Chapter 37
She says she’s falling for us! Just hearing her say that tells me I KNOW we’re headed in the right direction. I’m so ready for group therapy again. We’ve got this in the bag!!!
Jude was getting used to this whole therapy thing, and if it were a college class, he felt confident he’d get an A+.
After their last group therapy, he became even more hopeful and honest. He hadn’t realized how much he was bottling up until everything started coming out, first with Kai at the beach, then Zayden, and then at group therapy.
He also didn’t realize how much better he felt, letting it all out.
They all should have listened to Maddox the first time their manager suggested group therapy.
“Hey!” Kai burst into the bathroom, Goose in his arms. Typical. “What’s taking you so long?”
“I just wanted to fix my hair.”
Kai rolled his eyes. “More like checking yourself out. If I knew dying the ends of your hair blue would give you a narcissistic complex, I’d never have suggested it.”
“What did you say?” Jude joked as he brushed his fingers through his hair until he liked its position.
“Just hurry up, or I’m going to send Sonnet in here.”
The threat worked, and Jude wasted no time in putting on his swim trunks under his beach shorts and raced out of the bathroom, where everyone else, Goose, and a picnic basket were already loaded up in the car.
Zayden had planned an afternoon on a small, private yacht he had rented for the day, which included a private chef, servers, and a captain, all to enjoy some time on the water and hoping to spot some whales.
“I’ve never been on a boat before,” Sonnet said as Jude slid into the seat next to hers and Zayden drove off.
“Me either! They have snorkeling gear for us, too, right?”
“Yes. For the thousandth time, yes.” Kai swiveled in the passenger seat and gave Jude an evil stare. “Stop asking questions we’ve already answered!”
“Someone needs a nap,” Sonnet teased, and raised her hands in defense when Kai turned his stare towards her. “Hey, don’t be mad at me. You’re the one who wanted to sleep with Goose last night, even though I warned you he’s a terrible sleeper.”
Jude grinned because Goose wasn’t the reason Kai didn’t sleep.
Since Friday night, when they all fell asleep together, Sonnet agreed to a new sleep schedule in which two of them could sleep in her bedroom each night.
She wanted all of them, but there just wasn’t any room, so last night Kai reluctantly had to let Jude and Zayden sleep with her.
Jude liked it. He liked seeing Sonnet fall for them, and Kai fall for her.
Everything was coming together.
At the docks of a nearby town, everyone was politely greeted by the owner and team of the yacht and welcomed them on board. Felix started chatting with the captain, interested in the facts Jude was very uninterested in, and everyone else sat down on the back deck as it rode farther out to sea.
Jude noticed Sonnet hadn’t eaten anything and had a tight grip on her glass. He wrapped his arm around her and nuzzled her into her side.
“Are you okay?” He asked softly.
“Honestly?” She bit her bottom lip and looked at two of the female workers who had been serving them. “I don’t know what it is, but I’m feeling kind of jealous. My omega definitely is. Even though they seem nice and I know it’s not rational, but…”
“Really?” Jude tried to hold back his excitement. He knew that the more connected an omega was to her pack, especially before the bond; she could begin to feel tendencies toward possession and jealousy, among other strong emotions. “That’s good.”
She looked at him like he was crazy. “What do you mean?”
“It means you must really like us,” he teased before handing her a chicken and veggie skewer. “Just tell any of us if it gets too much. Okay?”
“Hey! Look!”
Jude’s face snapped over to Kai who was leaning over the railing to the yacht pointing out into the sea. A small pod of five humpback whales was hovering around the surface of the water only a hundred feet from the boat.
Kai never looked more excited. He kept waving them all over until they all watched the cluster of whales rise to the surface and sink back down.
“They’re so beautiful,” Sonnet whispered. “Aw, look! That one has a calf!”
“They’re jumping,” Kai gasped as two humpback whales breached the water.
The five of them remained watching the whales until they disappeared under the water and didn’t resurface.
Soon enough, the boat returned closer to the shore and was pulling to a stop, and Kai wasted no time jumping off the end.
Jude sat up right away, his competitive alpha impulse thundering inside him.
Sonnet squeezed his arm and laughed. “I’ll be okay. Go.”
Jude wasted no time charging into the water, doing a flip and landing not too far from Kai, who immediately splashed him. They went back and forth for a while, just like they used to, before Zayden joined them. For once, Kai didn’t leave. Jude wanted to shout with happiness.
Back on the ship, Sonnet and Felix stayed cuddled together and did their best to keep Goose from following everyone else into the water.
Jude dunked his head and tried to keep his eyes open, but the salt made them burn. “Dang it, I can’t see anything.”
“Idiot,” Kai laughed.
The three of them swam back to the boat and put on some simple gear so they could see underneath them and began to wade around. Jude and Kai knocked heads without meaning to, and Zayden kept spotting all the different fish first, pointing them out smugly.
Kai surfaced first after fifteen minutes of snorkeling and floating around. “Damn. I was hoping we’d see a shark.”
“Don’t jinx this good luck,” Jude whined.
“Ha! I forgot you’re afraid of them.”
“Who wouldn’t be?” Jude dunked his head under the water one more time to double-check they were alone, for now. “After you made us watch Jaws, I thought I’d never get into the ocean again. Just thinking about it makes me want to get back on the boat.”
Kai laughed and relaxed onto his back. “Whatever, chicken. Bock bock!”
Jude rolled his eyes and wasted no time getting back on the boat. He felt like hiding his toes in the cushions of the chairs and having the captain drive back to shore. Instead, he puffed up his chest and plopped down next to Sonnet.
She nodded her head towards Kai and Zayden, who were now wading in the water awfully close to each other, and for once, they didn’t look miserable. If Jude didn’t know any better, it almost looked like they were enjoying each other's company.
“That’s a sight for sore eyes,” Sonnet hummed. “What are they talking about?”
“Beats me. They must have started talking after I left. Rude!”
“Shh.” Felix shook his head at Jude. “Let them be. They deserve a chance to be with one another without wanting to kill each other.”
The three of them sat quietly, observing the moment between Kai and Zayden, which seemed to go on and on, both of them shifting from conversation to floating and back again.
Jude was happy that he got out of the water and that they were starting to feel comfortable with each other again.
Before the mess that was their pack, all four of them were inseparable from each other.
They weren’t split off in pairs like they were now.
Sure, Jude considered Kai his other half, but the four of them all used to be close.
“Do you think they’ll kiss?” Jude finally asked, breaking the silence on the couch. “Zayden would be a lucky man. Kai is a great kisser.”
Sonnet raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Felix laughed. Jude still wasn’t used to hearing him do that, and he forgot how good a laugh Felix had. “I forgot you used to kiss Kai at New Year's.”
“Only once. He ducked the second year.”
They all laughed, and the good vibes kept coming. When Kai and Zayden finally returned to the boat, everyone enjoyed an amazing dinner and some drinks before returning to the shore.
Goose passed out, and Jude didn’t feel far behind. Something about a relaxing day on the water made him exhausted, and he knew the most perfect nap was waiting for him back at the Airbnb. Maybe if he were lucky, Sonnet would take one with him.
She’s the best cuddler.
I love that she lets us be the little spoon!
Jude didn’t try to hide his smile as they docked the boat, and he helped Sonnet and Goose off. Just as he was ready to help her in the car, Kai spoke up.
“Sonnet?” He shifted back and forth on his feet and was scratching at the back of his neck. “Would you want to go somewhere with me?”
Felix, Sonnet, and Jude all froze, looking from Kai to Sonnet to each other and back again.
Is he asking her on a date?
No way. Not Kai.
Zayden patted Kai on the shoulder supportively. “I think he’s trying to ask you on a date, sweetheart.”
Sonnet lit up. Literally. It was like Jude was standing next to the most decked-out Christmas tree he’s ever seen. She was beautiful like this, happy and in love.
“I’d love to!”
Zayden didn’t waste any time. He took Goose from her arms and handed him to Jude and then walked towards the car with a hopeful and knowing smile on his face.
If Zayden was hopeful, it meant there really was a chance their pack was healing. The very future that almost destroyed them was finally theirs.