Page 5

“No, that’s enough, Grant,” whined Mom when he placed another hamburger next to her pile of barbequed meat. He winked at her, and she blushed. I loved that they still had such a strong affection for each other. It was the only thing that made me believe that not all relationships were horrible. But ever since my attack, I had never gone near an alpha. Never touched one and probably never will.

I sat between my mom and my sisters, balancing my plate on my lap. My sisters were deep in conversation, staring at Roxanne’s phone. Roxanne was the youngest in the family at the age of seventeen, and Sarah was twenty. They were hunched deep in conversation while they looked at the phone.

“What are you looking at on the phone?” I asked, startling them.

Sarah turned to me and smiled widely. “Hey, big sis. Long time no see.”

My sisters were always so excited to see me. I knew it was the hardest on them after I left, but they were grown up now.

“I know, right,” I said. “So what’s new?”

“Roxy thinks she captured a ghost on camera,” said Sarah, squinting again at the picture.

I laughed out loud.

“Oh, come on, Roxy. There’s no such thing,” I said, and she looked at me with wide brown eyes. Her hair was in braids, and she wore a cute green summer dress.

“Well,youmay not believe it,” said Roxanne as I took a bite of the steaming hot dog.

"I'm sure it was a blur on the photo or something," I said, chuckling. Roxy was always the most imaginative sibling and believed in all the conspiracy theories surrounding Howl's Edge, like one day omegas would be rounded up in the new construction buildings and even crazier theories of a giant living in the woods.

I munched on the food while I watched people setting up the fireworks. My mother was chattering away with her friends, and it took her about five minutes to notice I was there.

“Alana,” she said, startled when she noticed I was sitting beside her. She wrapped one arm around me, hugging me. “How are you, my dear?”

“Good,” I said. “Hey, Auntie Keera and Vanessa.”

We talked for a little bit about my business which was always the hot topic of conversation, the weather, and if I had found an alpha pack yet to marry, which I quickly dismissed by changing the subject. Getting up to throw away my empty plate, I walked over to the trashcan- taking a break from all the meet-ups. It was pretty hot out, and the back of my neck was sweating.

“Nice to see you’re here, Lana,” said a deep male voice from behind. Only one person called me that. I spun around, seeing Lio standing there with his thumbs tucked into his belt.

“Yep, I'm here,” I said.

“It’s the second day in a row that I've gotten to see you. How did I get so lucky?”

“Yeah, we usually see each other once every couple of years,” I said dryly, stepping around him to head back toward my family. But he stopped me with a touch to my arm. I stood frozen in place, feeling the warmth of his fingers press against my arm.

He tensed, sensing the change in my mood.

My omega pineapple perfume thickened in the air, and he immediately released me with a frown on his face. I knew he could sense my sudden mood. All day at his knotting job, he was supposed to read omega emotions and calm them through their heat.

“Everything okay?” he asked me with concern in his eyes. I suddenly felt silly. He wasn’t a threat or danger to me at all. I needed to get a grip on myself.

“Yes, of course,” I said.

“Watch fireworks with me?” he asked, deciding not to interrogate me further. “We can go on top of my car.”

“I…sure,” I said, walking with him. I felt guilty about being afraid of his touch, so I quickly agreed. It wasn’t like me to be so terrified so quickly -but I hadn’t felt an alpha’s touch like that. And the only touch I ever felt wasn’t good at all.

Chapter 3

Lio

Whilewelayontop of the hood of my car, I looked over at Alana. She was staring at the sky, lit with different colors from the fireworks. She looked lost in her thoughts with her hands behind her head. I was lying next to her, one knee pulled up with my hand resting on it. I picked at the threads of my jeans ripping at the knees as I looked at her.

She was beautiful.

The way her hair fell in soft waves around her face, and her skin glowed under the lights, made me catch my breath. She had always been beautiful to me, and I always had dreamt that one day she would be the omega of my pack. In my heart, I thought she was my fated mate.