Chapter 36 Sofia
Sofia
Main Street has been transformed for a second time today.
The fairy lights are red and pink, and mesh gold hearts shake every now and then and rain rose petals down on the people underneath.
The café is open, but the street has been transformed into a massive dance floor, and songs about love pump out of several speakers.
There are stalls with food and trinkets, and everything is love-coded.
“Here they are!” Felix shouts out and whistles.
The crowd turns and sees us; cheers go up again. I’m pulled into arms and hugged. When I look for my alphas, I find them smiling and looking at me, even though they have their own crowd of well wishers.
Danger is shoved into my arms and licks my face and wiggles happily. Someone has dressed him in a gold vest, and he’s got LED lights that are flashing in a heart shape on his back.
“Oh, you look gorgeous, baby boy,” I croon to him.
“Now that everyone is here!” My mother says into a microphone.
“Welcome to the Smitten and now Bitten celebration party! Where we celebrate love in all its forms. Family love, friendship love, love between packs, and that rare and amazing miracle of scent matches. To all the matches who found love tonight, I wish you as much happiness as I have been blessed with. And to those still seeking, never give up!”
Several confetti canons explode, showering us in gold hearts.
Mum looks across the crowd at me.
“Finding that special someone to share your life with is a journey. It can be difficult and frustrating.”
“Who wants an army of gulls to help them?” Grandma shouts.
We all laugh, but no one takes her up on it.
“But every day is an adventure, and you never have to feel alone again.”
A hand slips into mine, and I turn and find Elijah beside me.
“Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone here from Sunshine Cove.
If you are passing through, we hope tonight brings warmth to your heart, and if you are one of us and single, well, I’m not done yet.
Have a great time, eat some food, drink, explore our wonderful town and the people who live here, and enjoy the night.
Thank you so much for being part of Smitten Knot Bitten! ”
With that ominous note, my mother hands off the microphone.
The music starts again, and I shake my head when I see Grandpa pull Grandma out to the middle of the road and then hold his hand out to her.
She scowls. “This doesn’t get you out of my shit books, Seymour.”
He starts singing and dancing around her. She turns, glaring at him, but she can’t hold it, and when he holds out his hand again, she takes it. He pulls her into his arms, and they kiss.
“I want that to be us,” Elijah says.
I take his hand and pull him out there. He holds me close as we dance on the spot, then I pull him down and kiss him.
“Oh, look at that. It is us.”
I spot Daphne and Ivy being chased by Danger and Sergeant Sully and close my eyes, groaning.
“Do you think Danger is going to have sleepovers with that bird?” I whisper.
Elijah stiffens. “I hope not.”
“My turn, I think?” Mack says.
Elijah kisses me and then gives up his space to Mack.
“Are you happy? Is there anything you want in this world?”
“No, Mack, I have everything I need right here.” And it’s true. I really do have everything I ever dreamed.
He kisses my temple and guides my arms up so they are wrapped around his neck. I will never tell my mother this, but I’ve never seen anything quite so beautiful as Sunshine right now.
Mack stops moving. I lift my head and follow his gaze to find him staring at four people who are carrying a massive chocolate creation to a table near the beach.
“My god, that is incredible,” I whisper in awe. “Mack, I’ve changed my mind. I need that much chocolate to be happy.”
He snickers, but I’m stolen away by Devon, who spins me round and round until I’m screaming with laughter and so dizzy I need to cling to him.
He stops abruptly and sets me down, but I’m no sooner on my feet again than he’s kissing me, and I’m falling again. I cling to him as the world melts away.
When the kiss ends, I realise this fantasy dream that I expected to pop like a balloon is my life. This alpha is mine.
“Do you remember when you confessed your feelings to me?” Devon asks with a huge smile.
I wince. “Oh, god! Tell me you didn’t hear that! The day before I left. You were asleep.”
“I wasn’t asleep, but I knew if I said something, if I even moved, I wouldn’t let you go, and everyone said you needed to, but it was my most bitter regret.”
“It worked out. We’re together now. I wear your bond.”
“You wear our bond,” he confirms.
Mack and Elijah walk over with Danger, Cordie, Seb, Asher, and Felix.
Seb and Cordie glower at each other, but Asher just smirks and goes to lean on the rail, looking out at the beach.
The Harris alpha looks at Felix and hesitates before abruptly turning and walking away. I make a mental note to speak to mum about that.
I break away from them, kick off my shoes, and trot down the stairs to the beach. When I look back, I find them following. As I get down to the wet sand, I spin in a circle and then stop when the bangs start.
Fireworks explode into the sky, out over the water, reflecting in the ocean’s surface.
I turn and see Elijah leaning against Mack, Devon staring up, his face lit with red and green.
Cordie, Sebastian, Asher, and Felix. And beyond them, on the railings and stretched out everywhere along the railings, the people that make this place home.
Mum, Dad, Pops, my sisters, my grandparents, my friends, my mentors.
All the people I love. All of Sunshine Cove.
Danger barks, and I lift him up and kiss him before I hand him to Elijah with a wink.
I walk until the water laps at my ankles and watch the world explode in colour while my pack gathers around me.
I’m not alone or in trouble, and I’ve found where I belong.
The fireworks explode over and over until they finally form a giant red heart in the sky.
“I love you,” I say, knowing if they can’t hear it, they will feel it.
Mack’s arm pulls me back against his chest. Elijah lifts my hand and kisses my knuckles, while Devon stares down at me with a gaze that I've seen a million times and never recognised.
They love me, too. They don’t need to say it; I can feel it.
“The first night of forever,” Elijah murmurs. “It was perfect.”
I break free and grab Devon and drop him in the surf.
“Oh, you are in for it now!” he growls
I run, shrieking, but then it’s on. We’re all running, splashing, and playing in the water, Danger barking from shore.
The start of forever was perfect.