Dreydon.
I set the book down, my heart thundering. My Alphas had been so kind to me. But, they were probably only mocking me too—exactly like Jasmine did on the phone call. As if I was a bird a cat toyed with before ending its life.
The handsome Alphas courting me would never desire me. Not really. No pack ever wanted me. My stepsister was the popular one. Jasmine. The one all the Alphas wanted.
I wished my stepsister the best, then sighed. I pushed up my thick glasses. The Saturday farmers’ market was rolling around soon, and so was the May cherry blossom festival to celebrate spring. I wished I was in a better mood.
Blake probably only pitied me, which is why he’d spoken to me at the market. Worse, he’d likely given me his attention only to cruelly reject me in the end.
Some mean boys had done that in high school—they’d flirted with me for weeks, daring me to ask them to the Sadie Hawkins dance. When I did, they rejected me in front of the entire school.
Sometimes high school dynamics didn't change once you reached adulthood: Jasmine still acted the exact same way she had when we were growing up.
Setting my paperback down, I went to the toaster. I made some hot-buttered toast to steady my nerves.
All a girl needed, I thought miserably,was a mug of raspberry tea and buttered toast to be happy.
Josh bakedfor me again and after eating his raspberry-chocolate muffins, I felt a bit better.
They helped me clean my chimney after, and we enjoyed a fire for a few hours before my friend Bronwyn swung by to chat for a bit.
After she left, I read and then Blake thought it would be smart to whittle me a custom knife.
“For protection.”
I lifted the knife, thinking it slick and chic. “I love it, Blake,” I said honestly. “Really.”
“You can slide it in your socks. Pull it out to fight off attackers.”
“And how would I go about that?”
Leading me off my cottage’s porch, he used a shrub for reference. “Cha cha,” Blake growled, stabbing the shrug a few times.
I nodded, watching the action. “Lemme try.”
Taking the knife, I stabbed the shrub, then sighed when I admitted I’d probably never be able to fend off a personal attacker.
“I suck,” I moped.
Blake snorted, patting my head. “That’s why you have your Alphas.”
Dreydon bought potato chips at the market, and we greedily shared a bag.I like this,I thought eating some chips, my cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk. Just sharing with my Alphas, eating chips, listening to birds in the back.
A few squirrels were giving the birds at the feeder grief, so Dreydon suggested we hang it closer to the cottage but I vetoed that idea because I didn't want mice near my foundation.
“Deer mice,” I shuddered.
“Oh, you’re afraid of a little mouse?” Dreydon teased, giving me a nuggie.
“Hantavirus,” I snapped, a chill traveling through me. “You die from that, you know. That’s the last thing I need.”
I realized later that evening I’d spent the whole day ignoring the stepsister-sized elephant in the room, namely my stepsister, Jasmine.
While we watched a rom com, I merped and buried my head in Dreydon’s shoulder. “Got something to say,” I muttered, my voice soft.
Dreydon frowned, pausing the rom com. “Everything all right, Layla?”
My emotions overwhelmed me.
