“Pleasure. What can I do for you?”
“I need to ask about Coco. How is she? Is she okay?”
A suspicious glint enters his gaze. “Why don’t you ask her?”
“She won’t reply to our messages.”
And I can’t stand it anymore. I find myself under her window at least twice per day, hoping for a sign of life, like a lovestruck fool. Ryder and Zach often join me.
This is crazy. I don’t like it. I don’t like feeling so out of control, obsessed, needy, unable to stop thinking about someone, about to overturn all my plans and resolutions for this pink-haired girl who’s somehow wormed her way into my heart.
He frowns. “Are you… Are you one of the guys who saved her?”
I shrug. “Yeah.”
“One of the guys who broke her heart, too.”
I wince. “She told you about that.”
“Oh, yeah. In great detail.”
“Damn.” I shove a hand through my hair. “Be that as it may, I need your help.”
“With what? Breaking her heart again?”
“The opposite. Regaining her trust.”
“Is it her trust you want, or her heart, broken as it is?”
“I want her heart,” I say truthfully and his eyes light up.
“For real?”
“For real,” I admit. “I never thought I’d be able to love again, but here I am.” I spread my hands. “Asking for your help to get her back.”
“That will be… more complicated than you think.”
“Fuck. Why?”
“Look,” he says, “I bet you’re a great guy. A great alpha. And if you grovel enough, she may return to you. But I have to look out for her interests, right? As her friend.”
“Interests? Why wouldn’t she?—?”
“Coco is a sweet girl.”
“The sweetest,” I breathe.
“Right. And she keeps telling herself to aim lower, that she deserves less than what she desires.”
“What the fuck,” I growl. “Why would she tell herself that?”
“That’s her story to tell. Anyway, you are a lone wolf, right? Or do you have a pack? Do you want to have a pack?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Well, that sucks because Coco… she’s an omega in every way that counts and she wants, no, she needs a pack. She thrives in a group. Can you give her what she needs?”
And that is the question of the day.
