All her birth mother, Noelle, wanted for Sonnet was for her to be content, which is why Sonnet held no grudges against the lifestyle she grew up in. The only grudge she held was that her birth mother thought she had to abandon Sonnet to give her better than what she already had. But maybe she abandoned her because she knew, even at a young age, she was destined to be an omega, and there was nothing her birth mother hated more.
Sonnet had great memories. But she also had memories of her birth mother sobbing on the bathroom floor after one of her evenings, bruised and emotionally wounded, cursing at every God for making her what she was, and then praying not to let them do the same to Sonnet. She had bite marks on her. Proof that some of her sessions went wrong, that a bond was made, but that was the thing about an un-fated match. You could reject it and still try again, but each time would tear a little bit at your soul.
She hoped her birth mother’s soul was okay, wherever she was.
Three heavy knocks at her door startled her, and she smeared her lipstick. Groaning, she hurried to fix it before racing towards the front door, her hand hovering over the doorknob. Once she opened it, she couldn’t turn back.
There were voices on the other side. Two deep, male voices, and then—
Oh, shoot!
Sonnet flung the door wide open just as her landlord, an unbonded Beta in her fifties, interrogated Felix and Zayden. Her wrinkly finger was stuck out at them like she was putting a curse on their family.
“Oh, Ms. Dubbline.” Sonnet sighed.
“Ah, Sonnet! Help me shoo these trespassers off the property.”
Sonnet’s face flushed and she avoided looking at Felix and Zayden. “They’re not trespassers. They’re here for me. Don’t you remember me putting in a temporary residence leave early this morning?”
“Oh.” She straightened up, looking at Sonnet fondly before casting an evil glare at the boys, who were dressed more modestly than last night, but still had piercings and revealed some of their tattoos. “Alright. I wasn’t expecting these to be the men. Be safe, my dear. And I’m watching you.”
Sonnet cringed and grabbed an arm each, shoving Felix and Zayden into her studio apartment before Ms. Dubbline found a reason to scold all three of them. But now, she preferred standing on the terrace, because she was beginning to realize that her apartment wasn’t really fit for two very tall, very large alphas.
Very large.She never noticed that before, the size of their thighs and arms. They weren’t by any means professional weightlifters, but they definitely had more meat on their bones than she realized. Although Felix’s torso was much leaner. He was curved and defined, like you’d expect from a model, while Zayden was more generic. Generic and judging her space.
Her eyes narrowed in on Zayden as he looked at every inch of her place, to the stuffed animals on the edge of her bed, her collection of music CDs of every kind, magazine cutouts of random dogs pinned to her desk area, and worst of all, her trash can.
She jumped in front of his gaze, trying her best to hide the posters. She should have just taken them out to the dumpster, and now he was grinning, like he knew something he shouldn’t.
Zayden attempted to tuck his lips inward to conceal his smug smile but failed. He cleared his throat and motioned towards the room. “You have a great apartment. I was worried when you said you lived on your own, but it’s nice. The architects built it perfectly.”
“Thank you. I got really lucky with it. I wasn’t sure what to pack up, so I just kind of threw a little bit of everything together. It’s not too much, is it?”
“You could have packed everything if you wanted. Felix, help me move her luggage into the car.”
She watched on the sidelines as they hauled her boxes and luggage before returning to collect the last thing. Her. As she grabbed one of her colorful, striped sweaters for extra warmth, she found Zayden invading her space. He was at the door of her empty nest, never been touched before, because how could she fill a room with things that comforted her omega when she hardly even knew her?
If he opened that door, he’d know. He’d know right away they were mated to a broken omega.
“I’m ready to go! Right now,” she squeaked, racing towards the front door. “Where is your car parked? I didn’t see it. Zayden?”
He flinched, looking at her with suspicion, before succumbing to her pleas and following her out the door. Felix closed it behind them, the sound of her old life ending with the click of the lock, and her new one with the opening of their very fancy vehicle.
Felix insisted she sat in the front while Zayden drove. Butterflies performed backflips in her stomach as they began to drive home. Their home. Not hers. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Dr. Avery said this bond could be rejected, and look at them versus her? Of course, they’d have to at least be consideringrejecting the bond. What boy band would want to be stuck with her for the rest of their lives?
Oh, God. She felt like she was going to be sick. She was practically choking on the smell of her own burning scent as it perfumed in the car. She could see it. The way Zayden’s hands flexed on the steering wheel and Felix’s foot tapped loudly in the back seat. It was affecting them. She wouldn’t be surprised if they turned this car around and kicked her out, refusing to bring her to their home.
What is that?
A different scent began battling hers.
Vanilla bean and brown sugar, just like crème brûlée fought back against her rotten strawberries and burnt sweet cream. It engulfed her, lightened her burdens, warmed her chest, and filled her heart.
Her eyes caught Felix’s in the rearview mirror and she smiled. But there was something else in the air, too. A scent that didn’t belong to Felix. It was the slightest smell of espresso and dark chocolate. Almost like molten chocolate lava cake.
Zayden.
Sonnet looked over at him, his hands still flexed, his jaw now clenched, his eyes determined to avoid her gaze. She smiled even more and settled into her seat comfortably during the rest of the ride because she was right where she belonged, where she was wanted, and it felt and smelled perfect.