Chapter 13 Sofia
Sofia
Elijah pulls me down between him and Mack and pulls my legs up over his thighs. There’s a romance playing on the TV, and the wind is howling. The sun is not shining in Sunshine Cove today; the storm that has been threatening since dawn is finally here.
Danger bounces off the couch and snags a squeaky bone and tosses his head around viciously.
“Get it, Danger. Good boy,” Mack says and tosses another one to him.
Devon puts a plate of mini quiches on the coffee table. Danger spots them and charges over only to be picked up by Devon. He lets out a protesting warble, his little legs running a million miles an hour.
“No, no. They are not for you. But I have this for you, little beast.” The alpha pulls out a braided bully stick.
Danger launches himself at it and scurries off where he can see us and still murder his treat.
“He is adorable,” Devon says in amusement.
“Yeah, he is. When I saw him, I just knew he was mine. It was love at first sight. Instant tears, a smile that wobbled but was bigger than I’ve ever worn. He saved me.”
Elijah strokes my lower leg. “Well, we’re glad you have him, then.”
Mack starts combing his fingers through my hair. I shiver and shift my weight slightly so he’s got more access. Oh, god, I could die happy right now. My body tingles as his fingers drag lightly through over my scalp.
“I like that.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I say softly.
He is gentle, but I find myself lying there, completely ignoring the movie.
“Mack?”
“Mmm?”
“Is it hard being in Sunshine?”
His fingers pause. “I thought it would be, but then, when I finally got back here, I was happy because I could feel them again. My uncle wasn’t a bad man, but he didn’t understand me.
He packed his feelings up and put them in a box deep inside.
We weren’t allowed to talk about my parents.
So, coming back was like…well, I could see my mother pointing to the stop sign, singing.
My dad bopping away to the music in his car.
They were on the beach, in the water, and in the very air.
I could hear them here, see them, speak to them. And that wasn’t painful at all.”
His fingers spread across my scalp in a way that has me purring with pure pleasure.
“Where is everyone?” I murmur.
“Your mum is with the Pack Makers. Your dads are helping. Sebastian is hiding, and your sisters are with your grandma.”
“So, it’s just us alone in the house?” I ask.
There is a very heavy, pregnant pause.
“Nope. Don’t go down that path, you cute little temptation,” Mack teases.
“I wasn’t thinking that!” I protest, giggling.
“Oh, sure.”
“I was,” Devon says with a wink.
I groan, and my scent gets stronger.
“So, do you want to tell us all about the hearts scrawled all over your room?” Mack teases.
“Nope!” I squeak.
“Come on, share with the class.”
“The hearts?” Elijah asks. “What hearts?”
Devon gestures to him. Elijah bounces up.
“No, wait. Stop. Can’t we pretend they don’t exist?” I wail.
“Not a chance,” Devon calls down from halfway up the stairs.
I groan and turn until I can bury my face in Mack’s chest.
“When I left, I never thought I would see you all again. I couldn’t take watching Devon anymore,” I admit.
“You really liked him, didn’t you?”
“I really liked all three of you. Seems bizarre that we’re all back here again, pretending to be dating.”
Mack makes a disgruntled sound.
“What was that noise for?”
“Never mind.”
Devon and Elijah return smiling, which is infuriating.
The wind slams into the windows, and I sit up, watching it.
Thunder rumbles across the sea, and the lightning lances down.
I walk to the window and stand almost against it.
There’s always a wistful excitement that grows in me when the storms wage.
The purple-grey sky of rolling clouds runs towards us.
“It’s beautiful,” Devon says and wraps his arms around me. I lean back against him.
“Do you remember the day you and Sebastian went swimming in the storm? It was so stupid. Mum was so mad at you two.”
Devon chuckles. “We were being brave teenagers. Logic and intellect weren’t to be found.”
Mack comes to stand on one side, Elijah on the other. Thunder rolls.
“I love storms. I used to sneak out of the house. It’s the only time they wouldn’t notice I’m gone. Mum was phobic,” Elijah murmurs. “She’d drink herself unconscious or fight with dad.”
“Would you just watch the storms?”
Elijah shakes his head. “No. I would take my skateboard out.”
We all turn to look at him, missing the lightning crashing into the ocean.
“What?” he says when he realises we’re staring at him.
“You had a skateboard?”
“Have. I have a skateboard. It’s a hobby.”
“Wow,” I murmur. “My entire view of you has changed. You are like a totally different alpha.”
Elijah laughs, his eyes crinkling at the sides. “I like that I can surprise you.”
A slow burn works its way over my skin. I can taste him and feel his hands on me.
The storm gets more intense as it grows closer.
“Wow!” I say when the whole sky lights up.
“We need to talk about this fake dating thing,” Devon says.
I stiffen in his arms. “You want to end it?”
“No!” he says quickly. “I just don’t know that it’s-”
“I know I’m asking a lot,” I say in a rush. “I know it’s not fair to you guys, but I really do need your help.”
Devon sighs against my ear. “What is so important? What happened that you have to hide it from everyone?”
Thunder booms so loudly that it hurts my ears. I shove out of Devon’s arms and intercept Danger as he races for the stairs, screaming.
“It’s okay, Mama's got you.”
He snuggles into my chest. I carry him back to the couch, pulling out a bag of his favourite treats.
“Let’s play a game,” I say and slide down onto the floor.
The alphas come and sit around me. Danger yelps and struggles to get free, but then Mack lets out a rumbling sound.
Danger pauses, his eyes fixed on the alpha.
I can’t stop looking at him either.
Mack is purring, and it's calming Danger down.
Another explosion of thunder has Danger yelping, but Devon and Elijah join in.
I stare at them, listening to the sound that flows into my body and into my very soul.
This is a sound I will hear for the rest of my life whenever I think of them.
Something that I want to be mine more than I want anything else.
He curls up in my lap, yawns, and goes to sleep. I stroke Danger’s ears and cuddle him closer.
“I didn’t know purrs worked on dogs.”
“Neither did I,” Devon says. “But I’m glad it helped.”
Elijah disappears, while Mack pulls me up onto the couch. Devon puts on another movie and sits on my other side.
Elijah returns, hands off a glass each to Devon and Mack, and then straddles my lap.
I peer up at him, unable to look away. I vividly recall the way his mouth felt on my skin, the way he stretched me open. My pussy twinges.
“You’re thinking naughty thoughts, Omega.”
He bites his lower lip and dips a spoon into the glass, pulling out a spoonful of something that looks and smells chocolaty.
“What is that?”
“Be a good omega and open your mouth.”
I’m slow, but I open my mouth. He slides the spoon in, then ducks down, kissing me hard.
Elijah pulls back and frowns. “Our renovations are going to be ready soon.”
I swallow the taste of chocolate and Elijah on my tongue.
“They are? You never told me where you all live now.”
“Oh, that’s going to be a surprise,” Devon says and feeds me another spoonful of mousse from his glass.
I reach for Elijah’s spoon, but he leans back.
“No, I want to feed you.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s what makes my alpha nature feel like I’m doing a good job. Like I’m contributing.”
“You contribute a lot,” I protest.
He holds out another spoonful.
“We’re all a little damaged, Sofia,” Devon says. “We’ve got ghosts, too, and we can see that you’ve brought some back with you.”
I stiffen, holding my breath, hoping he doesn’t ask.
“It doesn’t matter. You aren’t ready to tell us, and we’re not going to push, but it doesn’t matter what happened, we’re on your side.”
My mouth is dry, and I’ve forgotten the mousse. I can’t move because Danger is still asleep in my arms, and Elijah is straddling my lap. All I want to do is cry.
“Why would you?” I mutter, looking away.
“Why would we be on your side?” Mack asks. “Because you are a Sunshine Omega. Part of the Sol family, part of Sunshine Cove. And you are my first girlfriend.”
“My first crush,” Devon says.
I’m hearing things. I absolutely must be hearing things.
“My first kiss.”
“You…but…you had omegas and betas and…and…”
“Yeah, but they weren’t you. I only liked you,” Devon says.
“I’d never kissed anyone before that night,” Elijah admits. “I was a bit socially awkward.”
I blink up at them, unsure of what to do, but Elijah fixes that and spoons another mouthful of his delicious dessert into my mouth.
I can’t speak; I can barely think. I swallow hard.
“I was your first?”
Devon laughs. “Don’t be so shocked. You were wild and my best friend’s younger sister and absolutely gorgeous, and we were caught in your gravity.”
“I was all legs and a complete disaster.”
“You were adorable and full of fire.”
I blink up at them. “My fire’s out.”
“No, it’s not. You just have it hidden.”
The front door opens, and I hear Dad singing La Vie En Rose. He has always loved that song, said it reminds him of the day he met my mother. He spins Mum into the lounge room, twirling her round and round. They don’t even look at us; they just spin, eyes locked on each other.
I sit still, wondering if they will even notice us. When I was little, I thought it was embarrassing, and when I got older, I was slightly mortified by how much I envied them.
Now, it’s just another part of home that I have missed more than I can believe.
Dad hums another song while Pops leads my siblings inside.
The volume of the house turns up to a hundred, and Ivy and Daphne come over and steal Danger out of my arms, not even blinking at Elijah who is still sitting on me.
Sebastian walks in and starts arguing with Imogen. I sit back on the couch because, in all the chaos, Dad is still slowly shuffling Mum around the room singing to her, and she’s completely oblivious to the world around them.
“That is an incredible skill,” I say quietly, thinking no one is listening.
Devon leans in and kisses the side of my head. “Perhaps one day it can be you blocking out the world with a sexy alpha singing to you.”
I shake my head, not believing him, but I can’t look away from my parents. Elijah stands up, and I sit forward.
Dad stops and sings the last line of the song, dipping her elegantly. When he pulls her up, she wraps her arms around his neck, and they kiss.
Mack strokes his hand down my back. “You can have it anytime you’re ready.”
I don’t know what he means, but it doesn’t matter. That’s not true. I know what he means; it’s just impossible. Suddenly, I have a thought. I know what to do; I know how to help fix me.
“I want to go cliff diving.”
Elijah chokes.
“Well, there we go. Hello, Rebel,” Devon purrs.
“How about tomorrow we spend the whole day doing all the things that Sofia would have done?” Mack suggests.
“Some of the things. There are a lot of things I am not prepared to do anymore. I’m not crazy.”
“I’ve heard some stories of what you got up to. Is there anything you’d like to share?” Mack teases.
I shake my head. “Nope.”
“Mmm hmm, we can talk about it all later.”
“No, we can’t.”
“Yes, we can.”
Mum and Dad walk out of the room, but I stare at the spot, feeling that ache that hasn’t gone away. I always thought I would end up happy and with a pack, but since the city and Pack Collins, I didn't think a happy ending was on the cards for me.
Suddenly, I’m full of hope again.