Asking Sonnet on a date felt like the riskiest thing Kai had ever done, and Kai had done alot. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, if it weren’t for everything he talked to Zayden about in the water, he might not have had the balls to ask her. Turns out their lead alpha was still good at leading.
Kai didn’t want to be a cocky jerk, but in the past, girls had always come to him, and he hardly needed to put in any effort. He was stealing panties left and right from women without any intention to commit. It was wrong, but back then, none of those women were potential mates, so it didn’t matter to him. But Sonnet meanteverythingto him.
“Your hair looks good, by the way,” Sonnet said as they walked along the small, tourist downtown area. Their handskept bumping into each other, but Kai was still hesitant to hold it. “Jude was right. Purple really does suit you.”
She likes how we look.His alpha purred.
He stood up a bit straighter. “Thanks. Think the fans will like it?”
“Definitely. But hopefully not too much.”
Her scent tinged a bit. She was jealous. Kai loved that and hated it at the same time. He didn’t want her to worry about the fans or what her alphas would do with them.
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Maybe when Goose gets older, we can use pet-friendly dye for his fur. I’ve seen groomers do it on YouTube and TikTok. He’d look adorable.”
Sonner squeezed his hand and beamed up at him. “You really love animals, huh? I think that’s adorable.”
She’s going to give me a heart attack.
Puff up your chest! Spit!
Spit?
Yeah.It’s manly.
His alpha laughed, and Kai did his best to shut him out. He led Sonnet around a corner to an ice cream parlor and bought them an elaborate banana split to share. They found a semi-private bench overlooking the water and the sunset, but the view was nothing compared to his omega beside him.
Sonnet really wasn’t like any girl he had been seen with before. Typically, he had gone for edgier girls with tattoos, piercings, and dark clothing. Girls who liked to go to the club and pretended to be someone else, but that wasn’t Sonnet. Despite what she’d been through, that girl didn’t like to pretend. She wore her bright-colored clothes, all her jewelry, and her pink hair, and she wore it all happily because that was the point. Those things made her happy.
Kai couldn’t help but also think about when she was talking about her birth mother, not the woman who raised her intothis amazing woman, but the one who had abandoned her. She had looked grief-stricken even though she had no hostility and looked impossibly sad for someone who shone like sunlight. And for some reason, he felt more drawn to the sadder part of her soul than her excited one. Maybe that’s because his soul was sad, too.
Sonnet’s phone buzzed, and her screen lit up with text messages from her family group chat, most of them from the woman she called mom. Sonnet smiled and turned her camera to capture a selfie of them both before sending it.
“I hope you got my good angle,” he teased, trying to rein in how much his heart was thumping.
“Every angle of yours is good. Look! Mom hearted it.”
Kai leaned over and scowled. “Yeah, but Summer put a thumbs down.” He huffed. “I’m not looking forward to trying to win her over. You’re going to have to prep us all before dinner with your family.”
“Believe me, I know. But I really can’t wait for you to meet them all. They’re a big part of my life, and I just know it’s killing Mom not having met any of you yet. Your mom is probably the same, huh?”
Kai’s muscles tensed right away at the mention of his mother, and he almost let the sundae fall out of his hands.
“My mom…” The words caught in his throat.
When was the last time he had to talk about her?
Kai did well to keep his mother in a locked, sealed box in his mind, one that his alpha protected closely. But thinking about Sonnet’s birth mother, he couldn’t help but start thinking about his own.
He cleared his throat and dug his spoon into the sundae. “My mother passed away two years ago. She passed away from substance abuse and alcohol.”
Sonnet’s spoon fell from her lips, and her face turned into a twisted, sorrowful expression. “I’m so sorry, Kai.”
Her apology was heavy, and he waited for the rest of the typical responses he normally received, like platitudes or awkward silence.
“Do you want to tell me about her? I know she’s not here, but I’d love to know about her.”
She’s so perfect.
