Page 33 of Match My Alpha
"We were giving you time," Soren adds softly, his fingers finding my arm under the table.
Jude leans across the table, his eyes bright and sharp. "I have beenpatient. I have given youspace. I have let you claim you had the flu for weeks even though that's bullshit and you have been dodging group hangs like they're on fire. But you walked in here tonight smellingmated, and I have earned the right to know who."
"It's not—"
"Milo." Jude's voice shifts. He's not angry. He's honest, and the honesty is worse than the dramatics because Jude doesn't do honest very often. "You've been lying to us for weeks. That's not you. What's going on?"
Lying.The word lands like a slap. It's accurate, and that's what makes it sting. I've been telling myself I was protecting people—protecting the secret, protecting Callum's privacy, protecting the group from awkwardness. But Jude just called it what it is, andthe noble framing falls apart. These are the people who held my phone while I built my KnotMe profile. They hyped me up and texted me at two in the morning to make sure I was safe. And I've been lying to them.
I look down at my hands. Soren's fingers tighten on my arm. Jude is leaning forward, eyes fixed on me. Behind him, Rhys is still and watchful. Benji has stopped pretending to be on his phone, and even Shay has put down his whisky, looking at me with an expression that, on anyone else, would be concern.
"I matched with someone on KnotMe," I say, my voice coming out way smaller than I want it to.
"Weknow," Jude says. "You told us 'it was really good' three weeks ago and then went radio silent."
"It turned into more than a hookup."
"Obviously."
"We're bonded. He bit me. It's a fated-mate thing." I pull down the neck of my sweater just enough to show the edge of the bite mark, healed now into a reddish scar.
Jude makes a sound that's half gasp, half scream, loud enough that the table next to us turns to look.
"And it's someone you know," I add.
The table goes still. Even Jude.
Benji's eyes narrow. Jude's mouth hangs open. Soren's grip tightens on my arm. Shay sets his glass down slowly, which is how you know he's paying attention.
"It's Callum," I say. "Callum Hayes. Ava's brother."
The silence lasts approximately one and a half seconds before Jude detonates.
"Callum?" He's on his feet. He's actually standing up in the booth, his hands flat on the table, his eyes so wide I barely recognize him. "Ava's Callum? You've been bonded toCallumand you didn't—"
Rhys wraps an arm around Jude's waist and pulls him back down into the seat. "Babe. You're making a scene."
"I'm making a scene because this is a scene-worthy revelation, Rhys—"
"Sit down."
Jude sits, still muttering.
Benji is quiet for a beat—the longest beat of my life—and then he says, flat and certain, "Callum Hayes." A pause. "Ofcourseit's him. OfcourseMilo's fated mate is the most aggressively wholesome alpha on the planet." His mouth twitches at the corner. Then, quieter, angling his body toward me, his voice stripped of its usual edge, "Is he good to you?"
My throat goes tight. That's the real question, the one underneath all of Benji's sharpness, and the answer is so big it almost doesn't fit in my mouth. "Yeah," I say. "He really is."
Benji studies my face for another second, then nods once, like I passed a test.
"Called it," Shay says, picking his whisky back up.
"You didnotcall it," Jude snaps.
"Does Ava know?" Shay asks, cutting Jude off.
"She knows," I say. "Callum told her last week."
"Good. One less thing." Shay goes back to his drink. I'm pretty sure that's the most supportive thing he's ever said about anyone's relationship, including his own theoretical future ones.
