Page 90 of The Omega Switch: Part 2

“No, they are not,” Evangeline said with a scoff.

“He brought her coffee four times last week,” Nora said, and Mara looked at them as the shy beta man reached for the woman’s hand.

Mara gasped. “Oh. They're definitely courting.”

Nora sat back, arms crossed. “Told you.”

Evangeline rolled her eyes. “All of you are ridiculous.”

“Love comes when you least expect it,” I sighed. Then the three women all turned to look at me. “What?”

They glanced at each other before Mara smirked. “Love came up to your doorstep.” She said.

“And kept guard over you for months,” Evangeline added. I looked at Mara, who just shrugged.

I guess they had a point. “Well, in my defense, I made them work for it,” I said, and Mara eyed me up and down. “What?” I asked.

“I'm just admiring your new necklace,” she said. My hand flew to my throat, and everyone burst out laughing. The silvery marks were still new enough that I wasn't used to seeing them in the mirror. Three delicate bonding marks decorated my skin, unmistakable against my throat. I touched them gently. Warmth immediately moved through the bonds. I smiled before I could stop myself.

Mara saw it. “Oh my God. They're doing the bond thing, aren't they?”

“No,” I said, my lie so obvious anyone could see it.

“They’re definitely doing the bond thing,” Evangeline said, taking a sip of coffee and rolling her eyes.

I dropped my hand. “Well, someday you’ll bond, too, and know what it feels like.” I retorted. Evangeline immediately pulled her turtleneck up, shaking her head.

“Never!” She exclaimed.

I'd made Pack Vale wait almost a year from my heat to finally bond. It wasn’t to punish them, although an old version of me would have probably enjoyed that. I didn’t need them to suffer anymore - I just wanted to know that when I bonded them, it would be because I wanted them permanently woven into my life, and not from a biological urge to be with my mates.

So I made them court me properly, for months. I’d enjoyed that immensely. There were dates and flowers and dinners, long conversations and occasional arguments. Some nights I asked them to leave, and the next morning I’d be the one who showed up at their house. Boundaries changed, and some didn't. Ronan learned that sleeping in a car outside my neighborhood was not a reasonable long-term security plan.

Eventually I started spending more nights at their house than at my apartment above the shop. It didn’t hurt that they’d bought Puff his own bed and a multitude of toys. Then I needed to move my clothes over, and between that and spending time in the lab they set up for me, I realized that I was basically living there. Alphas couldn't live in my neighborhood, so their home became ours, while the apartment above The Gentle Nest remained mine whenever I wanted it. Just in case I needed some space, which I sometimes did.

The bonding had happened only recently, once I was finally ready. I never once regretted it.

Evangeline lifted her glass. “To Ivy's necklace.”

“Stop calling it that,” I grumbled as they laughed.

“To making them wait,” Nora corrected.

“That I will drink to,” Evangeline said, and we clinked glasses.

Mara smiled at me, and something in her expression said she understood. She'd known me before any of this, back when I had nothing and felt like I wasn’t worth a thing. And if it weren’t for her, I didn’t know what I would have done.

“You look happy,” she said. I bit my lip, thinking back on the last few years. I reached over and took her hand.

“You know I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you?” I said, full of gratitude. She just shook her head and smiled.

“You always had the strength in you. You just needed a little help, that’s all.” She said. I nodded, trying not to get too teary.

We stayed at lunch for a long time, talking about the store, Nora’s latest gossip, and other tidbits. Eventually the conversation drifted toward another topic.

“I heard Arabella's not posting much anymore,” Mara mentioned casually. “Her social media kind of fell off the map.”

I paused. I hadn’t thought of Arabella in months. “Oh,” I said, and strangely enough, I felt no anger or even satisfaction at her failure. I wasn’t even all that curious about her. There was a time when Arabella could make or break my day. Now she was just someone Mara and I used to know.