Chapter 27
Cordelia
Fox grabs my hand and leads me to the table.
He sits down, and I sit in the chair opposite him, but he doesn’t let go of my hand.
There’s something so serious and off about him.
It scares me. Sebastian’s tablet is still on the table where he left it last night when we got home.
He and Katsu are around, I can feel them in the house.
“We need to talk.”
Has anyone ever said those words in a way that was good?
My stomach falls through an endless cavern. “We do?”
“Yeah, we need to.”
He lets go of me and grabs the back of his neck, and he won’t meet my eyes. What is it? I reach for his hand but hesitate, staring at it. Maybe I shouldn’t do that.
Fox shifts until he’s sitting beside me. I can sense Katsu close by, but he’s just staying at the edges, observing.
“What is it?”
He opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.
“Wait! Asher, just hold on-” Sebastian growls.
“Nope, you’ve had her long enough. We need her.”
I whip my head around as Asher marches in, Felix on her heels, and grabs my shoulder.
“Come on, you have been summoned.”
“We’re talking,” I protest.
“You were finished, weren’t you, Fox?”
Fox hesitates and then inclines his head graciously, his smile returning. “We can speak later.”
“No, wait-”
“It’s okay, it wasn’t important.” Fox grins easily at me and leans back, tilting the chair onto two legs, looking completely calm and unworried. My fear is eased, but not erased.
I’m yanked out of the chair, and before I can stop them, they drag me all the way down to Sofia’s bookstore and shut it before flicking the lock.
“Hi, what are you all doing here?” Sofia says as she cuddles her adorable baby dachshund.
“You didn’t summon me?” I demand and turn to glare at the twins.
Sofia shakes her head, pauses, and starts nodding. “I did, I absolutely did.”
I roll my eyes and move to the counter, leaning on it. “You are a terrible liar.” I twist to glare at the twins, who both try to look really innocent and fail. “What are you two up to now?”
They shrug and try as hard as they can not to laugh.
“Oh, is it like that, is it?”
Asher grins and says. “I want to go to the secret beach.”
I shake my head. “Not in the middle of winter, you crazy person. Plus, high tide today.”
“Fine, let’s go…” She glances at Felix, who shrugs.
“I’d like your opinion of the new display at the gallery,” he says smoothly.
I stare at him. “Me? I don’t know anything about art.”
“Neither do most people. Art isn’t for only the elite, it’s for everyone,” Felix says with haughty disdain.
“Why are we here, then?” I ask, still not convinced. “What was the point of coming to the bookshop?”
“Because Sofia is needed, too,” Felix says in a bored tone, like I’m asking astoundingly stupid questions.
“But the shop-”
The door opens, and Devon walks in, smiling as he delivers the punch line of a joke to Mack.
“Oh, good, you’re here to watch the shop while I help Felix,” Sofia says in a high and loud voice.
Devon blinks. “I am…here. Yes. To watch the shop.” He puts his bag of food behind his back and glances at Mack. “And you are going to help.”
“Oh, no. I have to go see Grandma.“
“You can do that after, Mack,” Sofia says with a flutter of lashes.
I swear, his brain melts out of his ears. He gets a goofy smile and nods. “I can do it later.”
I rub my temples, frustrated with all of them. “Okay, let’s go, then.”
Felix leads me out of the store while Asher, Sofia, and Devon have a very loud hand conversation.
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” I ask flatly. Felix puts his hands in his pockets and gazes into the distance.
“Nope.”
“No?”
“No. I don’t. I want you to come with me because you trust that I would never do anything to hurt you. Because we are Sunshine Omegas, and that comes before everything else.”
I stare at him and then dip my chin. “Okay. You got it.”
“We’re also having a movie night tonight, which you will attend.”
I tilt my head back and groan. I don’t want to go to a movie night, but he is right, I do owe them some of my time.
“Where?”
“At your mum’s house.”
I think of all the edits I have to get done tomorrow to make up for this week and wince. I guess I’m not seeing my alphas any time soon.
“Why so suddenly?”
Felix blinks at me, it’s a real slow blink, one that is all silent and full of judgement.
“Fine, fine. I get it, we haven’t been hanging out much, and I kept secrets from you all.”
Sofia and Asher come bouncing out of the bookstore, laughing, and we set off.
I finish the edits and sit back, checking the time. It’s still early enough for me to go over-
“Hey, baby, you’re done?” Mum asks, poking her head into my bedroom.
“Yeah.”
“Oh, good. The flowers are ready to extract the dye. Do you want to help me?”
I hesitate but, in the end, nod. “Okay, Mum, I can help you.”
My phone rings. It’s Sebastian. I send him a message and say, ‘Not tonight’, then put my phone on silent and follow my mum downstairs.
I haven’t seen them for three days. I have no idea what’s going on, but every time I go to go over there, someone stops me. At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but it’s not. This is a planned and concentrated attack.
I tiptoe down the stairs and come face to face with Randall.
“Oh, hi, Cordelia. Where are you off to?” he says too loudly.
“Traitor,” I whisper.
Mum slides across the wooden floor in her haste to get to me. “Oh, sweetie, you’re just in time to help me with the um, ah, the plans for the next matchmaking event.”
“Mum, we haven’t even finished this one. I’m going to see the pack. Besides that’s Sebastian’s job now.”
“No, it’s really important. We need a theme.”
I sigh heavily. “You have a theme. Halloween, remember.”
“Oh.” Her eyes dart around, and she looks up triumphantly. “But we need to start on ideas for the dates.”
“Mum, I really need to go see them. I’ll be back. I can help you tomorrow.”
Mum stares at me. I feel a bit bad, but I am determined.
I get outside, walk out of the property, and find myself face to face with Lorelei Sol. Outsmarted again, I think bitterly.
“Hello, Cordelia. Come and have some coffee with me.”
“I’m just in the middle of something; I can come later.”
“It’s really important.”
“Funnily, I’ve been hearing that a lot,” I mutter. I stop walking and finally accept defeat. “Okay, sure. Let’s go.”
We head back to her house, where she gives me a mug of coffee and sits beside me at the kitchen island. I really like these stools, I wonder if we can get some for the house.
“What is so important?”
“I want to talk to you about your future with Sebastian.”
I tense. “What about it?”
“Oh, it’s nothing terrible. I just want to make sure you can handle him. He’s very strong-willed. Very dominant. I think he got a combination of both of his fathers. My baby is very moody at times, he’s quick to anger and loud about it, too.”
“I know all this; I have always known all this.” What is she even playing at? This conversation is so bizarre and borderline offensive.
Lorelei sighs and sets her mug down. “The truth is, I owe you an apology for trying to rope you and Sofia into the matchmaking events. I was afraid that you and Sebastian would follow Katsu and Fox out of town, and we’d never see him again.
” Her eyes fill with tears. She dabs at them lightly while I try not to feel terrible for not telling them our plans.
“First off, Sebastian is a wonderful and responsible alpha who loves this town so much he could never stay away for long. His energy comes off as aggressive because he is passionate.” I unlock my phone and show Lorelei the picture he did for my birthday.
She stares at it, her eyes widening. “I knew he was good, but I didn’t think he was this good.”
“He is incredible. He always has been. When I started writing the book, it took me months to try to figure out a way to ask him, but there was no other option. I knew he had to be the one to do it.”
“He really loves you, it’s all right here. Every line, the way he’s captured you.”
My heart kicks, and I melt inside just thinking about him. My fingers stab into my sternum, where the ache that has been growing threatens to swallow me whole. I glance down, looking at the drawing. “I really love him, too. You know I always have.”
“Oh, sweetheart, we all know that. You two were meant to be.”
I snort a laugh. She hiccups and passes my phone back.
“And Lorelei?”
I wait until she’s looking at me.
“If I can convince these alphas to forgive me for lying to them, they want to buy the house they are renting and stay here in Sunshine Cove.”
Lorelei screams so loudly that Milton comes charging down the stairs. She throws herself at him and bounces. To his credit, he bounces with her without even knowing what they are celebrating.
“My baby is going to stay.”
I watch in amusement, trying hard not to laugh.
“Who is staying?” Sebastian asks.
I whip around, my eyes drinking him in. It takes a second before he sees me, and then it’s like the air is sucked out of the room.
He rushes past his parents and snatches me up in a hug, kissing me hard. I cling to him, pulling myself closer.
“I missed you so much,” I whisper.
I kiss him back, my eyes prickling as I hug him so tight my arms ache.
Lorelei continues bouncing. Sebastian sets me down, his hand stroking my spine as he points to the door.
I glance at it, confused, but jolt when Fox and Katsu walk into the room.
The world slows its rotation, and everything fades.
All I can see is them. They are so beautiful.
Katsu glides towards me, never once looking away. He cups my cheek and just stares at me.
“You are well?”
My fingers curl into his jumper, anchoring us together as I drift into him. His scent envelopes me, and I shiver and let out a tiny whine that has the whole room going still.
“Oh!” I hear Lorelei say sadly.
“I am well now.” My voice comes out rough and pained.
He leans down and presses a chaste kiss to my forehead. It fixes everything. As soon as he steps back, Fox pulls me into one of those hugs, holding me tight, so tight. I don’t want him to ever let me go.
“We were going to take-”
“Stay for dinner!” Lorelei says over Sebastian. “I want to get to know you. Please, stay. Cordelia is staying.”
That last sentence decides it. They won’t leave if I am here.
Lorelei grabs Sebastian’s cheeks and smooshes them together. “You are staying?”
“Where was I going?” he asks, confused.
“Oh, my beautiful baby. You are staying.” She bursts into noisy tears and clings to him. Sebastian looks at me. I shrug but just smile at him, happily watching his family love on him.
“Mum, did you hit your head? Take some of those sleeping tablets again?”
She swats at him, and he ducks away, laughing. “I thought you might leave me.”
“And go where?” Sebastian asks in complete confusion.
“I thought maybe Katsu and Fox might want to go back home.” She says casting an apologetic look at the alphas.
“Oh.” Sebastian frowns and, for some bizarre reason, he looks at Katsu.
“No, Omega Sol. We would not take your Sebastian from you. Or Cordelia. We’ve already discussed it, and we’ll relocate here. The mums and Dad have already found a place.”
Lorelei bursts into very noisy tears. “Oh, you are all perfect, perfect. I couldn’t hope for better alphas for my son.”
“I’ll see if your parents are free, and we can all have a family dinner. I cooked enough food. It will be good. A proper family gathering,” Milton says with a happy grin.
I want to protest, but they all need this. Perhaps even more than we do.
Imogen sneaks into the kitchen, grabs a block of chocolate that she hides behind her back, and scowls.
“I’m not coming to a big, huge dinner. I’m going to take Daphne and Ivy to Asher’s.”
Lorelei turns and studies her. She narrows her eyes. “Why?”
“Why does there have to be a reason?” Imogen flutters her eyelashes.
“Oh, I know you, child of mine, spill it. What are you up to?”
Imogen sighs. “Asher said she would pay us if we go and help her with a project that the evil witch gave her.”
Lorelei’s scowl gets darker. “Fine, go earn money. Lord knows you know how to spend it. But you tell your sister that if she thinks for one second that I’m not going to come over afterwards and find out why this isn’t already done, she is mistaken.”
“Great. Love you. Bye.” Imogen beams and bounces away.
I turn back to where Milton has the alphas in a deep conversation. I feel like we’re a million miles away, and the distance is getting bigger.
The night goes on and on, but when it comes to leaving, Mum is too upset and drunk to go alone, and Randall disappeared earlier because he needed to open the hardware store early in the morning.
I look at my alphas and know they are feeling the same misery and frustration I am.
“Tomorrow,” I promise.
Fox kisses me gently, as if I’m incredibly precious, and then they are gone, and I’m standing there trying not to cry.
“Mum, what the hell?” I whisper at her.
She stumbles and giggles, and I hook her arm over my shoulder and drag her home. It takes an hour to chase her into bed, but then it’s just me and the house that always felt so comfortable.
It doesn’t now.
I go upstairs and sit at my desk and stare at my laptop screen.
I stare at it until the sun rises, and I finally know what I have to do.