Maybe they’ll even have a hot tub.
I change into my favorite bikini. It’s hot pink and leaves little to the imagination. I wrap a towel around myself and head out the door. The chaos of yesterday meant there was no time for a tour, so I’ll have to find it myself. Hopefully, I don’t run into anyone.
Zachary and Alric’s faint voices trickle out from the living room, but I can’t make out their words.
Eventually, I find a glass door that leads me into the natatorium. The beautiful indoor swimming area is surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows and potted plants line the walls. Right in the center of the pool, making his way towards me is Hunter, swimming laps. I’m frozen at the sight of his strong body cutting through the water. This isn’t a leisurely swim. This is a workout, dedicated to keeping his body in that professional athletic shape.
I should go back and hide in my room, but it’s almost beautiful the way he swims. Before I can even make a decision on whether to stay or go, his head pops out of the water. He quickly stands when he sees me.
Rivulets descend down his perfect pectorals, glistening on his skin and those chiseled abs that have earned him all those followers.
He’s also naked.
Hunter gives me a hesitant smile, running his hand through his hair.
I speak first. “I thought you’d all be working, I’ll come back later. I don’t wanna interrupt.” I turn on my heels.
“No, please stay! If anyone’s going to leave, it’s me. You were promised a beach vacation and the rain has ruined that, the least I can offer you is a dip in this fantastic heated pool.”
It would be best if I leave, but something deep within me tugs me towards him. Like my body has remembered that it has a match near and wants to be closer. Well, this week is supposed to be a fake mini pack.
Packmates don’t run from each other, right?
I drop my towel off on the lounge chairs and slowly make my way down the tiled stairs. The temperature of the pool is that of a warm bath and the relaxation is instant. I want to dive into the water, but Hunter takes my hand and holds it to his chest.
“I’m sorry again, for all of it. It’s eating me up inside. I know I’ve ruined everything, but I’m begging you to not hate me. I know you’re a sugar baby and I paid you, but it really felt like we were close, you know?” His eyes water and that pulls on my heart. “I looked forward to our dates every single week. I was probably just another client to you, but you’ve become one of the most important people in my life and before I fucked it all up, I thought of you as a best friend. I can’t handle the thought of you hating me.”
I want to hate him. He lied to get me here. Now, I have three scent matches I never wanted and I’ll spend the rest of my life fighting the urge to be with them, needing medical intervention so I don’t suffer. He knows the gravity of the situation. I can see it in his desperate eyes, swimming with sorrow and reflecting my own mourning. His future is forever altered, too, damned by fate to an omega who sees a pack as a cage instead of a home.
Whatever connects us, however, makes it impossible to staymad at him. His very existence relaxes me and his scent draws me in, clouding my judgment.
He’s like lemonade on a hot summer day, and for this week, I won’t resist the urge to be near them, to want them.
One week before a lifetime of freedom not even fate can take from me.
Chapter 13
Hunter
Sophie’s shoulders relax and she steps closer, sending my heart racing.
“I’d be lying if I said I forgive you.” Her words punch me in the gut, but she continues, “But I know you would never intentionally hurt me, just like I’m not trying to intentionally hurt you by rejecting pack life. Let’s try to have the best week we can, okay?”
I nod vigorously, but I’m desperate to ask her why she doesn’t want us. Why would the universe gift us the perfect omega, only for her to reject us? Is there nothing we could possibly do to change her mind? I want to beg or bribe her to not disappear when this is all over, but she cuts off my spiral with a question.
“Why are you naked?”
I plaster on my biggest smile. Now isn’t the time to demand answers from her.
“Well, I didn’t expect you to leave your room today. Alric and Zachary are in a super boring meeting this morning thathas nothing to do with my side of things, so I figured while I had the place myself, I’d enjoy it.”
“Aren’t you worried about them seeing your bits?”
I chuckle at that. “We were roommates in college together. We’ve seen each other naked plenty of times. Alphas have far less hang-ups than betas do.” I leave out the part where alphas are fine with nudity because we know heats require intimate contact and exposure. It’s just a pack fact that you’ll see another man’s balls.
I’m trying really hard not to look at the way Sophie’s bikini is pushing her tits up, but they’re so spectacular in that pink top.
She laughs, knowing exactly what I’m thinking. “You’re allowed to look at my boobs, you’ve seen them dozens of times.”
