Page 10 of A Very Knotty Halloween
The truth? My estranged stepbrotherhaschanged. He grew up since I last saw him, his scent more powerful, more alluring.Then again, I grew up, too. Neither of us are the kids we were at the wedding.
“Say no more. I don’t know anything about stepbrothers, but I have lots of boy cousins, and they’re gross, especially the alphas.” Alphas are gross, when they’re family. Again, nature’s way of making sure there aren’t any… confusing, taboo, or illegal aspects of pack life. “But how were Jack and Damien? Do you like them?”
Immediately, I want to say it’s more than that, but that would be silly, wouldn’t it? I came into tonight with no expectations and a heck of a lot of anxieties. I knew packs would be formed, whether my best friend believed it or not—I just didn’t think I’d get caught up in any of it. Me. Wallflower me. Shy, quiet, reserved Marnie Blare.
“Yeah,” I settle for saying. “I think I do. I mean, I didn’t talk to any of the other alphas. Just them. And Cas, a bit, but mostly Jack and Damien. And, um…”
My best friend’s eyes are totally focused on me, her irises practically dancing with excitement. “And?”
“I danced with them. And…”
“And…”
“And then, um, one of them might’ve crawled underneath the table and given head to both of us.”
Sabrina’s mouth drops. “Holy shit, girl. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say something like that—and I can’t believe you liked them enough to let it happen! Wow. Seriously, I’m proud of you. Feel like a momma hen or something.”
My cheeks blush furiously as I mutter, “Or something.” Not so much a momma hen as a best friend who’s pushing me to get out of my comfort zone.
She claps. “I’m so excited for you, girl. I’m excited for us both.”
A woman’s voice rises from the cacophony that is the omega dressing room: “Please bring your scarves to me and start changing for the hunt, if you plan on wearing something else. Please be reminded that the hunt has uneven ground. If you wear a dress of any kind, it’s likely to get torn and leave a trail… unless that’s what you want.”
“Mmm, fuck it. I’m wearing this. I ain’t changing. It isn’t like I’m going to wear this costume again anyway.” Sabrina shrugs as she hoists her dress up and unties the scarf from around her inner thigh.
Mine is easy to pull off, and I can’t lie, it feels nice to have a neck that is free of it. I’m not a fan of anything touching my neck. No scarves, no turtlenecks, no collars or hoods on jackets. T-shirts without a V-cut? Forget about them. Together, we turn in our scarves, and then the masked woman leaves us to take the basket of scarves somewhere—probably to get them ready for the hunt.
You’d think, after what happened at the party with Jack and Damien, I wouldn’t feel so nervous, I wouldn’t be all up in my own thoughts. That I’d be excited, as thrilled as Sabrina is. But I’m not. My overthinking nature is back, along with all of the anxiety and unease that comes with it.
What if these alphas were just playing a game with me? What if they were leading me on somehow? As sad as it is, I’d be devastated. The omega in me absolutely adored them, even without seeing their faces. I don’t know what I’d do if they’re not the ones who chase after me during the hunt.
Oh, God. What if no one chooses my scarf? What if I’m the only omega here who doesn’t end up caught? Talk about embarrassing.
The omegas around us are excited, and the dressing room is full of conversations and general giddiness. Sabrina must sense that I’m caught in my own head again, because she elbows meand says, “Hey, stop it. I can see the wheels turning in your head. That’s your problem. It’s always been your problem. You think about things way too much. Sometimes, girl, you need to just go with your gut.”
“And what if going with my gut means I make a mistake?”
“Then you make a mistake. It’s not the end of the world. Everybody makes mistakes—kind of like how everyone needs to have some fun.” She folds her arms over her chest, acting like she’s some self-made guru or something. I know she has a pretty big following online, but I’m not looking for any Sabrina nuggets of wisdom. “It’s high time you had some fun, Marnie.”
I barely resist rolling my eyes. The way she talks about me, I sound like a ninety-year-old nun from a convent or something. I’m not that sheltered. I just… I’m not outgoing, and regardless of what she says, I don’t like the idea of making mistakes just for the hell of it.
“Just think about Jack and Damien. If the one did what he did during the party, I can’t imagine what he’ll do once you guys are actually alone. Not going to lie, I’m kind of jealous.”
I know my friend is only trying to make me feel better, but I don’t want to think about what might be waiting for me tonight. “What about your alphas? Get any names? How many guys we looking at here? Four? Five?” When Sabrina only looks at me, I go on, “Six? Oh, God, don’t tell me it’s more than six—”
I mean, there are only so many holes and hands on your body. Eventually it’ll get to the point where the men have to wait their turn. Heck, I imagine it can be like that when there’s only three guys. I can’t imagine having to jugglethatmany men. To all the omegas who can, more power to you.
“No, no. I wish, but no,” she says with a noncommittal shrug, something that I find a little strange. A shrug, like it doesn’t matter, like she doesn’t care, both of which I know for a fact aren’t true.
“Now that I’m thinking about it, you haven’t really told me anything about your alphas.” And now that Iamthinking about it, there’s no way in hell I got farther with two alphas than she did.
“Sorry, I was too excited that my best friend actually had a little fun.” She laughs, but something’s off, like she’s been caught red-handed, her hand still in the metaphorical cookie jar. When I lift my eyebrows at her, she goes on, “Uh, there were… four of them. I didn’t get their names. They wanted to know all about me. Don’t get me wrong, I love talking about me, but sometimes—”
I take a teeny step toward her as my voice drops to a bare whisper, “You’re lying. Why are you lying?” I play back the party, how I tried to look for her in the room, and I didn’t see her anywhere. “Where were you during the party? I looked around for you, but I could never find you. It’s like… it’s like you weren’t even there.”
But that’s not possible. Is it?
Sabrina’s eyes widen somewhat, and it’s a long five seconds before she opens her mouth to respond to me. However, before she can say a word, another masked alpha strolls into the dressing room and claps. “Omegas,” the woman alpha speaks, “follow me. It’s time to get you into position for the hunt.”
