Chapter 3
Cordelia
Itry my best to look completely and utterly bored, but I am charmed; I am so charmed. I love winter, and I absolutely love the idea of a pack-making event centered around the Winter Solstice and especially doing the whole thing at night.
Adorable, just absolutely heart-warmingly adorable.
In just one day and without any of my help this time around, Main Street has been transformed. There are lanterns and stars, moons and snowflakes. Everything is gold and blue. It’s not over the top, it’s like holiday decorations.
“I tried everything I could think of to get out of this, but my mother will not be swayed,” Asher says, grabbing my elbow. “She is determined that Sofia, Devon, Mack, and Elijah weren’t a fluke and it was all a grand design. She’s gone pack making crazy.”
Asher shoves her caramel-brown hair behind her ear and glowers at everything around her.
“It’s pretty, though.”
Asher gasps. “Have you joined the dark side?”
I snort a laugh, but it’s weak. A few months ago, I was loud and happy, and that’s all gone. I feel so tired and drained these days; the energy to keep up the facade has slipped away.
Everything is the same. Nothing changes.
I have only one escape: my secret, and no one in Sunshine Cove knows it, and I’m going to keep it that way.
Sofia sidles up next to us, and I pull Danger out of her arms and hug him.
“I needed puppy hugs,” I whine when Sofia protests.
“Why? What’s wrong with you? Is your mum okay?”
“She’s fine!” I say, forcing a wide smile. “She is filling the house with flowers so she can do her annual flower dyeing.”
Sofia, bless her, keeps her face carefully blank. “Oh, is she? But she’s never done flower dying before-”
“Shh, she has done it every year,” I say flatly.
“Oh, well, then. Yes, of course, slipped my mind.”
“Mm, just like the wood carving and stamp collecting, and tango lessons, and calligraphy, and, well, you know what I mean. Flower dyeing is all the rage.”
“What exactly does flower dyeing entail?”
“Drying flowers, and then producing dye that you use to dye material and soap, we’re going to be soap makers next month.”
“Oh, how…charming.” We all ignore how high her voice has gone. “Have you two seen the new alphas in town?”
“What alphas?” Asher asks, smartly seizing the lifeline Sofia has thrown before I get into a mood again.
I don’t really care; I’m too busy looking at the gold stars dancing in the breeze. I’m tired. Not in my body, but in my soul. I just want to lie down and stare up at the dancing stars.
“They came in two weeks ago; they’ve been staking out my bookstore.”
I frown; that does catch my attention. How strange. “Why?”
“No idea, but they come in everyday.” Sofia shrugs her shoulders. “They are really cute, Asher, totally your type.”
“I am so jealous that you are getting out of this,” Asher mutters, ignoring Sofia’s playful tease. “Do I look like I’ve picked up a book in the last decade?”
Sofia smiles widely. “Find a pack to woo you.”
“You are not funny!” Asher growls. “Oh, gods, he’s here again.”
“Who?”
“The grumpy alpha. His name is Zaire. If I get matched with him again, I’m going to riot,” Asher hisses.
I follow her gaze and find a massive alpha who is scowling at everyone. He doesn’t look happy to be here at all.
He’s objectively good-looking, but not my type.
No, apparently my sick psyche has decided to punish me forevermore and likes rough-looking boys next door with messy brown hair and mocking eyes.
Ones that are moody and attractive and secretly wear reading glasses while they draw.
I squeeze my eyes closed. Control yourself, Cordelia.
My resolution not to think of him today has failed miserably. Oh, well, there’s always tomorrow.
Sebastian, as if conjured by my thoughts, is dragged towards us by Lorelei Sol. She snaps something at him, which has him barking out a loud laugh.
“What is he doing now?” I mutter.
I head towards him, unable to help myself.
He sees me and stops fighting her. If only his face would light up because he was happy to see me.
“Cordie, you look…different.”
Different is…different. I cock my head to the side. “Are you being a pest, Bas?”
He steps into my space, smiling down at me. “Me? Not at all. If I’d have known you were going to actually show up, I would have made sure I was early to see the fit you throw when you are matched to some pinheads.”
“Careful, Sebastian, your voice is dripping with jealousy. We can always find you some airheads to take on sweet little dates.”
“Why bother with someone else when I can take you?” he mutters softly, his golden-brown eyes intense on mine.
My heart leaps. Am I ever going to be able to quit this alpha?
“One airhead is as good as another.”
Yeah, there it is. My temper notches up.
“I don’t appreciate you encouraging my mother, by the way. She is hard enough to keep pinned down-”
But he’s not watching me; his face is pale, and his jaw is slack.
“No way,” he whispers in horror.
“Bas?”
“I’ll catch up with you later, have a good day,” Sebastian says absently and wanders away. I scowl at him, while a teeny-tiny part of me wonders what mischief he’s getting up to now. Have a good day? He never wishes me a good anything.
“Hello again, Sunshine Cove singles!”
I cringe at the sudden booming of Lorelei’s voice projected through several speakers.
“Are you ready to get matched?” The Pack Makers scream in one voice, and it is so cringe it’s cute.
An explosion of gold snowflakes is shot into the air. I spread my hands out, staring up at it, as they rain down. I love it.
“ARE YOU READY TO GET KNOTTED?”
That pulls me up short.
Oh, god, that is…no. These ladies changed my diapers. This is not cool.
“Nope, I’m out of here. I’m not doing it. I want no part of this,” Asher turns but lets out a startled peep.
I spin and find Franco and Milton Sol blocking the way, with Felix behind them. He’s been really quiet about this Pack Maker stuff, and as much as I’m curious why, now is not the time.
“Turn around, Daughter,” Franco says menacingly. “You made a deal with the pack-maker beast. And we are here to enforce it or else.”
“Pops!” Asher gasps at the betrayal. “How could you?”
He has the decency to look guilty. “She is very persuasive,” he whines.
Ew.
“Every year in the middle of June comes the shortest day of the year, when we have a day of equal light and dark, and we have come up with a wonderful way to celebrate. A lantern festival where a whole crop of new singles will decide if they want to be matched with their new loves. Light Knot Night is a month away, and we have bigger and better dates, all of them celebrating the intricacies of new love.”
A lantern festival? I have always, always wanted to see one. I hope no one looks closely at me; they will see the hearts in my eyes.
There is a loud cheer from people, and when I look at them, I don’t recognise them at all.
“Felix!”
Felix sighs heavily and then walks up reluctantly. He’s handed a stone.
I peer over his shoulder when he comes back, looking at the beautiful painting. It’s a night sky, and it’s incredible.
“Whoever painted that needs a spot in your gallery.”
Felix doesn’t answer, but his eyes follow the form of a person as they disappear down to the beach. Someone the rest of us don’t pay attention to. I should know her name, but I don’t.
“No, no, no. I don’t want to. Don’t make me.”
“Asher, it will be okay.”
“It won’t be!” Asher says through gritted teeth.
We watch person after person get chosen, then Asher goes up. She is given a stone that she barely looks at.
“Cordelia!”
I approach Lorelei. She hands me a stone with a painted lantern on it. It’s beautiful. She winks at me.
“Sebastian!”
He grumbles and holds out his hand. His mother drops a stone in it and smiles, but it’s a dark threat. We both melt away in different directions, but suddenly, the stone doesn’t feel good, and this seems like a huge mistake.
I just want him.
“All right, everyone has their stone. Now find your matches.”
I walk into the group of people, desperate to have it over with. People match up and wander off, and the crowd gets thinner and thinner until, finally, I see Sebastian.
There’s no way. She wouldn’t have done that.
“Lake.”
“Sol.”
I lift my chin and stare at him with my best haughty look.
He holds out his stone.
I gape at the matching lantern. “Your mother is evil.” But I’m giddy. I’m melting. My brain is officially fried. Sebastian is mine.
He looks down at my open hand. “Don’t worry, I’m going to kill her.”
“Hey, we match.”
I jerk around and feel the blood drain from my head.
I know these two people intimately, though I have never, ever met them. I step back, but Sebastian is staring at them, and he, too, appears shocked.
“It’s you,” the other one snarls.
I think for a moment they are looking at me, but, no, they are glaring at Sebastian.
“Bastion Sun, you bastard!”
Oh, my god. I am so dead. So very, very dead. A nervous giggle escapes, and I slap a hand to my mouth to smother it.
I frantically tear all my brain cells front and center and put on the most pitiful expression of shock and confusion I can muster. I’m sure I look like I need to shit, but no one questions it.
“You’re the bad guy.”
Sebastian frowns. “What bad guy?”
“The bad guy!” the brown-haired alpha snaps and then growls. “You’re very bad!”
“What are you talking about?” Sebastian snarls. “I’m not a bad guy, and my name is Sebastian Sol; only one person is allowed to call me Bas.”
I turn towards him, unable to look away, my heart thudding. That’s me. He’s talking about me.
Aww.
“Well, eep. We’ve matched, let’s, uh, meet up later,” I spit out as soon as my brain stops fixating on Sebastian bloody Sol.
The dark-haired alpha with the pale blue eyes turns to me, and I see his pupils expand very slowly. I cannot look away, not when he approaches me. He’s like a storm front, intense and dangerous, and there’s nowhere for me to shelter.
“Who are you, little omega?”
My brain stops working, the omega in me takes over, surging to the surface.
“Cordelia Lake,” the words stumble out of me without much thought because everything in me is reacting to him. My body is tense; I want to flee, but I can’t move; blood is rushing to my cheeks, and I am acutely aware of Sebastian staring at me.
This alpha still has his hand held out, and I reluctantly give him mine. To my surprise, he lifts my hand to his lips and pauses, inhaling my scent before he presses a hot, lingering kiss to the skin.
I am never washing this hand again.
My head spins wildly, and I realise I’m not breathing. I inhale and catch his potent scent. It’s like spices that warm the air around him and incense that is so delicately layered I feel intoxicated just smelling it.
“Katsu from Pack Blizzard.”
I tear my gaze from his and fall into the green world that is his companion.
“Fenix.”
I gasp at the sound of his voice. It’s deep and masculine but still so soft. He edges closer, but before I can catch his scent, Sebastian is there, pulling me back and setting me behind him.
Did I need to be rescued? Oh, yes. Very much, yes.
My body starts to shake. I lick my lips as I stare at them.
“So, we’re a match. So what,” Sebastian growls. “It means nothing.”
“SEBASTIAN SOL!”
His shoulders tighten, but when he turns, looking past me, his expression is pure mutiny.
“You were matched, it is Sully approved,” Lorelei snarls.
“The freaking seagull approved this match? Are you high?”
Lorelei slaps his arm, hard. “Child of mine, you are walking a thin line.”
“What are you going to do? Give me a timeout? Ground me?”
Her eyes flicker with a temper matching his. Right now, I can see that both of them are going to blow, so I do what I always do: I step in and deflect his anger back to me.
“Oh, Bas, that would be too easy. She doesn’t need to ground you; I’m still dying to see your baby photos.”
His eyes narrow and turn to that golden hue that promises everyone pure trouble. It can look hard, like it does now, but I’ve seen it molten, too. Once.
“You will not.”
He shifts his body towards me, almost forgetting his mother is there. Sebastian is too alpha for this town; I don’t know why everyone else can’t see it. He’s drowning here.
I flick my hair and give him a taunting smile that I know will rile him up no end.
“I do what I want, Bas,” I draw his name out, and the air around us crackles.
“Sorry about this, Katsu, and…” Lorelei says with an embarrassed huff.
“Fenix, Omega. My name is Fenix, though only my dad calls me that, call me Fox. You can all call me that, if you want.” He’s speaking to me, and I can’t remember what I was doing, only that this alpha is staring at me like I might be the only drinking water in the whole ocean.
I forget Sebastian for a moment, remembering in horror why these two look so horrifically familiar.
My stomach bubbles, and I step back and then again.
“Uh, look, I have to…”
I flinch hard, cocking my head to the side, unable to make sense of what I’m seeing.
Gale walks confidently up to Fox and lowers his head, almost begging. Fox startles and turns fully around.
“Oh, my god!” Katsu mutters in exasperation.
Gale nickers and stomps a foot.
“Well, aren’t you the prettiest boy to ever make Main Street look so pretty.”
The alpha and horse almost fall into each other as he hugs Gale’s neck and starts giving my damn escapee of a horse scratches and all the murmured whispers that I suddenly want.
“Gale!” I admonish.
He lifts his head, snorts and turns, dragging Fox with him, and presenting me with his wide rear end.
“You traitor!” I snap.
Sebastian is shaking. When I turn to look at him, he’s laughing so hard he’s almost in tears.
I snarl. “When was the last time you tried to pat him and didn’t get bit?”
That shuts him up.
“Aww, you are the biggest baby,” Fox purrs at my horse, and I wish ridiculously that it was me he was talking to.
“Sebastian, bring Gale home when he’s finished with the boys. I’m taking Cordelia for ice cream.”
“Mum-”
“Sebastian, I will print those photos and put them on every wall from here to Angler’s Beach.”
Sebastian gasps. “You are cruel.”
“And you test me. Just bring Gale home when he’s done. I need to talk to Cordie privately. It’s important.”
“Okay.”
I turn to the alphas, but I don’t know what to say, so I just lift my hand and wave, then turn away, leaving the three of them staring holes in my back.
Sometimes, running is the only way to survive.