Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
It’s not the time to tell Ariana that Derrick left, but she’s looking at Grant and me through narrowed eyes, knowing there is something on the paper from the producers she’s missing.
We’re done keeping secrets from her.
When Grant hands her the letter, I brace myself for more tears.
But there are none.
She looks almost relieved. She folds the paper with a gentle hand and places it on the table.
“Well, it’s nearly three. I suppose we should get started on this scavenger hunt so we have time to enjoy our reward, right?”
Grant’s jaw is a little slack as he stares at her. He looks as surprised as I am that she isn’t torn up about Derrick leaving the property. It makes me nervous to think that it may be because she doesn’t care about him.
But she has to, right?
Feelings like that don’t go away overnight.
After a moment, I clear my dry throat. “Yeah, I’m curious what they hid, and how they got it.”
“I bet they got mine from Marlie, since she’s the one who applied for me. And now I’m worried about what she could have given them.” She jumps to her feet, eyes wide. “Shit, what if she gave them my vibrator or something?”
“I doubt it. That doesn’t feel like something you’d need to explain to us. Now, if you wanted to give us a demonstration…”
Grant smacks me on the chest. “Don’t be gross.”
I hold my hands up in defense. “I’m just saying!”
And to my surprise, Ariana laughs.
I’m gonna be smug about that laugh, too.
“I’m sure both of you are well aware how they work, but if you want a demonstration, Ivan, I bet I can rig a strap out of something…”
Grant’s ears perk up. “Was that a pegging joke? Don’t tease me, Ariana.”
She tosses a saucy grin over her shoulder as she walks away. “Wasn’t not a pegging joke.”
My Beta clutches his chest, dramatically falling out of his chair like she shot him with Cupid’s arrow. “I knew you were the girl of my dreams, but this just proves it!”
I lean close to him and keep my voice down. “She seems like she’s in a good mood. It was a good talk?”
“It got heavy for a bit, but I think she’s starting to understand how we ended up here. And that she knows us better than she thinks.”
I am of the opinion that if you cook, you shouldn’t have to do the dishes, but I still stand and gather the lunch plates so I can toss them in the dishwasher. “Do you think this is going to work out?”
Ariana shouts from the other side of the house. “Hah! Found it!”
Grant’s smile is blinding. “Yeah, I think it will.”
It didn’t take long for Grant and me to find the items the producers had hidden once we started looking. I don’t know how we missed them. They didn’t try very hard to keep them out of sight.
Unless they snuck in here while we were sleeping to hide them.
They’re not that creepy, are they?
Ariana sits on the floor of the living room, spinning a trophy in her hands. “I guess I’ll go first.”
“You don’t have to.” I hold up my item. “I can.”
“I found mine first, so it should be me. Did Derrick tell you guys anything about when I presented as an Omega?”
“I don’t think so. Only that it happened shortly before Calvin died.” Grant makes a strange face when I mention Calvin. I’ll have to ask him about that.
She hums to herself, looking at the plate on the trophy with an odd expression on her face. “It happened in front of the entire school during the junior debate. My scent spiked, and I slicked through my pants.”
“Holy shit. That’s awful.” Grant took the words right out of my mouth.
“Yeah, it wasn’t great. I still won the debate.”
“Wait.” I hold my hand up, my brain still processing what she said. “You continued? You didn’t run off the stage?”
“It was mortifying. But the debate was about Omega rights, and I figured it would be more impactful if I kept going. I regretted it as soon as I was done. I didn’t want to go back to school the next day, but Calvin convinced me to.”
I don’t blame her for wanting to hide underneath a blanket. Kids can be cruel, and to have a vulnerable moment like that in front of everyone?
“But you won.” Grant leans forward in the reading chair and props his chin on his hand as he gazes upon her with pride. “Despite how uncomfortable you were, you won.”
“I won.”
“No wonder Derrick enjoys arguing with you. You’re a worthy opponent. Not like our Beta over there. He shows his neck every time.”
She rolls her eyes, dismissing my words. “It’s hardly a fair fight. I wipe the floor with him every time.”
I won’t deny that, but I’ll keep to myself that it may be more because she’s our Omega than just her convincing arguments.
“Okay, someone else go. I hope y’all’s are better memories than mine.”
Grant tosses the red disc he’s holding in the air and catches it deftly. “I hooked up with a guy on a disc golf course and got my pants stolen by an alligator.”
Ariana and I go still, staring at our Beta. Then she laughs, hard. Tears spring to her eyes because of the force of it.
“Wait. Back up. How. How does that even happen?”
“The hooking up? Well, when a Beta and an Alpha…”
She tosses a pillow at him, smacking him in the face. “You know that’s not what I meant.”
“Okay, okay. An Alpha asked me on a date, and he was really into disc golf. I suck at it, but I was trying to impress this guy. I missed the pole hole-”
“It is not called a pole hole!” I’m struggling to breathe at how hard I’m laughing. “I refuse to believe it.”
“Laugh all you want, but that’s what it’s called! Disc pole hole, pole hole, basket. All mean the same thing. Whatever you wanna call it, I missed. The disc went wide and landed a little too close to the marsh. When I went to pick it up, he came up behind me-”
“The gator came up behind you?” Ariana interrupts.
Grant chuckles and shakes his head. “The guy I was on a date with. He wrapped his arms around me and started kissing my neck and chewing on my ear…”
She nods solemnly. “Ah, yes. The ear thing.”
He told her about the ear thing? I waggle my eyebrows at him, and he throws the pillow Ariana had hit him with at me.
“Anyway, my pants were removed hastily, and landed close enough to the marsh that a gator snagged them and took them under. I had to walk back in my boxers.”
“There’s an important detail I believe you may have left out.” His expression is unreadable as he turns to me. “Did you still fuck him?”
Grant’s face turns bright red, and he tries to hide behind his hair. Ariana claps and points at me. “The Alpha asks a valid question!”
“Yes.”
“Couldn’t hear that. What did you say?” This teasing, playful side of Ariana is so nice to see after how tough it’s been getting her to open up to us these past few days.
“Yes, okay? I did. My pants were already gone. I didn’t have much else to lose.” He grabs a blanket from the couch and tosses it over his head. His voice is muffled when he continues talking. “Okay, time to laugh at Ivan.”
I hope she doesn’t laugh at me. It may break my heart if she does.
I hold up the Christmas ornament. At first glance, it’s nothing special.
Just a snowflake with a year printed on it.
“Mine isn’t embarrassing like Grant’s, or empowering like yours, Ariana.
” I extend the ornament to her and drop it in her waiting hand.
“But it is personal, which I think was their goal, and does tell you a lot about me.”
She turns the ornament over in her hands, squinting at the date on it.
“That’s the year I ‘met’ you. I’ve gotten you one for our tree every year since.
” Her eyes grow soft, but she doesn’t raise them to meet mine.
“In my family, we all got a new ornament each year. It’s a tradition on my mom’s side.
I didn’t think it was right for you not to have one, too.
You’re my Omega, a part of our pack. I wanted you represented on my tree, too. ”
I never told Grant and Derrick what the ornament was. I think they thought it was simply an ornament for each year our pack was together.
But that wasn’t it, even if the dates do coincide.
“Family is the most important thing to me. And you’re part of mine, Ariana, even if I’m not a part of yours yet.”
She holds it against her chest. I don’t know how production got this, but I’m glad they did. I never would’ve thought to admit this to her, but I think it’s something that will help her start to understand me.
“Thank you, Ivan, for including me in your tradition.”
“You don’t have to thank me for that, sweetie. You’re my Omega. Even before I caught your pheromones, I knew that I wanted you. That I love you.”
The way she looks at me makes me think she may be starting to believe me.