Jude picked up the notepad, and there was a new task circled three times.
“Make this place her forever home,” Jude read out loud.
Jude crumpled the paper and shoved it in his back pocket and got to work. He snuck into the laundry room, stealing a few pieces of clothing from each of them and bringing them to the guest bedroom where Sonnet would be staying until she felt ready to claim the omega suite and nesting room, which were currently occupied by the pack’s junk.
He looked at the clock before ignoring the time and unlocked the door to the omega suite. It smelled like dust and looked like a bad hoarding situation. But Jude grew up with maximalist sisters, which made this room look easy compared to theirs.
I can’t wait to tell my sisters about her. They’re going to love her just like I know we will.
Jude rolled up his sleeves. All he had to do now was clean out the space so that when Sonnet accepted the bond, she would be ready.
Chapter 10
Sonnet’s thumbs had been typing and deleting her messages ever since Mom first started reaching out. At four in the morning, she was asking if Sonnet was okay. At eight in the morning, she told her to come over for breakfast, and not long after, she tried enticing Sonnet with their personal chef’s cooking. The last message was Mom telling her she loved her and that she would be there when Sonnet was ready.
Sonnet felt guilty for not responding. After all, Katherine had welcomed Sonnet into their home with open arms and an open heart since the day Dad brought her there. She didn’t have to. Sonnet was the living, breathing proof and reminder of her husband’s infidelity. And yet, Sonnet couldn’t remember a time when her stepmom didn’t treat her with kindness, dignity, and above all, love. That’s why she called her mom. Despite not being one biologically, she had made up for everything her birth mother couldn’t and didn’t.
Sonnet wanted to make Mom proud. She wanted to be worthy of the love she was given. So why did Summer have to go and tell her parents what happened last night?
She flopped backwards onto her bed and groaned. Her bedroom was slightly cleaned because most of her things were packed into a few suitcases and boxes.
Living in an omega-only apartment came with its benefits, like how the space was built for safety and convenience, but above all, Sonnet loved it because it was hers. It took forever to convince her family to let her move out on her own when she was nineteen, seeing as she had no jobs lined up like Summer did, or had any intentions of going to school. However, after two years of living in this studio apartment, she felt as if she was abandoning the only space she had ever felt truly safe in. A space she controlled.
I wish Summer were here.Even though Sonnet was the one who told her not to come because she didn’t want her sister's frigid and hostile vibes to put a negative spin on move-in day.
Move.In.Day.WithBOYS!
Her boys. Her mates.
FOUR OF THEM!
Sonnet scrambled out of bed and looked at her appearance. Deciding what to wear and how to look was more difficult this morning than last night, but it all seemed to come together well enough.
Summertime was her favorite season because it had the best colors and weather, perfect for wearing her favorite clothes. She wore light blue short overalls with rolled hems and a colorful, hand-embroidered flower in the center. The yellow stitching on the flower matched the ribbed, yellow tank she wore underneath. She wore mismatched socks because she believed a matching pair would make her unlucky, and the white Converse sneakers Scarlett hand painted with random, cheerful designs. However, the best part was her pink heart-shaped sunglasses tucked against her messy bun.
She looked good enough.
No.
She straightened up.
I look perfect. The perfect mate.
Hmph. Those four boys were lucky to have me,she decided.Especially Kai.
If what the tabloids said about Kai’s aggressive personality was true, what else was true that the tabloids reported? What about Juliana?
It seemed like forever ago when the scandal first blew up on her social media. Juliana Foxetts, an aspiring actress and nepo baby, had appeared on a well-known gossip show to air out the Obsidian Alphas’ dirty laundry. She said they brought her into their home in a pathetic attempt to court her, but instead of being princely, they treated her like a beast. Sonnet didn’t like to listen to gossip, but now it all felt a little different. Now she had to wonder if she was being courted or being preyed upon.
Her eyes fell onto her trash can stuffed with the posters of the boys she had thrown away before they came and realized how much she really did fangirl over them. She wanted them to take her seriously, even if Summer insisted she was a weirdo.
She groaned and rushed to apply another coat of lipstick to hide the layers of skin she bit off. She couldn’t help but see her birth mother in her reflection as she applied her makeup, recognizing the disappointed scowl, hearing thetskof her tongue.
She would be so disappointed.
When she was younger, she used to play in her birth mother's makeup bag every night she worked. She’d let Sonnet dress herself up and help brush her hair before bed. She’d put on whatever movie was accessible on the hotel’s TV, put out a glass of water and fruit, and promise,“When I return, let’s order some waffles and watch the sun rise over the park.”
She never returned early enough. Only now did Sonnet realize it was because her work didn’t keep a timely schedule. Pleasing men came with no deadline and no waffles, just the occasional drunken binge and collection of bruises.
