Chapter 2
Katsu
Iglide into the bookstore, catching a wall of that book smell I love so much.
Today is the day; I can feel it. We’re going to catch a break and get something that will help us move forward with this search.
Sunshine Cove is pretty, but we’ve been here two weeks and so far have come up with no leads.
I straighten my pale blue knitted jumper that Fox insisted I wear. It feels weird not being in a suit, but I make it work quite nicely.
“Morning, Sofia! Where are the balls and chains?” I say to the auburn-headed bookstore owner who is currently unboxing a delivery of new books.
Sofia laughs and has to grab at Danger before the adorable merle brown dachshund spots my best friend, lover, and pack mate Fox and leaps off the counter to get to him. He peeks out from behind my shoulder, and the little dog howls in joyful song, his tail whipping a laughing Sofia in the face.
She blinks, stunned by the powerful thwack to her cheek.
“Are you all right?” I ask with concern as she struggles to put him on the ground.
He rushes past her, past me, and straight at Fox, jumping up at him, until Fox, with an amused sigh, crouches down and gives the puppy cuddles while I get to deal with the adult stuff.
I bite my lower lip, taking a moment to really look at how incredible my bond mate is.
Fox is smaller and thinner than I am, but he’s something really special.
His brown hair is messed up but always looks good.
He laughs and smiles as he plays with the pup, causing his green eyes to light up with joy, exactly how I love to see him.
No one has ever been so comfortable around an alpha until they meet Fox. There is something magical about him, and animals can sense it. And he’s mine. Proudly mine.
I turn and lean on the counter, reaching out and grabbing a copy of the book she’s set in front of me.
“I ordered it in. The newest one, it just came out,” Sofia says with barely contained mirth. I raise an eyebrow at her but don’t ask her what she really wants to hear.
I hum and open the book to the first page of the story.
“Cat and Wolf have survived the bomb blast, I see,” I say with dry sarcasm and flick forward a few pages. With a disgusted grunt, I snap the cover shut.
Sofia’s staring at me with huge brown-green flecked eyes. I don’t think she knows what to say. I don’t know what to say.
How is this my life?
“It’s uncanny,” she whispers, her eyes dance as she brushes her auburn hair behind her ear. “It’s just so…”
She finally erupts into the laughter she’s been suppressing.
“Ah, I see you finally read the book,” I say and stand up straight, unable to take offense to the pretty omega’s amusement. If it were anyone else, anyone, I would be laughing, too.
“The author has captured you with amazing, incredible detail. She talks about your hair and your peculiar light-coloured eyes. Wolf, or I guess it’s actually Fox, and his love of animals.”
“Yes,” I say, drawing out the word. “It is uncanny.” Now, here is where it gets tricky. “Do you think you can help us unmask this person?”
Sofia’s eyes twinkle. “Unmask a famous author living here in Sunshine? Abso-freaking-lutely. I can do book signings, and we have make it a whole thing. I’m dying to know who it is. But how did you know this author is from Sunshine Cove?”
I pull out my phone and open the gallery, scrolling until I find the screenshot from the author’s social media post. I show her the photo.
“Oh, my. That’s the view from the point of the cove. She’s even got the lighthouse in there, just a little bit. How do you know she’s a local and not a tourist?” Sofia says, leaning back and frowning thoughtfully. “It could all be an elaborate disguise.”
“Because she posts to the seasons,” I say and show her all the photos from the same spot. There are more than twenty.
Sofia shrieks. “This is so exciting!”
It’s not how I would describe it. Overnight, Fox and I became minor celebrities. And all because someone wrote a romance about us and then turned our lives into this sensational action plot.
Fox, the bastard, likes to get the book and come slinking in, purring the lines of dialogue to me to try to get me in the mood. The worst part? It absolutely works. This author is talented.
“How do you know they are a her?” Sofia asks quickly, flipping the book over.
“She refers to herself as she and…well, I guess I don’t, but from my research and the fact that…you know, I don’t know. It’s just a feeling I have.”
Sofia shrugs. “So, we’ll keep our options open, then?”
“Yeah, I guess.” I turn so I can watch Fox. He’s sitting on the ground with a wet face from all the puppy kisses.
“Danger is really going to miss him when you guys go home. When are you leaving?”
She absolutely catches me off guard.
“Oh, um…I don’t know.”
I feel like I’m missing information here and there’s a trap, but I can’t tell where it’s going to spring from. Her eyes gleam, and I know we’re in for it now. I look away because sometimes that works.
“So, you’ll be here for Light Knot Night?”
I’ve been examining her new book display with an interesting thriller being showcased, but on her cautious words, I choke and end up needing a few seconds to save myself from a grizzly death.
“We will!” Fox says.
I whip around, glaring at him. He gives me a lopsided, adorable smile that has me completely unable to stay even irritated with him.
Yes, I am a very indulgent alpha, but I love to take care of people.
Fox brushes his brown hair back from his forehead and bites his lower lip, his green eyes shining.
His hair always looks effortless and, unfortunately, because of the cooler weather, he has all his pretty constellation tattoos hidden under a long sleeve black top.
But he’s happy here.
And we weren’t happy at home.
“So, are you two going to sign up? Go on some dates? Meet some new people.”
“Absolutely-” My sharp refusal is cut off.
“Yes!”
“What?” I turn all the way around, glaring as Fox stands up and carries Danger over to us.
“It would be a really good opportunity to suss people out and a reason to stay here without looking like creepers who are in love with the bookstore. Come on, baby, it will be fun.”
I count to three. It doesn’t help.
Danger wiggles and puts his cute paws on Fox’s face. Still not helping, though I really want to get my phone out and get a photo.
“Danger loves people, but not like this. This is…truly baffling,” Sofia says with a hint of anxiety.
“Don’t stress, Fox is an animal magnet. It happens everywhere,” I say with dry irritation, watching Fox pretend he can’t see me.
“And you don’t have any pets of your own?” Sofia asks.
Oh, she is crafty with her red hair and that innocent smile and probing conversation. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was trying to help us find a reason to stay in Sunshine Cove.
“No, we don’t. But it was on our five-year plan,” Fox interjects.
I scowl at the counter where Fox can’t see. That blasted five-year plan that his parents harped on about and made him feel like we weren’t enough, like our lives weren’t enough.
“Five-year plan? Oh, you’d be surprised how quickly life can change. Don’t stick to a plan that isn’t working. So, I can tell mum you’ll be matched.”
Fox looks at me and mouths please, two fingers tugging the sleeve of my T-shirt.
I sigh, and he leans in close and kisses my shoulder, sending goosebumps down my spine.
“Okay, we agree.”
“Oh, good.”
Sofia looks away, her cheeks turning suspiciously pink.
“We were already signed up, weren’t we?”
“Um, yes. But I did try to steer you towards being matched with my sister, Asher. She should be able to help you out. I know she’s not the author because writing is not her talent. She is much more inclined to active outdoor activities.”
I nod and check the email notification I just received. I send it to archives and look back at Sofia.
“Thank you, but we have to get going if we’re going to be on time for this meeting.”
“Oh, okay, have a good day, and I know I haven’t said it before, but welcome to Sunshine Cove, Pack Blizzard.”
I wave a hand in acknowledgment, the new copy of Lynn Marino’s sequel to Love Sweet Love that I preordered clutched close to my chest. Everything about it annoys me, down to the title and the ridiculous shadowed artwork of the two lovers. Time Sweet Time.
What does that even mean?
Fox rushes to catch up to me and sticks close to my side.
“Kat?”
I stop dead, appalled, squeezing my eyes closed, trying to hold back an exasperated laugh.
“Really, Fox?”
“It’s cute,” he whispers, nudging my shoulder. “I like it.”
“No, we are not calling me Kat.”
“Aww.”
“Fox, no.”
“But, baby, it’s so cute, and I love it, just like I love you-”
I kiss him hard and thoroughly until he’s forgotten the whole subject.
“Are we going to be a good boy?” I croon.
He inhales shakily; he looks delightfully tousled. “Yes, we are.”
“Good. Let’s get this meeting done and go and harass Yolanda for something tasty for you to eat, hmm?”
Fox threads his fingers through mine and walks by my side, where he’s been since we met when we were just fifteen years old. Best friends turned to lovers, turned to pack mates, and though I won’t ever acknowledge it out loud to anyone else, to soul mates.
He is my everything, and he is enough.
We get down to the beach where very few people are. The waves crash onto the sand; the wind is cold. The sky is silver-grey; it is lovely. I am entranced by this town, even when I don’t want to be.
I press the link to the video call and wait. Fox rests his chin on my upper arm and hums under his breath.
The screen comes on, showing an older version of myself. Thick black hair, mercurial ice-blue eyes, and a deep and powerful, calm aura that comes from the very intense natures of our alphas.
“Father.”
“Katsu. You look well.”
“We are. It’s beautiful here.”
“And how is my delightfully adorable, beloved son?”
I brought Fox home and, with the same adoration he gets from animals, my parents fell for him, hook, line, and sinker. They have been our biggest champions and have supported us in everything we wanted to do, even when Fox’s family have tried to make it impossible.
“I’m good, Pops.”
Even I am not allowed to call my father Pops. But Fox can. Perhaps we spoil him, but there’s a softness in my alpha that needed nurturing the way a dying plant needed water.
I aim to provide whatever he needs. If he wants me, he’s got it. If he needs my family, they are his. Whatever my love desires.
“Can I assume you won’t be home for a while?”
I glance at Fox, then look back at Dad. The problem was that while the notoriety of being some weird couple from a fictional novel didn’t bother me, it deeply distressed Fox.
I promised him I’d find the author and see if we could get the names changed or remove the books from sale or something; hell, anything would do to stop the distress that’s been riding him.
“We’ll be here as long as it takes.”
My father nods. “I always wanted to set up an office in Australia. We’ll come visit.”
“Yes, Father.” I say it with affection. I think we all knew it was coming. My mothers don’t like being apart from us for long.
“Good. See you soon, my sons.”
“Bye, Pops, love you!”
“Love you, too, boys.”
The call ends, and I lean back, looking up and the fast-roiling clouds that are boiling across the sky.
Everything about today feels ominous.
“When is Light Knot Night?” I ask, knowing Fox would remember.
“Tomorrow night.”
I grumble under my breath, while he pulls me up to my feet and stands on his tiptoes to press a kiss to my lips.
“Thank you, Katsu, for everything.”
I stroke his cheek. “Anything for you, my alpha.”
We make our way to the café, but slowly. I pass him the book, and he opens it and starts reading quotes from it.
“Listen to this. ‘I love you, my alpha.’ Didn’t you just say that?”
I turn a disgruntled look on my bonded. “I was far more eloquent and passionate.”
Fox laughs and bounces towards me to show me the next paragraph. I make a promise to throttle this damn author when I meet them.
Main Street is quiet today, but there are a few people around. I place a hand on Fox’s lower back and guide him to the café.
A couple of female omegas and betas walk past us, but I don’t pay them any attention.
“Hey, Cordie.”
One of them stops, her shoulders stiffen, and she fairly crackles with electric irritation.
“What do you want, Sol?”
“I love the way you say my last name with so much blind hatred.”
“Only when it’s attached to your first name. I have no quarrel with other Sols.”
“Hey, hey, don’t shoot the messenger.”
The guy is tall, with a mop of brown hair and a smile that is pure trouble. I can’t see the girl’s face, just that she’s got straight black hair and looks tiny beside him. But she is sure holding her own.
A part of me demands I go and interfere, break it up and send the alpha on his way with a blistering set down, but I’m trying to keep a low profile.
“Coming, Kat?”
I snarl playfully at him, dismissing the two from my mind, and follow my alpha into the café.
Food is a better use of my time, and Fox does look so pretty when he’s eating.