Chapter 18
The landing of the plane was fun for three minutes, until an unbuckled Jude flew out of his seat, kicking Zayden hard in the nuts and landing on the center table, where he smacked his knee and head.
Sonnet didn’t laugh. She wanted to, especially when a hickey-like red mark appeared in the middle of his forehead, but his pout made her hold it back and hold him, which he took advantage of and hadn’t let go of her since.
Sonnet didn’t have the time to even think about being shy or awkward from Jude’s clinginess. Her eyes were glued on the prize, which was the coastal town they were on their way to.
The summer air was crisp with saltwater and seaweed as they transitioned from the jet to the rental car. Zayden rolled down her window before she even had to ask, and it took everything in her not to stick out her entire head like a dog.
Flashbacks from her first trip to the ocean smacked into her like a semi-truck packed full of nostalgia. Mom and Dad took her to the ocean for her tenth birthday, and she cried the first time she saw it. Now she felt like she was going to cry all over again.
“What town are we staying in?” She asked, leaning against Jude’s chest so she could look at Zayden in the rearview mirror.
“Maddox found a beachfront rental somewhere in Capitola. Have you been?”
“I’ve only been to the Florida coast,” she hummed.
Beachfront rental? Score!
Zayden couldn’t drive any slower, and Sonnet’s jaw couldn’t open any wider in jaw-smacking awe.
As they entered the coastal town of Capitola, Sonnet couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful place to stay.
The town was a mix of Victorian homes and brightly colored shops.
People were bustling around the streets with sandy feet, dripping ice cream cones, and buckets of seashells.
The best part of this coastal town was when Zayden drove past it onto its outskirts, taking a private road that led to a beautiful Airbnb.
“Oh, my goodness! It’s perfect!” She screamed, flinging open the door before the car came to a full stop. She thought she heard Zayden growling at her for it, but she couldn’t help herself.
The house embodied a perfect coastal stay.
It had a miniature white picket fence and a sandy pathway leading to the front door that cut between sea grass.
The small porch was held together by old driftwood.
When Sonnet got closer, she noticed it wrapped around the side of the house and opened into a larger porch facing the ocean.
The walls were made from weathered cedar shingles.
A wind chime made from seashells hung from the front porch, and a welcome mat greeted her at the pale-yellow front door.
“You can’t be serious,” she heard Kai complain as she waited to be let inside to explore. “Tell me Maddox is pulling one on us.”
“What are you talking about?” Jude yawned as they each started hauling the luggage towards the house.
“This does not look like a house made for four alphas and one omega! It’s small as fuck!”
“Let’s just get inside before you start throwing another tantrum,” Zayden groaned. He smiled softly as he handed Sonnet the key code to unlock the door. “Would you like to do the honors?”
“Yes!” She didn’t hold back her excitement as she plugged in the code and threw the door open. When she walked inside, she noticed right away the soft colors that seemed to hug her. This was so much better than their house.
Thanks to the universe for this gift.
Sonnet could feel her problems melt away as she took in every nook and cranny.
The living room was bright and welcoming, and so was the huge white couch littered with throw blankets and soft pillows.
A woven rug in shades of blue and gold took up most of the space.
There was even a fireplace built from pale stones and sea-blue and sea-green tile.
Above it was a flat-screen TV, open shelving, and framed coastal art.
The boys all piled into the living room to go over the pages of notes and instructions left by their Airbnb host. Sonnet made a turn towards the open kitchen concept and dining space.
It had baby-blue cupboards and natural-wood countertops.
Some of the open shelving revealed beautiful ceramic dishes, woven baskets, and glass jars filled with jam, BBQ sauce, and seasonings, as well as pickled vegetables and peaches.
She saw herself sitting at the kitchen island, drinking a warm latte as the sun peered in through one of the many windows.
She took a complimentary orange from the dining table and went into the bedroom at the end of the hallway, which turned out to be the master bedroom.
The king-sized bed was dressed in white bedsheets and a white comforter with a seashell print.
The ceiling was a nice touch, with exposed beams that matched the wood of the dresser and the floor-length mirror.
The wall to the left was almost entirely taken up by a window revealing the beautiful ocean view.
The master bathroom was just as beautiful, with a deep bathtub in the corner by the windows and his and her sinks.
The second bedroom was similar in style to the master, only smaller. The bathroom in the hallway had a shower instead of a bathtub, with the same sea-green and blue tile as the fireplace in the living room.
This place was perfect, but as Sonnet was coming down from the high of it all, she was quick to realize she had only found two bedrooms when there were five of them.
They didn’t think she was going to sleep in bed with them, did they?
She hadn’t even kissed any of them yet, and Jude was the only one who was the most physically attentive. Sharing a bed was a huge jump she was not ready for.
As she re-entered the living room, she felt her excitement for the house to deflate as all the boys, except Felix, complained.
Kai was playing the I-told-you-so game, telling the boys he knew something was wrong just by looking at the size of the house.
Zayden was on the phone with someone, scolding them for not looking into the house a little bit more and urging them to find new arrangements, and Jude was being easily riled by Kai’s pointed insults.
In the chaos, she sought Felix, sitting next to him on the couch. For a moment, her omega took over, trying to scent mark him for relief to her anxiety, but she held back.
“It will all work itself out,” Felix whispered. He wrapped his arm around her and tugged her closer so that her thigh almost overlapped his. “Zayden’s talking to Maddox to sort it out.”
“Oh.”
“Oh?”
She smiled shyly. “It’s a pretty house. I kind of liked it. Too bad it didn’t have more beds because this place would have been perfect.”
“It’s all the color, isn’t it?” She looked away from him shyly, which made him chuckle. “I figured. I could see it on your face the moment we brought you home. You don’t seem like a girl made for the dark.”
“Are you made for the dark?”
Felix hummed softly, contemplating her question for a long time. His arm loosened on her shoulder, then squeezed softly. “I think you’re a smart girl who’s going to figure us all out sooner than we have ourselves.”
“That’s not a real answer.”
“I know.” He tugged on her hair and wore a teasing smile on his lips.
She rolled her eyes playfully just as Zayden hung up the phone. He commanded the living room the moment he walked in, standing front and center with his arms crossed over his chest and a brooding expression on his face. “We’re staying here.”
“What?” Kai threw his arms up dramatically in the air and fell back into one of the armchairs. “How the hell are we supposed to stay here when there’s not even enough space for all of us?”
“Maddox says the sofa pulls out into a bed.”
“Tell me you’re joking right now.”
Sonnet tugged her bottom lip inward to keep from laughing, but she couldn’t deny her happiness at the fact that they got to stay here. “I can take the sofa bed if it makes things easier.”
“No,” Zayden said all too quickly in his dominant, alpha tone that let everyone know he meant business.
“We’re giving you the master bedroom. You deserve to have the space, and I’ve already made up my mind on it.
As for the rest of us, we’ll have to partner up and just rotate between the second bedroom and the couch. ”
“Partner? Up? Do you hear yourself right now?”
Jude groaned and sat on the other side of Sonnet, dramatically placing his head in her lap and covering his ears. Strands of his slightly curled hair fell over his eyes. “Make the whining stop! I can’t take it anymore!”
Kai threw a pillow at Jude and missed him. “Damn.”
“Enough!” Zayden began to pinch his nose. Again. What number was that today? Sonnet was losing track. “Look, we’re going to make this work, so shut up and be happy because we’re on vacation, dammit!”
“Whoa.” Jude looked up at Sonnet and Felix. “Has he ever lost it like that?”
“Shh. Let him talk,” Sonnet scolded, offering Zayden an encouraging smile and awkward thumbs up, which made him pinch his nose harder, but she saw the smile hiding in the corner of his lips.
“Let’s figure out the buddy situation now so we can unpack, relax, and have a good start to our vacation. Who wants to buddy up with whom?”
“I’m not sleeping next to you, that’s for sure,” Kai scoffed.
Felix looked apologetically at Jude. “Well, I don’t think I could sleep through a night with Jude’s snoring.”
“HEY! It’s not that bad!”
“Don’t forget his nightlight,” Kai added. “I didn’t bring a facemask to block out the sun.”
Jude pouted and curled himself into Sonnet’s stomach. She laughed and gently played with his hair as she watched the boys bicker back and forth, practically throwing each other under the bus.
Zayden cleared his throat. “Okay, okay. It looks like there’s a clear divide. Felix and Kai will bunk together, and I’ll take Jude.”
“Take me?” Jude faked a sob. “You make me sound like an unwanted orphan.”
“You’re not unwanted, but keep your pants on, or you can sleep outside on the patio chairs.”
“You know how wearing pants to bed overstimulates me.”
“Oh my god, how are we going to last a month together?” Kai asked.
Everyone erupted into bickering again, and Sonnet loved it. Maybe they couldn’t see it, but there was deep love in this pack. Sparks shone so bright, it was like fireworks exploding between each other.
She knew something was broken, too, but repairable.
Maybe that’s what Felix was hinting at earlier, their inability to trust that they belonged to each other for better or for worse, but she could show them.
She could love them unconditionally and hopefully from it; heal whatever wounds still bleed.