MACKENZIE
Mackenzie
I tugged the corner of the striped beach towel straight and anchored it with my sandals.
“Again, I’m sorry about last night,” Theo popped the top on his drugstore brand sunscreen.
“No, no. Let’s use mine.” I took the tube out of his hand and stuffed it back into his bag.
“You made this?” he asked, sniffing the lotion.
“Oh, no, not my formulation. I wish. It’s Korean. They are on the cutting edge of sunscreen technology.”
He motioned me to turn around so he could spread lotion on my shoulders. I put a pea-sized dollop on the back of my hand and dotted the lotion across my nose and cheeks.
“So last night, I practically tore your nightgown off.”
“Oh, shut up. I was digging my toys out of my suitcase when you came in. Thigh tattoo and designer suits? I can’t decide which was sexier.”
“And Justice smells like…”
“Heaven. I know.” I looked at him over my shoulder.
“The way they kept glaring at each other across the table?” Theo shook his head. “That wasn’t just alpha posturing. There was definitely something else going on there.”
“Right? Usually alphas just punch each other and get it over with. But that was…” I trailed off, searching for the right word.
“Smoldering,” Theo supplied with a grin. “Can you imagine both of them during heat?”
My stomach dropped at the mention of heat. I hadn’t thought about that. About going through my next one alone. Without an alpha. Without Daryl.
“You sure you two just talked?” I said with a wink to cover.
“Yes,” he swatted me on the top of my head, “it is possible that conversation alone can leave you that hard and desperate.”
I motioned for Theo to turn around and warmed up a quarter-size bit of the lotion before spreading it across his back. “Can I ask you something really, really personal?”
“Of course.”
“I mean, it’s like TMI level personal.”
He turned to look at me over his shoulders and narrowed his eyes. “I was three fingers deep in you and licking slick off your thigh hours after meeting. I think we’re way beyond TMI.”
I snorted. He had a point.
“How do you handle heat? Being single and everything.” I bit my lip. My last heat had been a month ago, and I was already nervous about it.
Theo sighed, his shoulders sagging. “I take a low dose heat suppressant, so I usually only have one heat a year, not the typical two or three. The side effects are kind of meh. Your cycle is pretty unpredictable, so you can’t really plan for it and the cramping is a little more intense.” He shrugged his shoulder, and I totally regretted asking the question.
“I was seventeen when I perfumed and about nineteen when I had my first real heat. I had tons of alpha friends back then. It wasn’t ever a big deal. But then they started joining packs and their pack omegas were less willing to…” he made a vague hand gesture.
“Share.” I added.
“I used the heat hook up apps a couple of times, but those always seemed a little dangerous.”
“Dangerous how?” I patted him on his back to let him know I was done with the lotion. Theo turned and started applying sunscreen to his legs.
“Well, I mean, I met some great people, but they were essentially strangers. You know how heat is. Sometimes you get lost in the moment. So you have to trust they are going to stick to what you agreed on.”
I frowned, a thought tickling the back of my brain that wouldn’t quite form.
“I splurged on an elite heat helper a few times. Fuck, worth every penny. But there are a few government services that will set you up with certified packs. They get training, background checks.”
I hugged my knees to me and chewed on my lip. How much did a heat helper cost?
“What about you? When was your last heat?”
“Ugh, a month ago. Daryl broke up with me right after.”
“What?” Theo turned to me, horrified.
“Yeah, it wasn’t great.” I brushed sand off my fingers and dug in my bag. Jillian had thought of a lot when she’d helped me pack, so I kept hoping I’d come across sunglasses at some point. “He had been trying to get me to let him invite his friends to join one of my heats. I kept saying no. Heat hit a little earlier than we expected and he had a cold, so his friends just showed up to help out.”
Theo opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it.
“He really wants us to join their pack. But their pack house? It’s like a frat house. Two of the guys shared a room with bunk beds. Can you imagine?”
I stole a glance at Theo. He was looking out at the crystal blue water and picked at his nail.
“I guess heat was good, but I was so sore and bruised after. And the next day, all my things were packed. He said I had embarrassed him, I didn’t perform well during heat, that I didn’t pass the audition. And that I’d have to go and apologize. And that he was biting into their pack and if I didn’t say yes right that second, I had to go.”
Once I started, the words just tumbled out. I hadn’t really talked about it to anyone, not even Jillian.
“I’m sorry you went through that.” Theo’s voice was rough as he watched the waves and the people in the water.
A tangle of emotions churned in my stomach that I couldn’t put a name to. I had been with Daryl for ten years. He’d taken care of everything. Heat, paperwork, money. I didn’t even know if I had money. Now I’d have to figure out all of that on my own.
“You’ll be fine, Mackenzie.” He squeezed my hand. “There are options.”
I took a deep breath, gathering my courage. “Would you… I mean, if you wanted… maybe we could help each other?”
Theo’s eyes went wide.
“Sorry, that was too forward,” I backpedaled. “Forget I…”
“I’d be honored,” he cut me off softly.
Relief flooded through me, making me lightheaded. Or maybe that was just his scent, warm and sweet in the sea air.
“Though we’ll have to get permission from your alpha first,” I forced brightness into my voice. “Because you are definitely getting a pack by the end of this cruise.”
Theo just laughed, but there was something sad in it that made my heart ache. I leaned my head on his shoulder, letting the sound of the waves wash over us.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“For what?”
“For making me feel less alone.”
His arm came around me, pulling me closer. For the first time since Daryl left, I felt like maybe everything would be okay.
“Speaking of alphas…” I sat up straighter.
Justice Twill was examining a vendor’s cart down the beach. He looked out of place in his crisp linen shirt, like a GQ model who’d accidentally wandered into a tourist trap.
“I wonder if he has a thigh tattoo,” Theo muttered.
“If he does, we’re going to explode.”
“I’ve already exploded once over Justice Twill.”
“Theo!” I smacked his leg. “You’re terrible. Oh shit, he’s not coming over here, is he?”
Justice had made his selection, a huge straw sunhat with a red and white polka dot ribbon around it.
“Forget I said what I just said,” Theo whispered out of the corner of his mouth.
My heart raced, but I kept my breathing even, my posture perfect. I sat on my hands to stop the almost irresistible urge to dust specks of sand off Theo. Justice stopped right in front of us and hiked up his linen pants to squat down to our level. I froze as he prowled up the towel to put the sun hat on my head. He sat back on his knees, like admiring his work, very pleased with himself.
“Your nose is getting sunburned. You should wear this.”
I just blinked at the billionaire who’d bought me a hat to protect my nose.
“You’re not really dressed for the beach,” Theo said, saving me from dying on the spot. He scooted over to give Justice space on the towel.
Justice looked down at himself. “Yeah, right, I guess not.” He scratched his morning stubble. “I don’t really have anything to do today, and it’s kind of messing me up.”
Theo shifted, his foot barely grazed Justice’s knee. For just half a heartbeat, Justice’s eyes fluttered shut and all his tension seemed to melt away.
Theo and I traded a look. Omega auras could be very soothing, but to make an alpha shiver in relief?
“It’s… unsettling not having my day mapped out in fifteen-minute increments. I don’t really know what I should be doing.”
“You could check the excursion schedule on your phone,” Theo suggested, making no effort to move his foot away from Justice.
Justice squeezed his eyes shut like he was in pain. “I don’t have a phone with me.”
“You?” The word came out squeakier than I intended, and I quickly smoothed my expression. “You practically invented half the apps on our phones!”
“Look, in my defense,” Justice started talking with his hands, “they… then she…” he squeezed his fist like he had to physically stop himself from launching into a rant. “This is all like an elaborate prank and this time two days ago, I didn’t even know I’d be on a cruise. Okay?”
“Am I the only one on this cruise on purpose?” Theo sat up and put his hand on his chest in mock disgust
“What?” Justice stared as I hung my head and giggled.
“Get this. Mackenzie’s ‘best friend,’” he said with air quotes, “bought her this cruise but neglected to tell her it was a matchmaking cruise.”
“Yeah, I didn’t know that part either.”
Theo threw up his hands like he was done with our nonsense, then aggressively pulled out his phone from the beach bag. He dramatically flipped through the cruise app and tapped a few times.
“Fine, I guess I have to wear the pants in this relationship. We’re going to the museum today.” He said, handing his phone to Justice.
As Justice bowed his head to read, I pointed to Theo and Justice, made little walking gestures with my fingers, and then kissy faces.
Theo just looked at me like I had gone insane.
“This actually sounds great. I haven’t been to a museum in years. But we’re going to have to go if we want to make the bus.” He handed the phone back to Theo.
I snapped my fingers. “Shoot. There was that workshop on nesting that I really wanted to go to today. You guys go to the museum. I’ll take all the beach stuff back to the ship and we’ll meet up for dinner.”
Justice stood and brushed sand off his pants.
Theo mouthed “what the fuck” at me. There was a workshop on nesting, but we had already discussed it and crossed it off Theo’s list. I mouthed “ALPHA” back at him with a head nod toward the alpha in question. Theo’s eyes went wide and his mouth made that perfect “O” shape when he finally clued in.
Theo dug in his beach bag for his shorts and the short sleeve button-up shirt. I wasn’t the only one appreciating Theo’s form as he got changed.
Justice held out a hand to me to pull me to my feet. I held on to the brim as I looked all the way up. Justice was probably a foot taller than me, and being this close to him, his aura melted me.
“Should I get you cream for your nose?” he traced a delicate finger down my nose and across my cheek. I didn’t have enough breath to answer, so I just nodded. Like an idiot. I had a whole pharmacy worth of Korean skin care, not to mention my own products. Being this close to an alpha, an alpha’s aura, to Justice, was disorienting. His eyes lit up, and he took in my face like he was finding treasure there. I cleared my throat and stepped back, pulling the hat lower on my forehead.
Justice shook sand off the towel I was sitting on and carefully folded it. I held my tote bag open for him to place it inside. Packing up was an excellent distraction.
“I’ll take that, and that,” I said, taking Theo’s beach bag and towel.
“Are you sure?” Theo asked, his eyes saying so much more than his words.
“Yes.” I gave him a little wave as I turned to leave, and said “Have fun, boys,” over my shoulder. My voice came out steadier than I expected, considering how my heart was racing.
I kept my pace even as I walked away, clutching the beach bags to my chest. The thought of Theo and Justice together made my skin tingle. I wanted this for Theo so badly it hurt. And Justice… the way he’d looked at me, touched my face. No one had ever looked at me like that, not even Daryl.
Daryl. My throat tightened. Ten years, and he’d never once…
I pushed the thought away and adjusted my new sunhat, grateful for the shade that hid my face.
I hurried through the winding corridors of the ship. The bags weren’t heavy, but they were bulky and awkward. The tote bag just wouldn’t stay on my shoulder. I looked up, realizing I had no idea where I was. What had Theo said about the room numbers again? Did they get bigger or smaller towards the front of the ship?
I turned a corner, and two alphas were taking up the whole hallway. That scary female alpha again. She was in the exact same dress as yesterday, but this one was red, not teal. She’d probably bought one in every color. I snorted and slapped a hand over my mouth. I ducked back around the corner, out of sight, my heart pounding in my chest.
Why are you hiding, Mackenzie? They don’t own the hallway. But my feet remained rooted to the spot, my breath shallow. This is ridiculous , I scolded myself. Not every alpha is out to get you. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to move.
“And what if Nolan’s body shows up with 15 stab wounds and not one?” I heard the female alpha hiss. “He’ll know he didn’t do it, and then this will be worthless.”
“That’s not going to happen,” the male alpha replied, sounding bored.
I definitely should not be hearing this. I chewed on my lip, trying to remember if there was another way to get to our room.
“Venom’s guy is already on the islands,” the female continued. “It might be more profitable to set that up instead. There are plenty of omegas we can pick from here.”
“Tommy’s idea…”
The female alpha cut him off. “Or we could just solve all our problems and give him to Venom.”
“No,” the man snapped. “I want him in the pack.”
“We should rethink this,” she argued.
“There’s nothing to rethink,” he retorted. “I want his name. You want his dick. He’ll give in. He could fuck everyone on this ship and he still won’t make enough money. If it comes down to my bite or life in prison, the choice is easy.”
A chill ran down my spine. They were blackmailing someone into joining their pack? That was seriously messed up.
Leaning against the wall, I tried to catch my breath and slow my racing thoughts. Get a grip, Mackenzie , I told myself sternly. You can’t spend your whole life terrified of alphas.
It was quiet for a long while. I decided to risk it and peeked around the corner. The hall was empty now.
I took a deep breath and hoped this was the right way to our room.