Chapter 2 Daisy
Daisy
Ten years later.
My nerves are all a-jitter as I enter the publishing house of Fatedbond Press—a place where stories find their happily ever after… It has a warm, woody interior as I push through the revolving glass doors, smelling the scent of cedarwood, lilac, and vanilla immediately.
The sweet receptionist with the kind smile hails me forward. The Editor-in-Chief wants to speak with me about the manuscript I submitted weeks ago as I inhale a deep breath, approaching the oakwood front desk.
The desk is adorned with bright spring flowers as the sunny receptionist beams at me. “Just take a seat, Ms. Rose. Mr Merrick will be with you shortly.”
I nod, then take a seat in the soft sitting area, gazing at the various titles inside the nooks and shelves behind me. My heart rate spikes when I find the name Noelle Wynter-Hale.
So, she took their names then, while maintaining her own in the process. I respect that. Wynter-Hale does have a nice ring to it.
Noelle went to the same high school as me, but we barely crossed paths. She was a few years older, after all.
Her pack were real jerks, breaking things off with her after their mom had left town when they were just seventeen. The whole school talked about it for several years.
But what else is new in a small town? Especially in one like Silverpine. Forever frozen in time. Completely static.
It’s nice to see she patched things up with them in the end. Not that I will ever get to experience such a similar happy ending.
Noelle had a rich history with Pack Wynter, after all. They once accepted her as their Omega, so it wasn’t hard for them to accept her a second time. They loved her deeply, but they let her go because they were afraid of getting hurt again.
The kind of stuff real romance is made of.
Pack Thorn never loved me… They didn’t even know I existed until that awful day in the school gym.
The memories come crashing back as I grip the soft cushions next to me, needing that tactile sensation before my mind spirals.
How I hate anxiety. A debilitating condition… No surprise how my anxiety came to be. Honestly, it’s a wonder I had the courage at all to brave the ten-hour flight from Manchester back to the States in the first place.
I’ll miss the life I had in the UK. British schools are something else—all smart blazers, with the school crest on the right breast pocket, trousers, pleated skirts, ties, and knee-high socks with smart black shoes.
It seems rather posh. However, there was nothing posh about that school. For one, the kids smoked. No different from American high school kids, I guess. And they liked to drink. A lot. And party.
I’d started my British high school career at the end of year twelve, just in time for year thirteen. Whereas my little brothers, River, Zale, and Trent, joined in year ten.
Best of all, I had friends…We both did. I was even popular as I learned how to do my makeup and hair. Kids actually noticed me because I was the token American girl. I was invited to all the parties, and British boys fancied me, as they say across the pond.
I even got to snog one or two.
In America, I was a nerd. But in Northern England, I was cool. It’s still hard to wrap my head around.
It’s a wonder I moved back to the States, but here I am. So long as it is far, far from Silverpine, I don’t care. I still have big dreams of hitting it big with a New York publisher.
“Mr. Merrick is ready to see you now, Ms. Rose.”
I shut my eyes. Here it is. My time to sink or swim. Let’s hope I only keep swimming from this point onwards.
The receptionist leads me into the backrooms, and I get the hint of lavender in the air next. It’s calming as it puts my Omega at ease.
By the time we reach the door to the Editor-in-Chief’s office, I’m a ball of nerves.
The moment I step inside, my eyes fall on the bearded Alpha behind the desk. I hold back a snort as I take note of his flowery suspenders. It looks as if someone’s getting into the spring spirit. When I look again, I notice he’s sporting daisies.
Well, if that’s not a good sign, then I don’t know what is.
Finally, the Alpha looks up, and his smile lights up the whole room. So cheerful. “Daisy, please take a seat.” He moves his hand toward the empty seat opposite his own.
Upon his instruction, I take my place before his mammoth-sized desk, and now I wait in anticipation as he skims his eyes over my manuscript.
When he’s finished, he places it down flat on his desk, and now he just grins at me for a while.
A pigeon coos outside his window, and the sound calms my rising anxiety.
It’s one I’ve always enjoyed; the birds always sound so cozy, roosting away somewhere inside the unseen crevice of a tall building.
And you can never quite find them, either, no matter how much you search. Mr. Merrick has one of those fake owls on the ledge outside his window, too, but little good it has done in the end at scaring the pigeons away. It’s even covered in their poop.
“Wherever did you get such a splendid idea, Ms. Rose?” the older Alpha suddenly says next, startling me out of my wits.
Fuck. I was too busy watching the mating dance of a male pigeon outside his window. It tries to court a female, puffing up its chest and ruffling its iridescent gray feathers, and why am I so obsessed with pigeons all of a sudden?
I’m just so nervous. I need something to ground me, and nature always has a calming effect on me.
My heart thumps, and then I meet the Alpha’s eager eyes. How do I respond?
Well, they do say you should write what you know… and what I know is heartbreak, rejection, and disappointment.
Sure, I may have had a number of admirers in England, but I will never forget the ones who hurt me.
It’s a shame, really. Maybe in another life, we could have been together. But Pack Thorn didn’t want me. They say it was because I was a nerd, but I knew better…
Their rejection went much deeper than that.
If only they could see me now—a successful writer. Well, soon to be successful.
I guess if things go my way today, I should stop calling myself a writer. If my stars align for once, then after this meeting… I’ll be a published author.
“It’s such a shame she never got with the pack in the end. But at least she found happiness in England,” Mr. Merrick sighs, leaning back in his leather chair.
I smile through my teeth. “Yep. From New England to, well… Old England...”
Mr. Merrick’s facial muscles slacken, and I wish I could crawl under his desk and never come back out again. That had to be one of the world’s shittiest jokes, and why did I open my mouth?
Yet to my surprise, he leans back further in his chair and guffaws. “Hilarious! We do love a sense of humor at Fatedbond Press.”
Whew… That was a close one. Yet I decide to keep on talking.
What are you doing, Daisy? Stop!
“Old England looks very much like New England. Similar green fields, similar architecture. It was like I never really moved at all.”
“I can imagine,” he laughs. “Well, that’s exactly what we are looking for. Someone who can speak from both sides of the Atlantic. You would appeal to our UK readers, too. Your fathers are British, right?”
I nod. “Yes. Manchester born and bred. Well, apart from my dad, Colin. He’s Irish.”
He’s where I get my fair skin that burns easily in the sun.
Thanks, Dad.
Mr. Merrick’s grin widens. “I have Irish in my veins, too. My grandmother, for that fact.”
I return his smile. It seems we have more in common than I realized.
“Well, we would be happy to take you on board, Ms. Rose. I feel our Omega readers will really resonate with your characters.”
I hope so, too. After all, heartbreak is just an inevitable part of life. So, if I can help just one person out there, then I’m satisfied.
It’s nice to know you are not alone.
We shake hands. It’s just unfortunate that I get a notification on my phone, but I don’t read it until I leave the building.
Hopefully, it’s not the guy I went on a date with last weekend. The date had been a complete disaster, and the quicker I can forget that evening, the better.
Well, well, it looks like my old high school back in Vermont is having a ten-year reunion. And I’ve been invited.
I almost crush my phone in my hand at the idea of seeing all those assholes again. But I am a different Daisy now. England changed me…
Time has changed me.
You know what? Fuck it. I’ll go. And if I run into them again, then who cares? Let them see what they’re missing out on.
Let all of Silverpine High see what I’ve made of myself.
It’s time to call my mom and take her up on her offer. I will be coming back to Silverpine to stay with her and grandpa, after all.
It’s time Daisy returned to Silverpine.