Chapter 3
Holy fucking shit. I found my mate. Not just any mate, but Cy-freaking-Nixon.
My best friends kept giving me strange looks as I silently, but not subtly, freaked out. We wove through the crowd after the game ended.
God, he was glorious out there, all bulk and bunching muscles, shaking his ass for the crowd as I melted even more for him. He wasn’t just hot, he was light and fun. Something I always felt drawn to.
Now that I knew he smelled like fresh rain, bergamot, and sage, a delicious earthy herbal mix that I wanted to bathe in, it was even worse.
My crush went from casual to obsessed.
The further we got to the parking lot, the more doubt crept in. What if I imagined it? There was no way that I, Dani, the small town girl and bookshop owner, was a mate to a celebrity.
That didn’t happen to girls like me.
Sure, I’d seen what my curves and softness did to alphas. I’d warded off enough dates and advances to prove that.
But this just had to be a dream, a misunderstanding.
Then I remembered that wink he gave me and it chased away the doubts.
What the hell was I supposed to do? Send an email to the team and be like, ‘Oh hey, I’m Cy’s mate.’ No big deal. They won’t shuffle that one right to the spam folder and block me.
“Okay, we’re a safe distance away. Care to tell me why you’re freaking out now, Dani?” Taryn demanded with a sassy quirk of her eyebrow. She was far too stubborn to give up, so I didn’t bother to hide it.
Best friends didn’t keep secrets like this. Sometimes I had to remind myself that it was okay to let go of my desire to keep everything to myself.
It was a me thing, because I absolutely trusted these two.
“I scented my mate,” I admitted.
Their jaws both dropped before Taryn let out a screech loud enough to draw attention.
“Who was it? Why didn’t you say anything?” Taryn demanded, but Bea was staring me down with that dark eyed intensity she had.
“Because he was in the game,” she guessed, seeing right through me. “It’s Cy, isn’t it?”
Taryn gasped again but laughed. “No. No way. Right?”
“She’s right,” I groaned, heat flooding me as I pictured that wink again. “What was I going to do, hang out outside the locker room or team entrance?”
“Um, yes?!” Taryn said, throwing her hands up. “Of course, you should have!”
“It’s too late now,” Bea frowned, gesturing to the building where a big screen was showing a press conference ongoing.
Cy, Griff, and Jackson were talking. All smiles and charm. They seemed tense for a win, but just as gorgeous as ever.
Jackson had this teasing smirk that flashed his dimples. For an alpha he screamed soft and playful and I adored that unconventional air he had. That man owned it and embraced it, not caring about standards. That was something I could only respect.
Griff was tall, dark, and serious. I couldn’t help but wonder what just one of his smiles would look like. And directed at me? I’d pass out.
Then there was Cy in all his mountainous glory. He was huge and powerful, and had this energy that just screamed chaos and fun.
I could use some of that energy in my life. I’d been working hard for years, proving that this omega didn’t need an omega finishing school or any sort of support that her all beta family refused to give.
“Then, let’s send a message to the team,” Bea said, pulling out her phone and going into full detective mode.
Her lips curled into a smile of triumph in mere minutes and she passed her phone over.
“What the hell do I even say?”
“I’m the omega Cy crashed into and I just need him to know we’re mates?” Taryn suggested. “Blunt truth always works.”
With a sigh, I said a close variation of that and hit send before I could question it, including my phone number.
“Let’s go before I can freak out any more. I doubt I’ll hear back. They’ll just mark me as another needy, desperate baseball groupie,” I sighed as I climbed into Taryn’s car and sat in the back. I needed the space.
They didn’t push me until they dropped me off at home.
Now they looked worried.
“It’s going to work out,” Taryn promised. “Fate finds a way.”
“If all else fails, we’ll get another round of tickets and wait outside the locker room,” Bea offered.
I nodded, not trusting myself to answer as I gathered my bag and climbed out. "Thanks, guys, I needed this night out.”
Then I hurried off before they could say anything more.
A smile parted my lips as my cabin on the lakefront came into view and I could see Cy, Jackson, and Griff standing around me.
Taking up space in my life. Talking excitedly about their plays and the win they snagged.
Practicing their dance moves. There was just enough grass between my place and the lake that we could have family picnics or bbqs outside and enjoy the settings.
With a wistful sigh, I pulled out my phone and tracked down the footage from the game. Someone had isolated the catch, so it wasn’t hard to find the clip.
In fact, it was damn near viral already.
There he was, flying over the wall, smoothly catching the ball before it could give me a black eye.
Our eyes locked for only a flash. To the outside eye no one would notice more than his usual, flirty wink.
But I saw it.
The way his mouth dropped open, mine doing the same. My eyes were wide and crazy, but I did have a huge alpha falling into my lap.
Then he was winking, nostrils flaring quickly, and gone in a single breath.
I wasn’t crazy. He knew as well as I did that we were scent-matches.
The real question was if the team would pass along my message.