Chapter 22 Mack
Mack
“Do you hate me for giving up on you?”
“Of course not,” I say, pulling her into my arms. If I could keep her here, I would. Save her from any and all harm, make sure she knows she will be safe forever.
“Before you break into any of that feelings shit, I want you to know that the offer I gave you when you left is still on the table,” Marla says.
Sofia almost wrenches out of my arms.
“I beg your pardon?” she gasps out.
“You can beg all you want, but I still won’t give it to you.”
Sofia chuckles. “The job?”
“The store, you ninny. The whole store. It’s yours if you want it. You loved this place. I know that you’ll take care of it. Besides, I knew you’d come back.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“Because you were born of Sunshine. This is your home. Of course, you were coming back,” Marla grouches.
“I’m not sure I like being that predictable.”
“Yes, you do. Just like I know you’re going to take my shop so I can go sit on the beach and drink fruity cocktails and scare kids.”
“You tyrant, you.”
She snorts.
I am lost in my wonderment because I have never seen this old woman smile, let alone laugh. She appears almost human.
“Come in and have a drink with me,” Marla says.
“Oh, we don’t want to impose-” Devon says.
“Did any of that sentence sound like a suggestion?”
“Sorry, Beta.”
“Good boy. Now, go sit in the chairs; Sofia will bring us drinks.”
I reluctantly let Sofia go and follow Marla to the back of the store, where she’s got a couple of couches for people to come sit and read.
“All right, let’s do this before she gets back. I’m not overly impressed by the three of you, but I don’t know you very well yet either.”
She’s blunt to the point of bordering on impolite.
“Sorry about that, Beta,” Elijah says respectfully.
She humphs and sits down, her back straight and shoulders pulled back. “I knew of you, of course. The alpha who was dating her and vanished. The vacation alpha who kissed her senseless and went back to his own life, and the alpha she loved forever. When I heard you’d come back, I was surprised.”
Devon sits back quickly. His unease is thrumming through our bonds, but he doesn’t show it.
“What are your intentions?” Marla just throws out like a javelin.
“Our intentions are to make her ours and make her happy.”
“That simple, is it?”
“And that difficult.”
Marla sniffs.
I turn in my seat, getting a look at the rows and rows of bookcases.
The store is small and warm; the wood and colours of all the books seem to go together perfectly.
There’s just something that screams ‘safe’ into this space.
It even smells of books and coffee, and the low, warm yellow lighting and air conditioning make it so cozy.
“And your verdict?”
“Me?” I ask before I can stop myself.
“No, the ghost of Saint Martin, the Spender.”
I chuckle. “Well, I think you are very generous, but I can also see how Sofia would love a place like this. I think she would do a good job. Being here obviously makes her happy, and that’s all I care about.”
“Of course, she would be brilliant. I trained her.”
She hums and then nods.
“You three will do. I can feel how much you care. But if you hurt her again, I will personally make sure your stay in Sunshine ends promptly.”
Sofia brings back a tray of drinks and sits down with us. “So, what were you talking about?”
“Adult feelings,” Marla says at once.
Sofia flops back and groans. “No, not adult feelings.”
Marla smiles indulgently. “If you were any other child.”
“I’m an adult grown.”
“You’ll always be that pesky child who stumbled into my shop and refused to leave.”
Sofia snorts. “Life has been dull without you, Marla.”
“Of course, it has.”
Devon clears his throat.
“Do you need a lozenge?”
He laughs. “No, thank you.”
“Are you sure? I’d hate for you to get sick.”
“I’m good.”
Marla is wonderful. I am absolutely obsessed with her snarky wit.
“What do you mean by adult feelings?” I ask.
“Adult feelings is a game Sofia and I would play when she decided to be a host to the ghosts of her teenage angst. I would say ‘adult feelings’, and we would calmly talk about her issue until she was less emotional.”
“Huh, that’s actually really interesting,” Elijah notes.
“Thank you. I am so deeply glad to have your approval.”
Elijah flushes and sits back. “I’m sorry.”
She frowns. “Oh, you are a sensitive one, aren’t you?”
“He is,” Sofia agrees, “but I like that about him.”
“Fine. Fine. I won’t tease him.”
I watch the way she smiles and interacts with Marla and how the old beta comes out of her shell, transforming into someone completely different. This is Sofia’s magic power. She never judged people; she was always open and prepared to see the best of everyone.
“So, I will expect you after Valentine’s Day.”
“Why after then?”
Marla heaves an exasperated sigh. “Because Lorelei won’t allow her daughter to take over the bookshop unless she is one hundred percent certain this Pack Making nonsense has failed.”
“It’s not going to fail,” I say confidently.
Sofia sits up straight, her expression, for one horrible moment, absolutely stricken. We’re going to have to have this adult feelings conversation soon. Because every time the future comes up, the look on her face makes my stomach bottom out. We can all feel it.
She’s holding something back.
Devon snaps a photo of Marla and Sofia laughing. “You don’t mind if we use this photo as proof that we did the task?”
Marla snorts. “Go ahead, and also go away. Sofia and I are going to talk shop for a minute.”
I get up, shaking my head, and wander through the shop and then outside. She can see the beach from here, but she can also see the lighthouse.
“It’s kind of perfect, isn’t it?” Devon says.
“It is.”
“If she takes it, she’s putting down roots.”
“If she takes it,” I agree quietly. I don’t want to get my hopes up.
Devon sighs. “I should have told her how I felt.”
“You didn’t know what was going to happen.”
“I got comfortable. I didn’t want to lose them. Her, Sebastian, the Sols. I should have said something back when it could have made a difference.”
I put a hand on his shoulder. “It happened the way it was supposed to happen.”
“I can’t lose her again. It killed me when she left. Watching her go, not saying anything because they all said she needed to spread her wings and try. But it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
“So, we’ll go with her.”
Devon lifts his head, staring at me. “What?”
“If she leaves, we’ll go with her. Do you need to stay here?”
Devon looks down at his hands. “No, I don’t. Okay, yes. I’m in.”
“Elijah?”
He turns to us with a frown. “What?”
I choke on a laugh. “What were you thinking about?”
“Adult feelings. I don’t feel that ridiculous excitement anymore, my heart pounding long into the night.
This time, it feels deeper, slower, more steady.
There’s still excitement, but it’s tempered with a need to protect her and care for her.
I’m just wondering when it changed. I love her more now. ”
She comes out smiling, but it fades when she sees us.
“Are you taking the store?”
She shakes her head. My heart falls. “I want to think about it.”
The fact that she refused to take the store to me means that she’s not planning on staying. How are we going to convince her to take us with her? What if it’s us she’s not sure about?
“You’re thinking too hard, Mack.”
I shove it all away and grab her hand, lifting it and kissing her palm. Devon snaps another photo.
Elijah leads the way, ambling back towards Main Street.
Everyone is gone, and I think we came in last again, but I’m not worried.
Today has been interesting. Sunshine is teeming with good memories and bad, and the act of sharing them has made me feel closer to my pack and to her.
I will give it to Lorelei. Her plan is effective.
“Can we head back to the house? I want to get Danger.”
“Sure, we can,” Devon says.
It only takes us a few minutes to get there. The little dog howls the whole way we walk up the drive. As soon as Imogen opens the door, he takes off, racing around Sofia, screeching with excitement.
She kneels down and waits for him to come to her. He rolls onto his side and then back, wiggling with so much excitement that he’s barely able to keep still.
“You are so cute; look at you. Did you miss your mum? I came back, though, see? You’re all good.”
She cuddles him and lifts him up, continuing on her way up the porch.
There’s a sudden and terrifying screech.
“Who stole my pearls?” Lorelei shouts.
I glance at Devon with wide eyes.
“Lorelei?” Devon shouts and jogs towards the house.
“The thief struck again. Someone did this. Someone took them.” I hear her shout as I follow Sofia into the house.
Seeing Lorelei crying is a sight I don’t want to see again. It makes me deeply uncomfortable. Everything in me wants to fix it. I recognise it’s the alpha in me, but she’s not my omega, and I would be stepping on her alpha’s toes if I intervened.
Devon gets her into the kitchen, where she collapses onto the bench, sobbing. “Those were a gift from Milton and Franco on my bonding day.”
“Mum, we’ll find them.”
“They can’t be found; they’ve been stolen. I can’t believe it.” She sobs harder. “This thief has to be caught. We need to stop them. I can’t take this.”
“Lorelei, we will find the thief and get your pearls back. Our community is too small, and we can’t abide people like that in Sunshine,” I say gently but firmly.
I take her hand and squeeze it. She sobs, but it’s not as harsh.
I look behind me and spot Sofia hugging Danger close to her. She looks almost scared, but then Elijah touches her elbow, and her expression clears.
“I’m going to ring Franco and get him to come home. I’ll go and take over the restaurant tonight.”
“Oh, Eli, no. You don’t have to-”
“Yes, I do. You have been an amazing family to me, and I can’t stand to see you so upset.”
Elijah pulls out his phone and walks out of the room. Sofia stays in the corner watching us, but she’s withdrawing into herself faster and faster.
What is going on with her?
Franco appears fifteen minutes later, and Lorelei throws herself into his arms, sobbing inconsolably.
“Oh, hun, they are just pearls.”
“I thought you’d be upset!” Lorelei wails.
“I don’t care about those pearls. Lorelei, I will get you some more if you love them. I care about you. Don’t cry like this, sweetheart; you’ll make yourself sick.”
My chest tightens. I want that, I want it so bad I can barely breathe. I turn and take a step towards Sophia.
Her eyes are wide and glistening with something that has me wanting to wrap her up and carry her back to our lighthouse.
I close the distance, wrap an arm around her, and tug her out of the room and out onto the porch.
Devon is right behind me when I cup her cheeks and stare down at her.
“Sofia, tell me how to fix it. Tell me how to make whatever is making you afraid go away. Tell me how to make you smile.”
“I don’t know,” she whispers. “I can’t.”
She hugs Danger closer, and I realise that she’s withdrawing again, but then I inhale. Her scent is sweeter, more potent.
I exchange a look with Devon.
“Come for a walk?”
She looks like she might run. “A walk?”
“Yes, a nice walk.”
Devon disappears into the house and returns with Danger’s leash and treat bag, then we tug her back out into the night. Away from the drama and heightened emotions of the omega that live there.
But only one thought keeps going through my mind.
Sofia’s preheat is starting.