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"Yes," she hesitated, trying to find the right words, "but…um…you haven't…."
Shame warmed my cheeks, and I stared at my feet. "I haven't found anyone that actually wants me." I finished her sentence for her.
Mother placed her hands on her hips, her fierce eyes blazing. "Mina," she snipped in a hushed tone. "I will not let you talk that way about yourself. You are beautiful, kind, and smart."
Pearl whispered something to her sister. Summer spoke loudly, asking the twins for help with her wreath, trying to give us some privacy.
I stepped a little closer to my mother, keeping my voice down. Everyone was looking at us, despite how hard Summer tried to distract them. "Then why has no one approached you about courting me?"
My mother's expression shifted as if I had said something ridiculous and insulting at the same time. But it was true. Most alphas expressed interest a year or so before an omega turned of age so they could mate as soon as they turned twenty. But no one had ever approached my mother about me, and I honestly didn't understand why. I wasn't bad to look at, and I wasn't useless. I could sew and cook and always tried to be agreeable. No one could ever accuse me of being disrespectful.
And now, Alpha Ari wanted to walk me home.
He had been a good friend of my father's. Growing up, I remembered him sitting on the porch with my dad, drinking whiskey and laughing about old war wounds. I couldn't help but think of him as an old man.
Could I actually be with him?
I would be a fool not to. He was captain of the Pack Alpha's guard, and no omega would dare turn away such a respectable wolf.
I glanced out the window, disappointed that Ivor was nowhere in sight.
My mother smoothed her hands down my arms, caressing the velvety black fabric of my dress. "How about if Ari walks you to the lodge?"
I smiled as brightly as I could, nodding. "That would be lovely."
"But make sure Nix is with you, so you two aren't alone. While Ari is a very honorable wolf, we still don't want to invite rumors."
I nodded quickly. "Yes, ma'am."
"Once you drop off your things, head home. No fussing," she said in a stern, motherly tone. "You can decorate in the morning. They're saying the storm might be brutal tonight."
A shadow crossed the window again. Ivor's presence was like a thread pulling at every corner of my mind, and it took everything in me not to look. My desperation to speak to the alpha suddenly felt urgent.
I couldn't be friendly to Ari without knowing how Ivor felt. If he had no interest in me, that was fine. I would sob uncontrollably, then pick up the pieces of my broken heart and move on. Maybe even let Alpha Ari sit with me at the festival. But I had to know for sure.
I glanced again at my coat.
Perhaps my gift was too personal. Maybe Ivor would take one look at it, laugh, and walk away, ready to tell everyone about the silly omega that tried to court him.
Determined, I balled up my fists. The next time I saw Ivor, I was going to tell him how I felt.
TWO
JUST OUTSIDE
Ivor
* * *
"Ivor!"
"Rowan!" I mimicked my best friend's overly excited tone.
He jogged toward me, his dark complexion rosy around his cheeks. The goofy grin on his face widened as he approached. Something had him in a pretty good mood, and I was sure I knew what it was.
"How's Lily?" I asked, smirking at the dusting of flour on the back of his hands.
He cocked his head. "How did you know I just saw her?" I pointed at the dough caked around his nails. He snorted, picking at it. "I think she's warming up to me." He sounded a little unsure. He should be. The skittish omega had a reputation for keeping her distance from alphas, but Rowan was determined to crack through her guarded exterior.
