Chapter 10
Sonnet’s thumbs had been typing and deleting her messages ever since Mom first started reaching out.
At four in the morning, she was asking if Sonnet was okay.
At eight in the morning, she told her to come over for breakfast, and not long after, she tried enticing Sonnet with their personal chef’s cooking.
The last message was Mom telling her she loved her and that she would be there when Sonnet was ready.
Sonnet felt guilty for not responding. After all, Katherine had welcomed Sonnet into their home with open arms and an open heart since the day Dad brought her there.
She didn’t have to. Sonnet was the living, breathing proof and reminder of her husband’s infidelity.
And yet, Sonnet couldn’t remember a time when her stepmom didn’t treat her with kindness, dignity, and above all, love.
That’s why she called her mom. Despite not being one biologically, she had made up for everything her birth mother couldn’t and didn’t.
Sonnet wanted to make Mom proud. She wanted to be worthy of the love she was given. So why did Summer have to go and tell her parents what happened last night?
She flopped backwards onto her bed and groaned. Her bedroom was slightly cleaned because most of her things were packed into a few suitcases and boxes.
Living in an omega-only apartment came with its benefits, like how the space was built for safety and convenience, but above all, Sonnet loved it because it was hers.
It took forever to convince her family to let her move out on her own when she was nineteen, seeing as she had no jobs lined up like Summer did, or had any intentions of going to school.
However, after two years of living in this studio apartment, she felt as if she was abandoning the only space she had ever felt truly safe in. A space she controlled.
I wish Summer were here. Even though Sonnet was the one who told her not to come because she didn’t want her sister's frigid and hostile vibes to put a negative spin on move-in day.
Move. In. Day. With BOYS!
Her boys. Her mates.
FOUR OF THEM!
Sonnet scrambled out of bed and looked at her appearance. Deciding what to wear and how to look was more difficult this morning than last night, but it all seemed to come together well enough.
Summertime was her favorite season because it had the best colors and weather, perfect for wearing her favorite clothes.
She wore light blue short overalls with rolled hems and a colorful, hand-embroidered flower in the center.
The yellow stitching on the flower matched the ribbed, yellow tank she wore underneath.
She wore mismatched socks because she believed a matching pair would make her unlucky, and the white Converse sneakers Scarlett hand painted with random, cheerful designs.
However, the best part was her pink heart-shaped sunglasses tucked against her messy bun.
She looked good enough.
No.
She straightened up.
I look perfect. The perfect mate.
Hmph. Those four boys were lucky to have me, she decided. Especially Kai.
If what the tabloids said about Kai’s aggressive personality was true, what else was true that the tabloids reported? What about Juliana?
It seemed like forever ago when the scandal first blew up on her social media.
Juliana Foxetts, an aspiring actress and nepo baby, had appeared on a well-known gossip show to air out the Obsidian Alphas’ dirty laundry.
She said they brought her into their home in a pathetic attempt to court her, but instead of being princely, they treated her like a beast. Sonnet didn’t like to listen to gossip, but now it all felt a little different.
Now she had to wonder if she was being courted or being preyed upon.
Her eyes fell onto her trash can stuffed with the posters of the boys she had thrown away before they came and realized how much she really did fangirl over them. She wanted them to take her seriously, even if Summer insisted she was a weirdo.
She groaned and rushed to apply another coat of lipstick to hide the layers of skin she bit off. She couldn’t help but see her birth mother in her reflection as she applied her makeup, recognizing the disappointed scowl, hearing the tsk of her tongue.
She would be so disappointed.
When she was younger, she used to play in her birth mother's makeup bag every night she worked. She’d let Sonnet dress herself up and help brush her hair before bed.
She’d put on whatever movie was accessible on the hotel’s TV, put out a glass of water and fruit, and promise, “When I return, let’s order some waffles and watch the sun rise over the park. ”
She never returned early enough. Only now did Sonnet realize it was because her work didn’t keep a timely schedule. Pleasing men came with no deadline and no waffles, just the occasional drunken binge and collection of bruises.
All her birth mother, Noelle, wanted for Sonnet was for her to be content, which is why Sonnet held no grudges against the lifestyle she grew up in.
The only grudge she held was that her birth mother thought she had to abandon Sonnet to give her better than what she already had.
But maybe she abandoned her because she knew, even at a young age, she was destined to be an omega, and there was nothing her birth mother hated more.
Sonnet had great memories. But she also had memories of her birth mother sobbing on the bathroom floor after one of her evenings, bruised and emotionally wounded, cursing at every God for making her what she was, and then praying not to let them do the same to Sonnet.
She had bite marks on her. Proof that some of her sessions went wrong, that a bond was made, but that was the thing about an un-fated match.
You could reject it and still try again, but each time would tear a little bit at your soul.
She hoped her birth mother’s soul was okay, wherever she was.
Three heavy knocks at her door startled her, and she smeared her lipstick. Groaning, she hurried to fix it before racing towards the front door, her hand hovering over the doorknob. Once she opened it, she couldn’t turn back.
There were voices on the other side. Two deep, male voices, and then—
Oh, shoot!
Sonnet flung the door wide open just as her landlord, an unbonded Beta in her fifties, interrogated Felix and Zayden. Her wrinkly finger was stuck out at them like she was putting a curse on their family.
“Oh, Ms. Dubbline.” Sonnet sighed.
“Ah, Sonnet! Help me shoo these trespassers off the property.”
Sonnet’s face flushed and she avoided looking at Felix and Zayden. “They’re not trespassers. They’re here for me. Don’t you remember me putting in a temporary residence leave early this morning?”
“Oh.” She straightened up, looking at Sonnet fondly before casting an evil glare at the boys, who were dressed more modestly than last night, but still had piercings and revealed some of their tattoos. “Alright. I wasn’t expecting these to be the men. Be safe, my dear. And I’m watching you.”
Sonnet cringed and grabbed an arm each, shoving Felix and Zayden into her studio apartment before Ms. Dubbline found a reason to scold all three of them.
But now, she preferred standing on the terrace, because she was beginning to realize that her apartment wasn’t really fit for two very tall, very large alphas.
Very large. She never noticed that before, the size of their thighs and arms. They weren’t by any means professional weightlifters, but they definitely had more meat on their bones than she realized.
Although Felix’s torso was much leaner. He was curved and defined, like you’d expect from a model, while Zayden was more generic. Generic and judging her space.
Her eyes narrowed in on Zayden as he looked at every inch of her place, to the stuffed animals on the edge of her bed, her collection of music CDs of every kind, magazine cutouts of random dogs pinned to her desk area, and worst of all, her trash can.
She jumped in front of his gaze, trying her best to hide the posters. She should have just taken them out to the dumpster, and now he was grinning, like he knew something he shouldn’t.
Zayden attempted to tuck his lips inward to conceal his smug smile but failed. He cleared his throat and motioned towards the room. “You have a great apartment. I was worried when you said you lived on your own, but it’s nice. The architects built it perfectly.”
“Thank you. I got really lucky with it. I wasn’t sure what to pack up, so I just kind of threw a little bit of everything together. It’s not too much, is it?”
“You could have packed everything if you wanted. Felix, help me move her luggage into the car.”
She watched on the sidelines as they hauled her boxes and luggage before returning to collect the last thing.
Her. As she grabbed one of her colorful, striped sweaters for extra warmth, she found Zayden invading her space.
He was at the door of her empty nest, never been touched before, because how could she fill a room with things that comforted her omega when she hardly even knew her?
If he opened that door, he’d know. He’d know right away they were mated to a broken omega.
“I’m ready to go! Right now,” she squeaked, racing towards the front door. “Where is your car parked? I didn’t see it. Zayden?”
He flinched, looking at her with suspicion, before succumbing to her pleas and following her out the door. Felix closed it behind them, the sound of her old life ending with the click of the lock, and her new one with the opening of their very fancy vehicle.
Felix insisted she sat in the front while Zayden drove.
Butterflies performed backflips in her stomach as they began to drive home.
Their home. Not hers. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
Dr. Avery said this bond could be rejected, and look at them versus her?
Of course, they’d have to at least be considering rejecting the bond.
What boy band would want to be stuck with her for the rest of their lives?
Oh, God. She felt like she was going to be sick.
She was practically choking on the smell of her own burning scent as it perfumed in the car.
She could see it. The way Zayden’s hands flexed on the steering wheel and Felix’s foot tapped loudly in the back seat.
It was affecting them. She wouldn’t be surprised if they turned this car around and kicked her out, refusing to bring her to their home.
What is that?
A different scent began battling hers.
Vanilla bean and brown sugar, just like crème br?lée fought back against her rotten strawberries and burnt sweet cream. It engulfed her, lightened her burdens, warmed her chest, and filled her heart.
Her eyes caught Felix’s in the rearview mirror and she smiled. But there was something else in the air, too. A scent that didn’t belong to Felix. It was the slightest smell of espresso and dark chocolate. Almost like molten chocolate lava cake.
Zayden.
Sonnet looked over at him, his hands still flexed, his jaw now clenched, his eyes determined to avoid her gaze. She smiled even more and settled into her seat comfortably during the rest of the ride because she was right where she belonged, where she was wanted, and it felt and smelled perfect.
“Where are Kai and Jude?”
“They stayed at home. I made them. They can both be…” Zayden pinched the bridge of his nose. “A lot.”
Sonnet laughed. “I made my sister do the same thing. She wanted to help me pack and wait for you guys to come, but…” She laughed again. “You met her.”
“I did.” Zayden pinched the bridge of his nose even harder.
A lightness eased Sonnet’s heart, and then a thrill as they approached the large gates of a prestigious neighborhood, rumored to be the mansions of actors, CEOs, singers, and practically anyone in a tax bracket Sonnet could never picture.
Zayden punched in the code to the gate and glided his car through as if it was no big deal to belong to an establishment like this.
Sonnet had her face pressed against her passenger side window, mouth agape as they passed by each mansion.
Each home was unique, with large yards keeping each house far from the other, and even larger green giants serving as firm walls.
At the very end of the loop rested a very modern, very dark house with so many windows and yet none of them looked like any sunlight could get inside. The grass was very neatly cut, as were the hedges leading to the front door, but there weren’t any other trees or flowers.
A slight swell of disappointment dropped in the pit of her stomach when she realized that house belonged to her mates. A house that looked nothing at all like a home.
What would the inside look like?
She was scared, but standing at the front door was the brightest light she had ever seen, welcoming her.
Jude.