Filed to story: The Alpha’s Pen Pal Book
After our talk the other day, I promised myself I would take time off since Haven is taking her maternity leave early, and Wesley will take a long leave from work as well to focus on his duties as a mate, a father, and an alpha. I will only worry about protecting Haven when they specifically ask me to so I can find a balance between sticking to my strict routine and actually enjoying my life.
As for the other things we discussed…well, I’m waiting until there are no more lingering signs of Cassandra’s pain. I’m still unsure of how to bring those questions up or what to say. It seems odd to discuss the possibility of a future together when we’ve barely begun, and yet it feels so right to think of her by my side for the rest of our lives, filling it with her smiles and her daisies.
“So, what do you want to do first?” I ask Cassandra again, pushing my concerns regarding our future to the back of my mind so we can enjoy the festival.
“What is there to do?”
I step closer to her, wrapping my arm around her waist and gesturing around the grounds as I show her the activities, my chin hooked over her shoulder and my lips near her ear. “There’s archery, guided painting, basket weaving, loads of food stands and food trucks, cornhole—“
“Cornhole?” she asks, wrinkling her nose. “What’s that?”
“You’ve never played cornhole?”
“Never even heard of it. It’s a game?”
“Yes. You play with bean bags—well, corn bags, I guess you would call them.”
“You’re playing a joke on me.” She shakes her head emphatically. “There is no way cornhole is a real game.”
“I swear to Selene!” I exclaim, crossing my heart. “You try to get them on the board or in the hole, and you play against another team.” She stares at me, an unimpressed and unamused look on her face, and I sigh and grab her hand, dragging her over to where the game is set up. “See?” I say, gesturing to the court.
Blake, Dawson, Sebastian, and Maddie all play together. Maddie and Seb form one team, and Dawson and Blake form the other. Cassandra watches them as they toss their bags across the empty space and onto the boards or into the holes, one brow raised the entire time.
“That’s it?” she asks, glancing at me. “You just throw the bags?”
I shrug. “Pretty much.”
She watches them for a bit longer, smiling slightly as Sebastian and Maddie win and celebrate with a high five. “All right. I’m in,” she says, striding forward to where Blake stood during the game.
“Hey, Cass,” Sebastian says, waving at her.
I flip him off behind Cassandra’s back as she returns his wave and says, “Hey Seb! Do you mind if we play?”
I drop my hand to my side as soon as she smiles up at me, and I smile back, acting as innocent as I can.
“You and Nolan against Maddie and me? Or males against females?” Sebastian asks as he gathers up the bags.
Cassandra’s eyes glitter, and she swivels her head to Maddie, the two of them exchanging a look that has me terrified. I glare at Sebastian, and he pauses, watching the two females as they communicate in that silent way only females can.
“Males against females,” Maddie says, her violet-blue eyes sparkling with a mischievous glow that matches Cassandra’s.
I sigh but take my spot next to Cassandra on one side of the cornhole court while Maddie and Sebastian jog over to the other side, leaving the bags with us.
“I’ll help you just for this round,” I say, clenching my fists and shoving them in my pockets as I stand one inch away from her. She gazes up at me, leaning forward as if she expects me to give her a kiss, and I laugh and shake my head at her. “We’re enemies right now. No kisses for you.”
She pouts as I tap her nose and back away, standing on the other side of the wooden cornhole board. She takes the lime green bags, and I grab the white, tossing one and catching it with the same hand before throwing it at the board across from us. It lands on the board and slides just a little, stopping to the right of the hole.
“Ooh, so close,” Maddie says, faking a pout and feigning disappointment for me. “Maybe next throw!”
“Your turn,” I say to Cassandra, ignoring Maddie.
“So I just aim for the hole?”
“Yes.”
She nods, and I cross my arms, watching her as she weighs the bag in her hand and calculates the distance between her and the hole. She pulses her arm a few times, then releases the bag. It soars through the air and lands right in the hole, not even bumping against the sides.
“Nice!” I say as she jumps into the air and claps her hands.
“Beginner’s luck!” Sebastian yells, cupping his hands around his mouth.
She laughs, and we toss the rest of our bags. Each of hers lands in the exact same way—directly in the hole without touching the rim.
I stare at her after her last toss. She glows with excitement as Sebastian and Maddie gather up the bags and calculate her and Cassandra’s points. She beams at me, her hands clasped in front of her chin.
“Sebastian. I think we’re being hustled,” I say, still staring at her.
Her jaw drops, and her smile fades as she shakes her head, her hands falling limp at her sides. “I swear, I’m not—“
My face breaks into a grin, and I dart over to her, wrapping my arm around her waist and squeezing. “I’m teasing you, Daisy,” I say, my lips brushing her ear.
“You said no kissing,” she reminds me as I nudge her cheek with my nose, trying to get to her lips. “‘We are enemies right now,'” she adds, lowering her voice to mimic mine.
One side of my mouth curls into a half smile. “Well then, just call me a traitor.”
I dip my mouth to hers, and she reaches up on her toes, her fingers curling into my shirt. But the thump of a tossed bag landing on the board shortens our kiss. I lean away and scowl at a smirking Sebastian.
Maddie shoves his shoulder and rolls her eyes. “You are such a fucking dickhead,” she mutters to Seb as she tosses her bag. “I don’t know how those three put up with you.”
Her bag lands in the hole, and Cassandra raises her arms in triumph, forcing me to switch my glare from Sebastian to her. I shake my head and give her a quick kiss before backing away from her. “I’m watching you,” I say, pointing two of my fingers at my eyes and then at her.
She blows me a kiss and gives me a wink before turning her focus back to Maddie and Seb as they finish taking their turns, but my attention stays on her. Her hair catches the sunlight, creating shimmering ribbons of gold among the brown that match the gold in her eyes. Her smile radiates from her soul.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?