Kelsi stared out the window as Dad's truck rolled over the well-maintained street leading to Clan Bloodmoon. Why did I agree to this picnic again? she wondered, tugging at the hem of her sundress. Because you don't refuse an invitation from a clan leader, that's why.

Alpha Lee's grandmother had been so kind and welcoming that Kelsi didn't realize what she had agreed to until they parted ways.

"Mommy, look how big those houses are!" Riley exclaimed, leaning across Kelsi's lap to point at the beta mansions.

"You're going to live in one of those soon," Toria told Riley.

A flash of annoyance struck Kelsi and she shot her sister a look over the top of her daughter's head. Toria winked. Instigating bitch, Kelsi thought, frowning. Toria shouldn't be filling Riley's head with false hope, especially where the alpha was concerned.

"Really?" Riley asked, looking up at her mother with wide, innocent eyes.

Kelsi jerked, flustered. She quickly wiped the irritation off her face and put on a more neutral expression. "Well ..." she began. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught her mother looking back at them in the rearview mirror. Mom raised her eyebrows and tilted her head slightly.

"Eventually," Kelsi temporized, remembering the plans Alpha Lee had shown her for a double-wide trailer.

Riley giggled and bounced up and down. Kelsi sighed internally and turned back to the window. Of course, Riley was excited. Kids were so resilient when it came to change. Somewhere along the line, adults forgot how to be so flexible.

Her daughter's eagerness to go along with this whirlwind endeavor made it harder for Kelsi to push back. If Riley had expressed any reservations, given any resistance, Kelsi would've told the alpha to pound sand—fates be damned.

But that wasn't the case.

Kelsi stared at the million-dollar mansions, each so grand and beyond her reach. Only ... they weren't. The goddess had put an opportunity in her lap, a means to give Riley a better childhood than Kelsi herself had experienced. Weren't parents supposed to make sacrifices for their children? That's what her parents had told her and Toria when Kelsi wondered why their father worked so many hours.

If she thought long and hard about it, wasn't marrying Alpha Lee just one of those sacrifices?

"We're here," Dad announced, pulling into a familiar driveway.

The F350 was still in its spot, but there were other cars there as well—a blue Dodge Charger, another F350, and a very familiar red Challenger.

"Okay, girls," Mom said, turning around in her seat. "We have to be on our best behavior." Although the maternal command was familiar, Kelsi noticed that her mother's mouth was pinched and she looked a little pale.

They piled out of Dad's truck and, after a little jostling, Kelsi was nominated to knock on the front door. She took a deep breath, smoothed her blue flower sundress, and adjusted the butterfly necklace Riley had bought her for last Christmas at the school bazaar. Before she could put one foot on the front steps, the door opened and Lee's purple-haired faerie sister appeared. She was glamoured, not a wing, pointed ear or sparkly skin to be seen.

"Hi!" she exclaimed. "Come on in!"

Kelsi glanced back at her parents, then up at the faerie. "I hope we're not late," she apologized, following the faerie into the house, everyone else trooping behind her.

Lee's sister chuckled. "Hell no. My aunt and uncle are coming with our cousins, but that's it." She waved at Riley. "I hope you brought your bathing suit!"

"We did ..." Kelsi glanced awkwardly back at Dad's truck. Lee's grandmother mentioned Riley was welcome to swim and insisted they pack a suit. Not willing to assume anything, Kelsi had left it in the truck.

"Awesome. My cousin Patrick has a little girl around your daughter's age, so they can play together." She paused in the foyer. "I'm Sawyer, by the way." She stuck her hand out. "We didn't get to meet the other night at the Ball."

Kelsi took her hand. Despite her delicate appearance, Sawyer had a strong grip. "Kelsi. My parents, Mark and Ingrid, my sister Victoria, and my daughter Riley."

Sawyer released Kelsi's hand and waved at the rest of her family. "Everyone's out back by the pool."

Kelsi glanced back at her family, then dutifully followed Sawyer through the kitchen and into the living room. They exited through a sliding glass door and stepped into a backyard that was as big as Kelsi's entire neighborhood. It was a sprawling, verdant green oasis with a cluster of fruit trees and several tall oaks and maples that bordered a larger forest.

Bumped up against a cedar wood deck was a large in-ground, lagoon-shaped pool with an adjacent hot tub. The pool and hot tub were bordered by brown-grey stone and surrounded by a high, chain-link black fence. On the left end of the pool, Alpha Lee's grandfather manned an industrial-sized grill that was heaped with hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, and other slabs of meat. A long folding table sat nearby, piled with bowls, foil-covered trays, and drinks. As they approached, five heads turned toward them—and one of them belonged to Alpha Lee.

Through the bond, Kelsi felt a jolt of surprise, followed by a flicker of awkwardness. Well, that makes two of us, she thought, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"There's so much food ..." Mom whispered in awe.

Sawyer turned slightly and grinned. "Nana went a little overboard. I think she wanted to make a good impression on you."

"Oh!" Mom exclaimed, sounding a little flustered. "She didn't have to ..."

Alpha Lee's faerie sister waved it off with a grin. "Don't worry about it."

Riley tugged at Kelsi's arm. "Mommy—look at the pool! Can I go swimming now?"

Kelsi blinked, then looked down at her daughter. "After we eat," she replied automatically.

"Okay." Riley heaved a sigh like it was the end of the world.

Sawyer chuckled and opened the gate to the pool. "In you go."

Holding Riley's hand, Kelsi stepped onto the patio surrounding the pool. Alpha Lee's grandmother swept up to them, arms outstretched. "Kelsi! Welcome. Mr and Mrs Kohl, how are you?" She shook Mom's and Dad's hands, then Toria's. "You must be her sister, Victoria. And you ..." she said, dropping to Riley's level, "you must be Kelsi's daughter, Riley. We're so happy to have you here."

Riley took a slight step toward Kelsi, pressing against her leg. "Hi," she replied shyly.

The clan leader smiled warmly and stood up. "She's precious," she remarked to Kelsi. "Come, there's no hierarchy at a family party."

In short order, they were introduced to Lee's and Sawyer's parents, Veronica—"Call me Ronnie," she said, nearly crushing Kelsi in a hug—and Alan. Alpha Ryan's son, Caleb, waved at them from his chair.

Alpha and beta energy swirled around them, but it was unlike anything Kelsi had experienced before. This was gentle, but firm, just strong enough to remind an omega who stood on top of the food chain without trying to beat her into submission.

It was ... oddly refreshing. That's the best phrase that came to Kelsi's mind.

"Kelsi?"

She was so intent on getting through introductions that she didn't see Alpha Lee approach from the side. Uncertainty rolled through the bond.

"Uh, hi," she said.

He stood there awkwardly and ran a hand through his hair. "Can I speak to you in private for a moment?" His gaze flickered sideways and Kelsi caught his grandmother watching them carefully.

Better now than later, she supposed. "Sure."

Kelsi followed Lee away from the pool and over to a stand of trees in the middle of the yard. A thick rope hung from one of the branches and a wooden seat dangled from the bottom. She leaned up against one of the trunks and waited for him to speak.

Alpha Lee paced in a slow circle for a moment, then said, "Look, I'll be honest and say my grandmother had a talk with me and ..." He paused, looked at the ground, then up at her.

Kelsi shifted against the tree. Where was this going?

"She asked me if it wasn't for this bond, would I have looked at you twice?"

She stiffened. She didn't remember saying that to the clan leader at all. "And?"

Color rose in the alpha's cheeks. She could feel the flood of embarrassment pouring through their bond. "No," he whispered.

"Uh ... I see," she replied, biting her lip. "Thanks for your honesty?" She didn't know why it stung, but it did. And she had been the one to tell him she wasn't pretty enough—not to mention being an omega.

He scuffed his shoe across the grass. "Yeah. Uhm, so, I know that your feelings about this bond are different than mine. That's understandable. So, I won't be offended if you want this to be a platonic partnership. We don't have to be intimate; we can sleep in separate rooms. If you want to find someone to have a relationship with, I won't stand in your way." His words came out in a rush and she could feel his anguish mixed with anxiety and embarrassment.

Kelsi stared at him. He was being so open and raw with her; it was nothing like she had experienced from a beta—or an alpha. He was giving her a choice. "And you?"

"What about me?"

"What would you do?"

Alpha Lee chuckled self-deprecatingly and looked up at the canopy. He shrugged. "What I've always done. Seek empty relationships."

"That doesn't sound like fun."

He rolled his shoulders. "Probably not, but I respect your boundaries."

It was an odd suggestion, like an arranged political marriage of old. Could she marry the man and then have a boyfriend on the side? And he have a girlfriend? How could she keep that secret from Riley?

"Thanks," she replied lamely, glancing at her feet. It was a lot to swallow. Hell, these last three days were some of the toughest she'd ever been through.

Lee shrugged again. "Yeah, well ... do you want to get back to the party? Poppa cooks a mean burger."

"Sure." What else could she say right now? There was just so much to process. She turned, took a step, and the toe of her sandal caught on one of the tree roots. "Whoa!"

With all the reflexes of a snake, Alpha Lee's hand shot out and grabbed her by the upper arm. He jerked her backward, pulling her up against his chest. "Are you okay?" His warm breath tickled the hairs on the back of her neck.

Electricity crackled through their bond and Kelsi gasped at the surge of intimacy. It was as if something new had been unlocked in her soul, a different level of existing that had been waiting under the surface. Lee let her go, dropping his hands to his sides. Kelsi turned slowly and looked up into his blue eyes. Orange light flickered in his irises, as sure as they lit up her own. Slowly, tentatively, she reached up and placed a hand on the center of his chest. The alpha froze, his heart beating strongly beneath her fingertips.

Kelsi took a deep breath. "Do you promise to never cheat on me? Do you promise to treat my daughter with respect? Do you promise that we are equals?"

The orange glow in Lee's eyes brightened, expanding to fill his whole iris. He reached up and covered her hand with his larger one. "Yes, I promise."

"I am judgmental," she told him. "I have a lot of anger and resentment in me. But all I want is a better life for Riley. I want her to grow up knowing that she can be more than just an omega. And I realize that life is possible with you."

"You?" he asked, a lazy yet intimate smile curling his lips. "Judgmental?"

She laughed and swatted at his arm with her free hand. "Yes. Now, kiss me."

"I like a strong woman," Alpha Lee said and did just that.