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Will pulled back, trying to regain some composure, and while I let out a little whine at the loss, I knew it was for the best.
He leaned back against the entry wall—we hadn’t made it more than three feet into his dorm—and tilted his head back, closing his eyes. He blindly reached for me, and I stepped into his embrace. He held me close until our scents mellowed out as our arousals settled. Settled a little, anyway. I would be happy to climb him like a tree at any moment. Like right this moment.
“Omega,” he whined. “I’m trying to be good. Get your mind out of the gutter so I can take a breath without getting hard as stone.”
I laughed and snuggled into this chest, happy just to be near him again.
“So a courting date…” he began, “do you have anything in mind?”
“Well…” I said hesitantly.
“Out with it. What do you want to do? It can’t be worse thanKissmas Eve.”
I chuckled. “I was supposed to go ice skating the other day with Grant—” I was abruptly cut off with a deep growl. “But he didn’t show!”
“You want me to take you on a date another alpha planned?” His question was laced with the growl that hadn’t stopped.
I chose my next words carefully. “I would love for you to take me to do an activity I loved growing up. I was excited to get the chance to go, and instead I sat on a bench, alone, and watched others get to go.”
The growl stuttered out as Will’s alpha drove him to fix my disappointment instead of holding on to his own jealousy.
“Fine,” he grunted, “but my date is going to be so much better thanGrant’swould’ve been.”
I tried to hold it together but couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. He really couldn’t stop the competitive side of his personality. Only this time, he was competing against a ghost. A nothing. Grant was gone, and I wasn’t looking back. He wasn’t stealing any more of my Season or my future with this alpha in front of me.
Will might think I was still unsure. But he would be wrong. This man was mine, and I was holding on.
Chapter Twenty-Three
CEDAR: Courting date with Alpha Fitzwilliam Rossi. Tuesday 2pm. North Pole Village Skating Rink. To confirm text YES. To decline text NO.
AnnaandIwerestuffing our faces with cookies on Christmas Day when my phone pinged with a CEDAR alert.
“Skating with Will?” she asked skeptically.
“Yep!” I grabbed the phone and replied YES immediately.
“Are you sure you’re okay? I mean, what Grant did–”
“Grant is gone.”
“Yes…” she confirmed hesitantly, “and I want to make sure you’re okay with that. Will taking you out on the same courting date that Grant had planned? That’s kinda weird, you know?”
I sighed and sat down at the table with her. “I thought Grant was my alpha. I thought he was perfect for me. Driven and ambitious and smart and kind. And when I was pulled to his scent… I was ecstatic. But it was a lie. All of it. His scent isn’t my match. I remember smelling an overwhelming coconut scent at the ball and actually moved away from it. How he was able to cover it and trick me for so long…” I trailed off, coming to a realization.
“What is it?” Anna asked.
“At the polar plunge. He smelled like pure coconut that day. The water must’ve washed the artificial scent off, and I smelled his real scent.” I dropped my head to the table. “I asked if he’d put on sunscreen, assuming that was the smell, and when he said yes, I believed him. I’m such an idiot.”
“Stop. You are not an idiot. This was an insane plan. He was messing with your instincts. Did he think he could keep this up forever? Did he think your collar would recognize him at the mating ceremony? He’s the idiot!”
I picked my head up. “That’s the point. He is an idiot. And he’s cruel. Everything I thought I knew and liked about him was a lie. Except his ambition. I seriously underestimated his ambition. He must’ve been planning to use me to get closer to Father. He talked about him constantly.”
“You’ll have to tell Father about this.” I nodded. “So what about Will? Sorry, Fitzwilliam.” She switched to a very bad mock British accent, and we both dissolved into giggles.
I felt the soft smile take over my face. “I judged him so harshly from the first moment. From before that! I didn’t even know him, just his reputation. And he has been nothing but considerate and devoted since we first scent matched at the Snow Ball.” A blush crept up my neck.
“What? What is that blush for?”
