Page 144 of Puck My Life

The steps are neat and clean, and there’s music playing from inside the house.

I get to the front door and pause. Do I knock now? But before I can do anything, the door is pulled open, and Mal is standing there. He’s wearing a white shirt and black slacks, but his feet are bare.

He pushes open the screen.

“Vae.”

“I’m here, like you requested, for this talk.”

“Sure. Let’s talk, but first, are you hungry?”

I’m not given a chance to protest; instead, he leads me into the house, and I can only crane my head around in shock at the polished floorboards, the new runner. The broken furniture has been replaced, the walls have been painted, and put in frames are dozens of photos of the four of us.

We go into the kitchen, and I find the whole thing has been remodelled and renovated, with a stainless steel fridge and stove.

“When did you?”

“Oh, just after you left.”

He pushes me into a seat and puts a plate in front of me. I stare at the omelet and feel my eyes burn.

“Mal, what are you doing?”

“It took me a while, but I figured out how to make it. Lots of eggs. The lady who served me asked if I was okay and if I needed help.” Mal shakes his head with a bemused smile. “Please try it.”

I pick up the fork and try it. “It really is delicious.”

He kneels beside me, and I couldn’t eat to save my life. He lifts a hand–is it shaking?-and sweeps his hair away from his forehead.

“Vae, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I was blind and foolish, and it took me too long to see that the only thing I ever needed in my life was what I already had.”

I stare at him. “But you had Indy-”

“No, Vae. No, we didn’t have her. She was not ours, never ours. You were. I am so sorry I hurt you over and over.”

Mal lifts up slightly, and his lips collide with mine.

“You are my endgame, Vae. You’re the ice under my skates, the stick in my hand, the wins, the triumphs, the crowd cheering me on. Holy shit, Vae, you’ve been my everything for so long I didn’t even realise what it was.”

He grabs my hand and tugs me out the back, where I find a trampoline decked out with pillows and blankets. There are candles everywhere.

“What’s this?”

“So we can look at the stars. Come on.”

I climb up onto the trampoline and lie back. It’s not dark yet, but it will be soon.

I jerk upright when I hear the guitar and Raynor’s voice. He walks towards me, singing a song that I know really well. It’s one he wrote for one of his girlfriends.

“He wrote it about you,” Mal whispers in my ear. “He had a massive crush on you when you were younger. Your alpha fought so hard to hide it, but every song he wrote was a love declaration to you.”

I can’t look away from him as he sings. I crawl off the trampoline and stand surrounded by candles as Raynor pours his heart out to me.

His voice falls silent, and he sets his guitar down. “No more other omegas or betas. No more priorities higher than you. No parties and cruel words. From this day on, we’ll treat you how we should have treated you; we’ll give you everything, including a star to live on.”

Raynor hugs me, pulling me into one of those embraces that melts me completely.

“I’ve missed you more than I could bear, Vae.”