’t think about that right now.
All I can think about is the fact that my worst fear has come to light.
The thing I have spent my adult life afraid of has happened, and it’s all his fault.
The man I love, the one person who was always there for me, has ruined everything.
“You lied to me.” It’s a whimper that I once would have been embarrassed about. Not this time. “For ten years. You lied to me the entire time.”
“I know, and I’m sorry but-”
I bite back a whine, choosing to turn my distress into fury.
“But nothing! You agreed to this, knowing how scared I was of this exact situation happening.” I turn to face one of the nearby cameras, a sneer on my face.
“For the viewers at home, not only has Sax been lying to me about his designation, hiding the fact that he’s an Alpha, which I guess you already know based on his interview, but he’s my scent match.
Which means without exposure to his pheromones for the rest of my life, I could die, just like my brother did. ”
He tries to say something, taking another step closer to me, but I don’t let him. “I’ve cried to you about this more times than I can count. No one knows me as well as you do. Did you come here to embarrass me on national tv? Is this funny to you?”
“Of course it’s not funny!” The distress in his voice does absolutely nothing to me. It does not make me want to curl up in his arms until he feels better. Not even a little bit. “But you have to understand, Onion.”
I flinch back as if slapped.
How could this happen to me? I have hidden away for years to make sure this never happened, and the person I love most is the one who doomed me. My voice is high-pitched, veering on hysterical.
“You’ve ruined my life, Sax.”
His face falls. Shoulders slump. His rich scent turns burnt and bitter.
Before he can say anything, the door behind him opens, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Bridgette and Bradley must be coming back to take me out of this living nightmare, even though my contract says they’re not liable if I scent match someone during production of the show.
They knew he was an Alpha. They knew this could happen. And they let me do it for the ratings.
I’m a joke. Everyone is laughing at me.
I shouldn’t have left my house. My fears were legitimate. Validated. I was right to be afraid of this, because the first time I leave my house in eight whole years, I scent match with an Alpha.
I don’t have time to be smug in my validation, because when the door opens, it’s not the beautiful Beta hosts.
Two gorgeous men file in and stand on either side of Sax.
An Alpha and a Beta, both of them with scents that make me feel lightheaded. Something floral, something spicy.
What is happening? Oh God, how could this happen?
Sax speaks as if he is afraid to spook me. “Onion. This is my pack. And… we’re all Sax.”
My vision darkens at the edges, and I get a glimpse of Sax, the first Sax, lunging for me before everything goes black.