Page 154 of Alpha Mates

Alex huffs, and I sigh before I finally head back to the car and sit down.

Aiden wasn’t leaving without his stupid fireworks, I know that much already, so I can only wait.

Because one thing’s for sure, my plans are officially on hold until those things are in the sky.

“Look how many I got!” Aiden shouts as he comes running, heading straight for the trunk. I open it, and he piles them in. “He was selling this massive one that’s banned in the U.S.—”

“And you got it?!”

“Obviously,” he retorts as he slams the trunk shut, and I catch his shit-eating grin in the rearview mirror. “It makes it all the more thrilling.”

“Sure, Aiden.” So this is how I die. “Sure.”

Instead of returning to his seat, Aiden sidles up to my window, his smile still in place.

“What?” I ask, already dreading the answer.

“Let me drive,” he half begs. “I gotta find somewhere to light them.”

I have a million questions about whether that is safe, legal, or advisable, but I already know they won’t be answered well or accurately by Aiden, so I save myself the energy and climb into the passenger seat.

Eyes closed, I listen with half an open ear while Aiden rattles on abouthis fireworks. I hum here and there, exhaustion from the day settling in properly, tugging at my eyes. I let it, knowing I’ve done my part, and Aiden is now free to do as he wishes.

The world rattles in my dream, the foundations of the cafe I’m in with Shakespeare crumbling as a familiar voice booms.

“Wake up, Julian,” Aiden calls, and then more shaking. “Come on, wake up.”

Blinking groggily, I find Aiden leaning over me with a mischievous grin instead of Shakespeare.

“Damn it, Aiden,” I groan, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Pushing him back, I look past him at the empty lot we’ve ended up in.

It’s pitch black, much like the night sky now illuminated by twinkling stars, and the only source of light I can spot on the ground is a small fire kindling not too far away.

“I set up everything, come on,” Aiden says, tugging my still-waking body from the car.

I groan lazily and try to fight him off. I’m in no mood to move, let alone leave the car.

“Can’t I watch from here?” I beg as I try to climb back in.

“Nope.” He scoops me up bridal-style despite my protests and carries me towards the fire, leaving the car door hanging open behind him. In its glow, I spot the makeshift lanes set up a little ways off—about a hundred fireworks standing straight up, each one bigger than the last until they tower into a dinosaur-sized monstrosity that I donotremember him buying.

“Jesus, Aiden!” I exclaim as he sets me down a safe distance away from the arsenal.

He only snickers, wraps a blanket around me, and sprints back to the car, laughing. I watch through narrowed eyes as he opens the driver’s door as well, leaving the engine on before he runs back to me.

“Don’t worry. I checked online—we’re three hours away from the nearest police station, and nobody lives in the area.”

“Nice,” I say sarcastically as he flicks a lighter and heads for the first fuse.

It takes a few tries before he gets a flame to catch at the base of what I assume to be the start of this surely disastrous domino effect. He’s got them all set up, tied together in some kind of chain fuse, and I can’t help but gawk in wonder.

When the first end sparks, he dashes back to me and slips himself into the space behind me, arms wrapping around my waist. I let myself lean back into his chest, resting my head in the crook of his neck, just as the first rockettakes flight.

It whistles through the wind quietly before bursting in the sky in a small red explosion. Another follows, golden and bursting with a wondrous pop. Another, red again.

I gasp as I watch the series of colourful explosions light up the sky, feeling a similar sort of eruption inside of me. It’s not my first time seeing fireworks, only the first time I can remember enjoying them so much.

They come faster, louder, higher, filling the night with thunder and colour. I can’t help the way I laugh as I settle my hands over Aiden’s. “This is amazing!” I shout, looking away for the first time to glance at Aiden. His gaze is trained on the sky, and in his eyes, I can see the fireworks bursting—light in all that darkness.