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Zoe got this dangerous glint in her eyes. “I’m glad you asked.”

Bell winced.Oh God, what have I gotten us into?

2

With only fivedays left until the big party they were planning, Bell hoped to have some answer on the invitations she’d sent out to those who seemed interested in her sorority. When no one had RSVP’d, she fretted. Maybe this was Bell’s sign to just fold up shop and go home. At least at home, she could hide. At least at home, she knew her family loved her, especially him. As she flipped through the remaining mail in their box, a soft clearing of a man’s throat caught her attention. Bell turned. There, waiting patiently, was Coach Gai. The only reason she knew who he was had been thanks to Tate, and him being on the soccer team.

“Coach,” Bell said, pasting on a smile. “Am I blocking you?”

He shook his head while giving her space. “Ms. Dryer, I’m glad I could catch you. I found these today—this morning. I recognized the house, and your handwriting.”

Bell accepted the envelopes from him. Her heart shattered. Her stomach twisted in disgust.Of course. Of course, they’d be somewhere they shouldn’t be. No wonder no one had RSVP’d. “Where did you find these?” They were a little stained and damp, and some of the ink had bled across the parchment envelope.

“That’s the sad part,” he said, his features twisted in rage and sorrow. “They were in the trash can on the main floor of the sports complex. I have security going through the footage from the last couple of days. I promise you, I will find out who did this.”

Bell sniffled, trying so hard not to let her tears of frustration and anger roll down her cheeks. She wouldn’t show any weakness in front of him. The daughter of an Alpha wasn’t pathetic. “I appreciate you finding these. I suppose now I have my work cut out for me.” She gave him a small smile. “Thank you for the help.”

“You shouldn’t be thanking me, Ms. Dryer. It’s a damn shame some students here are so fucking petty. Excuse my language,” Coach Gai snarled.

Bell smothered a laugh. Her father would have and had said worse. “Well, I appreciate your help all the same.”

“Not a problem. As soon as I have answers, I will let the school know.” He squeezed her shoulder before walking away, leaving her to stare at the ruined invitations.

“Why me?” she muttered to herself. “What have I ever done to deserve this?” Was it punishment for some unknown transgression? Punishment for having sex with someone other than her mate?

Bell blew out a breath and continued back to her sorority house. There was still too much to deal with, including making sure everyone got their invitation to her party.Is it even worth it now?She swallowed the lump in her throat. Was anything worth it? Why did it have to be her? Why did she have to deal with so much bullshit in her life? She didn’t have the answers to those questions other than bullshit, seemed to follow her family everywhere. It started with Raymond and now, obviously; it followed her to college.

Later that evening, Coach Gai had sent her an email. They found who had stolen her invitations and dumped them in the trash. There was more. The person who took them to begin with had been found with more. Not just from her sorority, but Terri’s too. Seemed a bit strategized to Bell. If she had to guess, Laney and Reagan. Unfortunately for her, Coach Gai wouldn’t tell her the name of the person who stole her pledge envelopes. Other than, the situation had been dealt with.

Still sucked because they might have found the person, but it didn’t mean her party would be a success. She had to either refill out the invites or go find them personally and tell them when to be at the house, which was so informal and broke so many traditions. Bell scrubbed her face. She couldn’t think about it for now. She had to get ready for bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day for her between classes and preparing for the party.

The next morning, instead of going to class, she went to see Tate. She knew he might have an idea or two of how to help them, even though he’d been busy with classes and soccer. Before she left, she went through all the applications and found the pledges' emails. She hated this part because the wonder of joining a sorority was gone, but she had to fix the mess. The easiest way was email.

As she walked down the hall of his dorm, she could hear the sounds of moaning and groaning. Wasn’t anything new. She’d heard those types of things all her life, living at home, more so now that she was in the sorority house, and Hayden and Nico were there. When everything went silent, she gave a tentative knock at Tate’s door.

“Tate? Got a second?” Heat filled her cheeks. Of course, he didn’t. He was in the middle of something more important.

“Uh... Just a second.” She could hear the scramble in his room before the door opened and a figure, a guy with dark hair and impeccable clothes, raced from Tate’s room.

“Hey sorry,” Tate said, drawing her attention back to him as he scratched the side of his mussed hair. “What’s going on?”

Bell wrinkled her nose. The smell of mates and sex filled her senses. “Sure, asking a question.” She glanced around his room. “You know, stay with us at the house.”

“Not really. You’re a sorority,” he reminded her. “Is that all you came to say?”

“No,” she replied. “I wanted to see if you were still coming to the mixer? We could use all the help we can get, especially with Laney and Reagan still acting like petty bitches.” Of course, it was all still speculation on her part. Coach Gai hadn’t told her either way, but her gut was hardly ever wrong.

“Ooh, they must be getting under your skin if you're cursing,” he said, teasing her.

“They’re intercepting our invites,” Bell muttered, crossing her arms. “I can’t prove it, obviously. Hell, I didn’t find out about it until Coach Gai came to me. He had the invites in his hands. Said he found them in the trashcan outside the main locker room of the sports complex.” She sighed. “Upside, at least he found the ones responsible for it.”

Tate frowned. “Damn, Bell. That’s rough.”

“Tell me about it,” she said. “Thankfully, we could salvage them and send them out to our prospective recruits.” A small lie. She’d sent hastily written emails to everyone on her list, then crossed her fingers and hoped they all got the invitation in their inbox and not their spam folders.

“I’ll be there. I’ll bring some guys with me, too. Anything else?” He quirked a brow.

“That guy...” She hooked her thumb toward the door. Once she told one lie, the rest seemed to come naturally. However, she smelled their mating. Bell wanted to know everything she could about her brother’s mate. “You hooked up with him, huh?”