Chapter 31
Mack
Itake extra care getting ready. My stomach is in knots, but I keep finding myself staring off into space, smiling as I fall into fantasies of what our future could look like.
“Come on, Mack!”
I adjust the shirt I’m wearing, tugging at the collar. Should I change?
“Mack, you look beautiful,” Elijah teases and tugs me towards the front door. “Come on, we’re going to be late!”
“Is the nest ready?” I ask. “I didn’t check.”
Elijah strokes my jaw until I focus on him.
“I checked; the nest is perfect.”
“What about food? Do we have food?”
“Mack, we have food, clothes, anything and everything she could want, but even if we don’t, we can get them.” Elijah smoothes his hands over my chest. “Breathe, Alpha, it’s going to be fine.”
I take a breath. “We have to make this perfect.”
“It is perfect. I’m supposed to be the anxious one, not you.”
Devon comes in and grabs my shoulders. His fingers dig in deep, but I welcome the pain.
“Relax. She’s going to choose us.”
“What if she doesn’t?” I whisper.
“Then we will deal with it and win her over another way.”
“How?”
“We’ll convince her somehow. I’m not giving up. She is ours,” Devon says with a conviction I envy.
Elijah grabs the bouquet of red roses he went out and got her at dawn this morning when he couldn’t sleep. They are beautiful.
“Come on, let’s go. It’s time,” Devon says.
One way or another, today is going to change my life.
I drive us there. I don’t know if I’ll need my car, but it will be better to have that option. As soon as we get close, I find the whole of Main Street closed off, and it has been transformed. I don’t even recognise it.
There are banners with Smitten Knot Bitten across the roads, pink and red hearts dangling from everywhere. There’s gold paint in the middle of the road, and as we get close, I see a massive area with tables cordoned off near the beach.
“Wow.”
“The Pack Makers go all out, don’t they?” I murmur.
“Yeah, they really do. It’s incredible,” Devon says, looking around.
Crowds of people are gathering, taking photos and pointing. I lick my lips, nervously looking at all the newcomers. Why are there so many people here?
“Excuse me, can you tell me what everyone is doing here?” I ask the girl closest to me.
She turns with an excited look in her grey eyes. “The Pack Maker’s Event. We’ve all been watching and following the event online.” She turns back to her friend that looks remarkably similar to her.
That catches Elijah’s attention. “Excuse me, what?”
“Yeah, see?” her friend says and holds out her phone.
I lean over to look, and it shows basic bios and introductions of everyone, along with a whole heap of photos and some video.
“Everyone wants to be part of the next Pack Maker event. They are supposed to be announcing another one at today’s conclusion.”
She squints up at Devon, then looks to me, I can see the comprehension rushing across her face. When she looks at Elijah, she squeals.
“Your Pack Hart! We love Sofia. We are totally rooting for you! You guys make the perfect pack!”
“Oh, uh, thanks,” Elijah murmurs.
“Come on, we need to get over there and find out what’s going on,” I mutter and say goodbye to the girls before anyone else recognises us.
Devon leads the way, and I follow close behind.
“Lorelei, what is going on?” he snarls at her.
She looks up, her eyes spitting fire. “Don’t you worry, I had strong words with Sara about this. But she just made a video showing some of the highlights, and people came. And it just got a little bit out of hand.”
“Yeah, they want to be included in the Pack Maker’s next event,” I say with warning.
She’s so surprised, she drops the clipboard in her hands. “They do? Hmm, that is interesting. Maybe we can make this a whole thing.”
“Except you don’t know if it worked yet,” I point out.
She shrugs. “I have faith in you all.”
Franco walks past behind her, and Elijah rushes towards him, helping him with the cakes. Probably happy to escape.
“I didn’t realise these were for the event.” Elijah says. “You should have told me!”
“We were crafty,” Franco teases with a wink.
“I’m starting to feel like this is a bigger deal than we first thought,” Devon mutters, looking around at all the people. He’s pale and slowly taking in the transformation with a look that screams panic.
“Do you need a hand, Lorelei?” I ask.
“Yes, you, darling, you. Can you and Devon go help Sebastian with the last of the decorations? Elijah, you help Franco,” she shouts to him.
“Yes, Omega,” Elijah says absently.
Sebastian looks ready to explode when we find him. “Of all the stupid things my mother has done, this takes the cake!”
“Do you want a hand, Sol?” Devon asks with a grin.
“To help me strangle her? Yes!”
Devon laughs. “Let’s stick with decorations.”
It takes us the entire hour to get them all up, and by the time we’re finished, it’s almost time for the event to start.
“Is she here?” I ask Devon.
“I haven’t seen her yet.”
“What if she doesn’t show?” I look around, there are pink and red balloons tied everywhere. Candles and fairy lights. Rose petals on the ground, and the army of people getting it ready is dwindling as time runs out.
He grabs and shakes me hard. “She’s going to come.”
“All right, all my matches, come and gather over here!” Lorelei shouts.
Devon suddenly looks sick. “Okay. It’s time.” He blows out his breath and stumbles towards Lorelei.
Elijah, Devon, and I meet in the crowd of the other matches. Cordelia stands alone, her chin up, her arms wrapped around herself. Asher and Felix stand near their matches, but no matter where I turn, I can’t see her.
“She’s not here,” Elijah whines.
I look down, thinking fast. “I’m going to look for her.”
I manage to get two steps away before I’m stopped by Betty.
“No time. You have to stay.”
“Welcome everyone to Smitten Knot Bitten, our Valentine’s Day match-making extravaganza!”
The crowd cheers.
“No one said there were going to be this many people,” Elijah mutters. “Look at them, they are lining the streets, there are cameras everywhere.”
“Thank you for being here! A little bit about the event first. Smitten Knot Bitten, is an event that we created to help our young people find love. Our policy or our theme is love before bonds.”
The cheer goes up again, this time it lasts longer and is wilder.
“So, we matched up a whole heap of people based on likes, dislikes, history, chemistry, and their personalities. Everything we knew about them was taken into account. And then we introduced them via some painted stones that they get to give to their match today. An exchange, if you will. They had two dates to get to know each other that were specifically tailored by the Pack Makers to engage the groups in conversations. If you choose not to continue with your match, put the stone in the basket. Otherwise, offer it to your match. If they accept, just walk over to your table and wait there.”
She looks around, smiling widely.
“But now, today is the day, now is the time we get to find out if these potential packs have been Smitten!”
The crowd explodes. In amongst the strangers’ faces, I see people I know and recognise. But not the one face I want to see.
Where is she?
“All right, let’s get Sebastian Sol up here and his pretty potential omega Shandy Livied.”
Sebastian glowers at his mother and stalks up to her.
“How did you do, Sebastian? And where is your match?” she asks, and I think she’s enjoying his discomfort.
He glares at her and then dumps his rock in the bucket.
The crowd awws, but he moves on and disappears.
”Next up is Cordelia Lake.”
I stop paying attention. Asher goes up and rejects her grumpy match. Felix does, too.
I look around, scanning the crowd.
Did we do something wrong? Did we put too much pressure on her? Was the nest not good enough?
Elijah grabs my fist and holds it. “She will be here.”
Lorelei and her friends call up more and more people until there are only a handful of us left.
I shift uneasily and turn around, scanning the crowds. Where is she?
Devon lets out an uneasy growl.
“Pack Hart. Devon, Elijah, and Mack, and their match Sofia Sol.”
“Come on, Mack.”
Devon’s got the stone gripped tight in his fist.
“It doesn’t matter if she’s not here; she’s ours,” I say, trying to mean it.
It matters; we all know it matters.
We get up there, and I turn slowly, facing the crowd. It stretches on and on, all I can see are people staring at us, phones held up in their hands, recording our torment.
“Sofia Sol?” Lorelei calls out. “Did anyone check on her this morning?” Lorelei hisses to Asher.
Asher shrugs. “No, we were busy. You wanted us here.”
“We can’t wait-” Kylie says.
“Just give it a minute,” Devon hisses.
“Devon, she’s not here; she’s not coming.”
“She’s coming!” Devon shouts, and the crowd falls silent at the roar of an alpha refusing to accept what they all believe to be true.
We wait in strained silence.
“Wait!”
My breath expels from my lungs in relief that has me almost collapsing.
“Secret,” I whisper.
She shoves through the crowd, her auburn hair a mess, wearing jean shorts, flip-flops, and an off the shoulder top, with her dachshund in her arms.
“Wait!”
She looks more beautiful than I remember. She’s here!
Sofia rushes up to us and slams to a stop a foot from Devon.
“I’m sorry. I want this. I want us.”
She stops and sucks in air.
“Did you run the whole way?” Lorelei asks in concern.
“Yes. I ran, sprinted. Had to get here.”
She thrusts the stone at me. That stupid, prettily painted rock with the heart and the paw inside it. The one we stole from Asher.
“You are my match. I am smitten. I am yours.”
I don’t even know if she realises what she’s doing or saying or the people here; she hasn’t taken her eyes off us. She’s just spitting words out with typical Sofia urgency.
“Devon,” I prompt.
He steps towards her and gives her his stone, taking hers, making it official.
“A match!” The Pack Makers shout. “Pack Hart, everyone!”
“Go over to your table,” Lorelei says. “So I can finish this up.”
I pull her close and guide her to the tables.
“Oh, god, I am so sorry. I slept in.”
I stop dead. “What?”
Of all the things I went through, stressing out this morning. I slept in was not on the list.
“I was up all night, thinking, and,” her cheeks turn red, “dreaming about our future together, and I forgot to set my alarm clock. Sorry, I’m really sorry. I slept in.”
I grab the back of her neck and bring her in, kissing her. “You crazy, Sunshine Omega. You are going to keep us all on our toes.”
“Danger hasn’t even been to the toilet yet.”
“Well, let’s get him toileted and then go sit at our table and enjoy this very incredibly stressful date,” Devon says.
We march down to the beach, ignoring the glares from Lorelei and the Pack Makers.
Elijah grabs her in a hug. I snag the little dog out of her hands and let him go, holding onto the leash.
He does his business, I clean it up, and then we look at each and just laugh.
“You gave me a heart attack!” I growl at her.
“I know, I’m sorry.”
She throws herself at me. I lift her up, and she wraps her legs around my waist and stares into my eyes.
“Welcome to Pack Hart, Omega.”
She leans down and kisses me.
And, yeah, my life has changed, and it won’t ever be the same again.