Chapter 53: Marked for Celebration

OLIVIA

“Are we cooking for an entire battalion?”

Maya’s head jerked up at the sound of Olivia’s voice, nearly dropping the bundle of meat she was clutching. “No, we’re throwing a party.”

Olivia’s eyebrows knitted together. “What’s the occasion?”

Maya gestured towards her, a wide smile spreading across her face.

“That.”

“That what?”

“That tiny red mark on your neck.”

Without thinking, Olivia’s hand flew to her neck. “What?!” She realized she couldn’t keep it a secret forever.

Either she flaunted it for everyone to see or she’d have to wear turtlenecks in the middle of summer.

“Alex is the alpha, he’s found his mate. That’s reason enough to celebrate.”

Of course.

Alex was the leader—the one who held the reins.

“Besides, I think everyone could use a little pick-me-up.”

She frowned. “Why is everyone so worn out?” Had she missed something?

She remembered everyone coming in looking beat up, but that was a while ago. Had something happened during her heat?

Maya sighed, placing her hands on her hips. “Well—you know. Alex has been preoccupied.”

A blush crept up Olivia’s cheeks, turning them a deep shade of red. “~Right…~”

“When he’s tied up, everyone else has to pick up the slack. And he was very tied up with ~you~.”

Right. She was aware of that.

It was the same reason he had been distant before her heat. He had responsibilities. It was easy for her to overlook that being in charge also meant having a lot of obligations.

She wrestled with her desire to be his priority, to be his everything. She pushed it down; it wasn’t rational. He had other things to attend to. She could understand why she felt that way before her heat, but now? It was unnecessary.

She was a rational person.

She got it.

“Is everything alright? With the pack?”

Maya shrugged. “I think so. I’m not in the inner circle, so I don’t know all the details. It’s not my place.”

Right.

In the pack, everyone had a role. Everyone contributed. She assumed that most of the information trickled down but apparently, she was mistaken. “So, what—do you have a specific…role? I’m not sure how this works.”

Maya burst out laughing. “Yes, you’ve been attending too many children’s classes.” She grinned at Olivia.

“We simplify it for the kids. Some betas patrol, others find ways to earn and provide. You know, we still have bills to pay, that requires money.

“We need to buy food, furniture, medicine, maintain this place. It’s a lot of work and a lot of expenses. Some are teachers or take care of the children.

“Some cook a lot. It’s more economical if we cook in large quantities. That way, we save, so we try to have some pre-made meals.”

Olivia hadn’t even considered the logistics of it all. How did they make money if they mostly kept away from the human world?

Did some of them blend in better than others? Is that how Alex knew the town, the hospital. Is that why he had been outside of the pack’s territory?

She was learning something new every day, but there was still so much she didn’t know.

She hadn’t even started contributing to the pack. She was distracting Alex and not giving anything back.

She didn’t like that.

“~Most of us though~, we just help out where we can. I help newcomers settle in, I run errands. But mostly? I’m a thorn in Alex’s side,” she finished with a chuckle.

~Yeah, she could see that~. “And you’re okay with that?”

She shrugged. “Why not? It gives me free time. I’m not tied down, I get to drive around—I get to spend some time around humans—without getting too close. It lets me do what I want, learn what I want.”

Olivia always had to be doing ~something~.

If she hadn’t taken control of her life when she was sixteen, who knows where she’d be now. She hadn’t stopped since. It had been one thing after another.

She worked her way through nursing school and then once she graduated she started working full time. She wasn’t working towards a specific goal. She just didn’t want to struggle.

She had just enough to feed herself, to maintain a roof over her head. That was sufficient.

She’d renounced the desire for anything more the moment she’d been bitten.

But this existence ~could be a life~.

“You’ve already got something, though.”

“Yeah, the ~pack’s~ nurse.”

“We’ll get you situated, and it’ll keep you occupied. You know, distract you from thinking about Alex’s dick.”

“~Maya!~”

There were children present!

“Alright, fine, you’re not thinking about him ~all the time~.”

“I’m not!”

“Uh. Uh.” Her eyelids flickered as if she was about to roll her eyes, but she refrained. “You’re not fooling anyone.”

She swallowed, her throat moving visibly. “Is that what the bond does?”

“I can’t help you there!” she replied, reaching for a glass.

“I mean, I know it’s supposed to be incredible, and you’re in sync and you’re ~one~ and all that mushy, cheesy crap, but it’s more something you feel.

“I haven’t found my mate, so I haven’t experienced it. It’s supposed to be incredible though, so if you feel incredible, that’s probably it.”

Alex had mentioned feeling ~empty~ without her, like something was absent.

Was it because he had found her and hadn’t marked her? “So, do you know you’re searching for your mate? Do you feel it?”

“Did you feel it before you met Alex?”

She shook her head.

“To be honest,” she started, grimacing, “I didn’t even feel it when I met Alex.”

“Yeah, you’re a strange-ass wolf,” Maya joked. “No, some wolves never find their mates. They’re okay. I mean, I guess it’s a bit sad. But, you know. They move on with their lives, maybe have a kid, who knows.”

“Is that acceptable? Some people settle for someone else?”

“What else are they supposed to do?”

“I-I don’t know. Can your mate be far away? So far that you’ll never meet them?”

“I couldn’t tell you. I mean, fate has a peculiar way of working. Like you meeting Alex. I can’t say for certain if that’s the case for everyone.

“Maybe some people are too distant from each other, maybe something happens. Who knows. Life’s a bitch.”

It was somewhat sad to consider that there was someone perfect for you out there. Someone meant for you…and then you never meet them.

At least she only discovered this after she’d met that person. She couldn’t imagine living life, always wondering if each person you encountered or saw was the one for you.

That seemed like torture.

Still, Maya appeared okay with it—or maybe she wasn’t and didn’t want to discuss it, so Olivia decided not to press the issue.

“Yeah, life can be a colossal ~bitch.~”

Maya bit her lip, laughter pouring out of her. “Amen to that.”

She bent down, picking up a bag full of raw, bloody meat. She tossed the bag to Olivia, who almost dropped it.

“It is ~your~ party, so quit standing around and start helping,” she teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Are these going to be cooked?”

“Depends, some are, some aren’t. Some of us like it bloody.”

She wrinkled her nose; perhaps it was the old human habits in her, but she couldn’t stomach raw meat.

“I’ll take that as a no from you. Just bring it over to the BBQ, the guys will handle it.”

“Okay.”

She turned around, dragging the heavy bag with her. Maya was right; everyone seemed in high spirits. Everyone was busy bustling about, setting up: arranging chairs, tables, bringing out food, alcohol, and the like.

There was even music playing softly in the background. Did they do this often? Alex had mentioned he didn’t have many hobbies before. Was he always working? Did that apply to everyone? Probably not.

He always put ~them~ first.

Even now, since the break of dawn, he’d been working. She had awoken to an empty bed. The warmth of his bite and his body had been enough to lull her to sleep.

She had drifted off to sleep in his arms, but when she woke, she was alone. He had left her a note, which had calmed the panic that had started to rise in her chest, but still.

He was trying to be in two places at once.

She hadn’t really thought about how much he was juggling. She didn’t want to add to his load.

He was busy and she would have to accept that.

If only she could find a way to keep herself busy too.