“I’m going to throw up.” Kai dramatically held his stomach and mouth. “Do we honestly have to be confined to our house for an entire month? That’s your brilliant idea?”
Maddox grinned after all the businessmen looked at the card with understanding. “Don’t worry. I don’t think you’ll be completely confined.”
“What is this? Dr. Burdough? Doctor of what?” Mr. Barely asked. Zayden looked over at Felix with a gaze of exhaustion and pinched the bridge of his nose.
Bold move. You think it will work?
I hope so.
“She’s a brilliant therapist specializing in alpha behavior and pack bonds,” Maddox said. “She’s currently out of town on the shores of California, promoting her book. Which may be the perfect place to send your pack and your newly found mate.” Maddox leaned back and crossed his arms. “It would give them time to build a healthy relationship with their mate while the press calms down. Being out of town will ensure that no other articles can be written about them. Let’s send them on a proper vacation to the beach and reach out to Dr. Burdough about their particular situation. Maybe she could afford to spend a few hours trying to fix, well,them.”
Fix us indeed.
Felix cleared his throat. “It’s been forever since we’ve had proper time to indulge without judgment. We should consider it. If not for ourselves, then for Sonnet.”
Jude slammed his hands on the table excitedly. “I’m in!”
Kai scoffed. “Well, I’m obviously out.”
“No, you’re not.” The entire table went silent; all eyes directed towards Zayden, who looked completely miserable. “We are taking this opportunity. We’re going to go have fun.”
“Fun? Do you even know what you’re talking about? They want us to go to therapy!”
“I know we have a beautiful girl at home waiting on us to become alphas worthy of her. Because let’s face it. As of rightnow, we’re not. None of us. And if I have to, Kai, I will use every ounce of my dominance to put you in your place and force you to go. Because despite your tantrums, you are deserving to be loved by her like the rest of us.” Zayden turned towards Felix and nodded his head firmly, athank youlingering in his eyes.
Maddox clapped his hands together. “Perfect! Has it been decided, then?”
There was some mumbling from across the table, but it didn’t take long for their managers to agree. Now, the biggest part of the discussion is planning the trip. Felix loved to plan, but his head wasn’t with the others but thinking of Sonnet not only in a bathing suit, but his mate resting on his chest in a hammock as he hand-fed her snacks by the ocean.
Mr. Know-It-All was about to be Mr. Romantic.
Chapter 13
Sonnet had been spoiled and didn’t know what to do with herself.
Jude had bought beautiful pastries from an expensive bakery in the city, with a note in the box not to tell Felix. She didn’t know what to try at first, so she took a bite out of each one. Instead of finishing them, however, she found herself curious about the house she would be living in and took Jude’s map to explore.
No matter which room she stepped into, it was all dark and boring, as if none of them had an emotional attachment to it, which sent red flags through her body like a faulty wire. She couldn’t hear her omega, but she could feel her agitation and concern.
She wanted to explore the boys’ bedroom to see if there was any personality inside their four walls but knew her scent would expose her for snooping. Instead, she peeked inside the gym, game room, bar area, and a miniature movie theatre. She couldn’t imagine beingthisrich, and her mom, Katherine, came from old money wealth, and her father was a sought-afterrealtor. Sonnet had the fortune of knowing wealth, but even this was a way different pay bracket than she was used to living in.
A pay bracket that could be hers. But did she really want all these rooms that meant what? A bragging right of money?
Sonnet didn’t have the kind of friends to brag to, and she wasn’t that kind of person. She definitely wasn’t the type to have this many useless, clearly disregarded rooms with no pops of color, decor, or warmth. Who knew she’d miss her studio apartment so much, but she did.
When she found her room, she was happy to see it untouched, with no dark-colored walls or carpet. It had wood flooring, cream walls, and a large window looking down the street at the other houses. She stared out of it for an embarrassingly long time, hoping to spot someone famous, but after no luck, she got to work on the important thing. Unpacking!
She was happy the bed already had sheets and pillowcases but was even happier to add her yellow comforter and pastel multicolored quilt she had made to her bed. She placed pictures on her dresser, hung her clothes up in her closet, and added her small collection of stuffed animals to the bed.
From out of her window, she saw Zayden’s car returning to the house. Butterflies flapped around her stomach until she remembered how they all interacted earlier, and anxiety was quickly replaced with excitement.
This is her family now. There was nothing to be afraid of.
There’s nothing to be afraid of anymore.
Her omega didn’t respond, but there was a shift in her chest. A movement she hoped was a response of some sort.
She tripped over one of her boxes of clothes and ignored the mess, promising she’d clean it up later because there was no way she was going to reveal to her new alpha mates that she was atotal slob. They could find that out after they committed to each other and wouldn’t be able to run away.
