Page 17 of Knot Your Sunshine
This is going to be fun.
I stand from the couch, my back popping from sitting too long. The leather protests as I move, and I roll my shoulders, working out the kinks. "Let's do this."
The small bottle in my pocket presses against my hip, warm from my body heat. I pull it out, holding it up to the light, looking at the white pills "These are natural, right?"
Josh's grin fades, replaced by that serious expression he gets when explaining something important. He adjusts his glasses again. "One hundred percent. Don't lose them. It took hours of calling every specialty pharmacy in Hawaii to find naturally processed scent blockers designed specifically for alphas. Most places only carry the synthetic garbage."
"Appreciate the effort, brother."
I break a pill in half, the chalky texture crumbling slightly between my fingers. The bitter taste hits my tongue as I dry-swallow it, and I grimace. But within seconds, I can feel something working in my body.
Thank god Josh found the natural ones. I've heard horror stories about synthetic blockers. Headaches, mood swings, even temporary scent blindness.
I pocket the bottle again, and a thought hits me. How many omegas out there are choking down cheap medication just to survive? Taking pills that make them sick, give them cramps, mess with their hormones… all so they won't get harassed by alphas on the street, at work, in the grocery store.
The thought makes my jaw clench.
Not ours though. She'll never have to take a single pill if she doesn't want to.
"Okay, remember the plan," Noa says, his voice snapping me back to the present. He's got his arms crossed, standing in what Josh calls his 'boardroom stance.' "Keanu and I each go for a high-probability encounter with Mia. Based on Josh's algorithm, she's 73% likely to go sunset kayaking based on her socialmedia engagement with ocean-related content and her posting patterns showing preference for golden hour photography—"
His voice fades into white noise. I watch his mouth move, but my mind's already elsewhere.
Algorithms. Probabilities. Yada, yada. Very strategic. Very Noa.
I already know where she'll be.
"So you're clear on the plan?" Noa's voice cuts through my thoughts, his deep blue eyes searching mine.
I give him my most confident smirk and head for the door.
There's no need for probabilities.
After hours cramped in a plane, dealing with airports, sitting in a helicopter… there's only one thing she'll want. Well, after a shower I guess.
Game on.
Chapter seven
Mia
The golf cart rolls to a stop at the resort's grand entrance, and I forget how to breathe.
Towering white columns frame the entrance, rising at least three stories to support a wraparound veranda draped in flowering vines. The main doors stand open and I can see straight through the soaring lobby to the Pacific beyond, where endless blue stretches to meet the sky.
"Holy shit," I whisper.
Elena squeezes my hand. "Mia, this place is insane."
We step into the vast lobby, where polished koa floors shimmer in the light and ornate brass fans stir the air in slow circles. At the center, the reception desk looks carved from a single massive tree trunk, the wood so polished I can see my reflection in its surface.
"I feel underdressed," Rose says, smoothing her cotton dress with both hands. "Should I have worn pearls? I have pearls in my luggage."
"Mom, you look perfect," Elena assures her.
James gives a low whistle that echoes slightly in the vast space. "Used to think I'd only see places like this through the service entrance, delivering pastries at dawn."
"And look at you now," Dorian grins, clapping him on the shoulder. "Here as an esteemed guest."
