Chapter 7 Daisy
Daisy
I pull up outside the quaint country lodge as I stare up at the rustic, woody facade for a while from the safety of my car.
Wynter Lodge... It’s even prettier in real life. The official resort website and postcards hardly do it justice.
My heart pounds, and then I squeeze the steering wheel hard, needing that tactile stimulus.
This… this was a mistake. I should turn back and head home—I can always write at my grandpa’s house.
But I just had to come here and meet Noelle Wynter-Hale. She’s my inspiration, but at this rate, she’ll think I’m stalking her.
Her novel made waves once it was published, as books were flying off the shelves. I just can’t move from my seat.
My idea was to book a cabin and spend my time writing with a beautiful mountain view. But now that I’m here, I feel ridiculous.
It’s time to head home.
I’m just about to turn the key in the ignition when something jumps up onto the hood of my car. I startle when I meet the eyes of a snow leopard.
“Holy shit!”
The moment my heart resumes its normal speed, I realize that it’s just a cat. A white Bengal cat that just resembles a leopard.
I step out of the car. “Why, hello.”
The cat regards me with those serious eyes of blue. Upon closer inspection, I can see that its eyes are more on the lilac side.
Carefully, I reach across. The cat sniffs my finger before it lets me pet its head.
“Is that cat bothering you, miss?”
My heart jumps again, and then I whirl around to find an Alpha with long black hair and a guitar strapped over his shoulder. He regards me, slightly amused as I place my hand on my chest.
“No, no, I’m good. I was just leaving. I just need to get this cat off my car first.”
I go to lift the cat off my car, but then he flops down onto the paintwork, rolling around. He’s certainly making himself at home.
This is actually my dad’s car; he’ll be pissed if that cat scratches the hood.
In the end, the Alpha rolls his eyes, stepping forward. The moment he yanks the cat off my car, the creature yowls.
Now he tries to keep a hold of the animal as he looks back up at me. “Sorry about him. He’s our lodge mascot. He thinks he owns the place.”
Lodge mascot?
Now that I think about it, I do recall seeing his pictures on their website, and I didn’t know I was in the presence of a celebrity.
My cheeks flush next as I climb back into my car. “Thanks.”
The Alpha narrows his eyes at me this time. Then he cocks his head to one side. “You look familiar.”
My heart thumps. Not possible… I’m a nobody.
The Alpha grins. “Did you go to Silverpine High?”
I meet his bright blue eyes now. Damn. How could I have not recognized him?
Frost Wynter. One of Noelle’s Alphas. One of the pricks who broke her heart and then fixed it again, I guess.
I sigh. “I did. I’m Daisy Rose. I left before senior year.”
Frost smiles again. “What year did you leave?”
I tell him, then.
“That puts you two grades below me,” he replies.
Right, grade… I got so used to saying year after my time at a British school; I started at the end of year twelve, after all.
“Love the accent, by the way. Mind if I ask where it’s from?”
I think for a moment, just wishing to drive back home, but I decide to entertain the Alpha. Frost was one of the popular kids after all, and I get this weird sense of validation next that one of the cool boys is giving me the time of day.
“Manchester. I schooled there for five years.”
After my A-levels, I went to university and got a degree in English Literature. In the end, my accent must have been affected by the locals.
Frost is practically beaming now. “Love Manchester... Some of my favourite musicians were born there, after all. Did you want to book a room here? You’re free to check in at any time.”
Now that I have his attention, “I did. I was hoping to meet Noelle. I just got signed recently by Fatedbond Press, and, well… she’s kind of my inspiration. Sorry, stalker alert…”
What am I saying? But I can’t stop giggling now as my cheeks burn even redder. I wouldn’t be surprised if Frost barked at me to leave.
Frost stares at me in shock for a moment. Then he throws his head back with a laugh, moving towards the foyer of the lodge. “Well, why didn’t you say so? Noelle always has time for her fans… Come on.”
I get out of the car, locking it behind me. Then I chew my lip. This is a bad idea. What if she doesn’t like me?
What if she gets angry at me for invading her privacy?
Frost stops outside the door. “Well, are you coming in?”
I look back at my car. Then I sigh, following the Alpha inside the foyer. Well, here goes nothing.
Once we’re inside, I catch sight of the redheaded Omega behind the front desk as she has a phone wedged between her ear and shoulder. Her eyes scan the computer screen in front of her.
“Well, you’re all booked in, Ms. Jones. Safe travels now.”
Once she puts the phone down, she glances up at Frost. She looks exactly like her picture on her book’s jacket, but it’s not like I haven’t met her before.
She often walked past me in the school hallways, arm in arm with Frost or her other Alphas. I was just so invisible back then, she probably didn’t notice me.
Frost smiles like he has a secret to tell, creeping toward the front desk. Then he jumps over, swallowing her up in his arms with a big bear hug.
She laughs. “Frost, we have a visitor…”
She tilts her head at me.
The Alpha drops her back to her feet. Then he throws his arm around her, and they look just like they did back in high school in that moment—young, happy, carefree.
It fills my heart with joy.
“Noelle… meet your stalker, Daisy Rose.”
My eyes bug. Stalker? What is he saying?
How I wish the ground could swallow me whole.
Yep. Now I definitely look crazy.
Thanks for nothing, Frost.