Page 3

Not the touch, not the comfort, not the love of my friends and the family I built.

Not a fucking thing.

When Win’s back inside his office, I slide into my driver’s seat but don’t put the key in the ignition. It’s over. Shelby’s gone for good. So why don’t I feel better? Why does it still feel like mourning a year after I left?

Dusk casts a pink glow over the dashboard and my hand as it lifts. Months without the reminder of her lies, yet I still catch myself tracing the pale ring of skin around my finger. A reminder that will linger long after it truly fades.

Not everything that glitters is gold. Not all that you keep is meant for you.

Sometimes, holding on too tight—wishing for things that will never come true—destroys more than never reaching for the stars at all.

START OF SOMETHING NEW

DAPHNE

Same day,nine years ago

There’s something undeniably sexy about watching the men I’m fixated on sign our marriage certificate. The smooth hands, the clean nails, the firm grip on the pen. They’re all doing things to me. Things that shouldn’t happen while my parents scowl at my side.

But how can I stop when the men I’ve craved for so long will be my husbands in an hour? My alphas. My pack.

All those nights alone in my dorm, gone.

Whispered words and veiled promises over quiet dinners and secret emails, over.

Sneaking away at parties to get off before we’re caught is a thing of the past.

After four years of waiting, I’ve finally presented, and this obsession born over years of slow, unofficial courting, will finally become something real.

Mrs. Daphne Parker.I like the sound of that.

Especially when I remember that we’ll bond as soon as we get home. My soul twined with my alphas, holding us together for the rest of our lives.

It’s hard to focus on anything but my men, and how different my life’s about to become. Corey’s hooded gaze skims over me with a smirk as Lance pulls me from my parents into the circle of their bodies. Jacob’s warm hand curls around my hip, anchoring me to his side.

“Pretty little omega. Are you needy for us?”

“You know I am,” I whine, stepping closer until I’m nearly plastered against him. There’s something dark in his voice that makes my skin thrum, aching for my alpha.

Their scents are thicker now and I inhale so fast, I get dizzy. How do they smell so good?

Scent-sympathetic, the books call this. Nature’s way of ensuring compatibility by making partners smell almost addictive. These alphas smell amazing and taste like sex and security. They’re so different, yet I’m drawn to these men in a way that feels borderline unhealthy.

Jacob, the eldest at twenty-five, is tall, golden, and utterly handsome. Not a hair out of place, he has this effortless swagger about him, born from someone who’s always the most powerful in the room. There’s an edge of aloofness to my pack lead that draws me closer, desperate to be the one to soften the sharpness of his lemon sent and dull the edges of that well-disguised temper.

A few months younger, Lance is by far the prettiest. Bottle green eyes, a lean body and this bad boy smile make my breath catch all the time. His violet and mandarin scent works with that natural charm to get whatever he wants in a flash.

At the end stands Corey, Jacob’s younger brother. The closest to my age at twenty, he’s still got the roundness of youth and the playfulness that comes with it. Always the first to shoot me a wink or tease me too far, his fresh bergamot pairs perfectly with the others, creating a bouquet of fairytale beginnings that are all mine as soon as this meeting is over.

Taylorson, my father’s lawyer, organizes the pages of the contract and clears his throat. “Before we start, I just need to go through some housekeeping. Is everyone here of their own free will?”

Pack Parker and I voice our agreement with easy smiles and heated looks.

“Wonderful. Miss Barnes, do you acknowledge that you’ve been through your first heat?”

“She does.” Father cuts me off before I can so much as think the wordno.

Taylorson looks at my alphas. “Jacob, as pack lead, do you acknowledge that Daphne Barnes has already had her first heat?”