“Whenever?”Felix’s eyes sparkled.“Alright.”
“Can I get in on that deal?”
“Learn to bake your own cake, Jude.” Felix gently pushed him aside as he stood beside Sonnet and cut her a perfectly large slice of chocolate cake. Zayden and Jude received smaller pieces in comparison. “Be grateful and take a seat.”
“Greedy jerk,” Jude whined, leading Sonnet to the dining room table, but he didn’t get very far. Zayden took her hand, seating her right beside him. “Come on!”
“Don’t be rude,” Zayden chastised.
Sonnet felt dizzy. Being fought over by three hot alphas was more mouth-watering than her cake. It was hard to focus and make sense of what didn’t make sense at all.
They look way too hot right now.
Jude was wearing sweats and a white t-shirt; his soft brown hair slightly curled from a recent shower. Felix was wearing a loose-knitted sweater and slacks, something she could picture a professor wearing, and Zayden was dressed in dark jeans and a black hoodie.
They seemed so perfectly normal.
Felix sat down, right in front of Sonnet, before Jude could, and she covered her mouth to hold back a laugh as Jude tried his very best to hold back profanities.
“I did all this work for her. All you did was pick her up! It’s not right that you keep stealing her from me.” Jude slammed his plate on the table and pointed at each of them. Sonnet ate her cake, eyes wide, soaking in the drama. “After this, I get to spend time with her. Alone.”
“Scared you can’t win her affections with us around?”
“HA! You’ve never had a sense of humor before, Felix. Don’t try to make me laugh now.”
“You both are embarrassing yourselves,” Zayden huffed.
Sonnet couldn’t help it. She finally laughed. “I’m sorry. Really. It’s just…” She bit down on her bottom lip, trying not tosmile. “It’s nice seeing how you guys interact. The tabloid's said you guys weren’t very close, but—”
Shoot!
Tabloids? Seriously,whywould she bring that up?
She could see it in all their expressions, even Jude. Embarrassment, guilt, and resentment. She had practically scratched the surface of a fresh wound, but there it was. The truth. Somethingwasgoing on in this pack, something that could affect everything and everyone involved, including her.
Did it have something to do with Juliana?
Her heart sank a little. She tried to force a smile. “You guys remind me of my sister. How she acts with me. I was really scared to move in and be a part of your lives, but I think if you are this sweet and this silly at least most of the time, I’ll be just fine.”
The wave of embarrassment faded, and Jude finally took a seat. A big, toothy grin splitting his lips. “Well, I’m the real winner here, Sonnet. I’ll make sure to prove it.”
“It’s not healthy to have favorites in this type of dynamic. Didn’t you read any of the pamphlets?”
Jude groaned and leaned far back into his chair. “Here he goes again about reading the pamphlets.”
Sonnet watched them interact playfully, Jude’s spirit high and childish, while Felix purposefully utilized large words and cunning jabs. It took her far too long to watch the two of them to realize Zayden was watching her.
She blushed and rubbed her hands along her cheeks. “Do I have frosting on my face?”
“No,” he hummed. “It’s just that you’re very beautiful. I wish I was as good with words as Felix to say it more romantically.”
“But aren’t you the writer of all the songs?”
“Learned that from another tabloid?”
Sonnet puffed out her chest, embarrassed by his tease. “No. You should know how beautiful your songs are, not just because of your instruments or voices, but because of how well written they are. That’s why I was a fan. Because every time I listened to the lyrics, I was completely enchanted.”
Footsteps down the staircase startled her, and she turned towards the smell of burning dark chocolate and cherry liquor.
