The Omni-Wolf’s Choice novel Chapter 41

Chapter 41 What is happening….

Evelyn’s POV

I don’t even know what to call what just happened.

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One second I was out there dancing, and the next I was back in my bedroom-getting turned down, except not in any clean, final way. I tried to end it, and he wouldn’t allow it. Like… what does that even

mean?

I sit on the edge of my bed with the bass still thumping from downstairs. My party is still happening under my feet while I’m up here swallowing a rejection I can’t even label.

I’m not crying. I’m not. Maybe later. Not now.

Tonight is mine. Connor Matthias Reynolds can go to hell.

Inside my head, my wolf-usually bouncing around like she’s got endless energy-has gone eerily

quiet. The silence feels like shock, like she’s frozen for both of us.

‘Zephyr, are you okay? We’ll figure it out, I swear.’

Her sadness presses against me Chapter Unlocked, Enjoy Reading! ng up all the hurt so I don’t have

to hold it. I catch the faintest whimper, distant, as if she’s curled up somewhere far away.

I shove my feet back into my heels and step out into the hall where my guards are waiting exactly

where I left them. Neither of them looks me in the eye. With hearing like theirs, they must have heard

everything. I didn’t even think to turn on the soundproofing.

As the elevator doors close, I keep my gaze forward. “My personal conversations stay private.

Understood?”

“Yes ma’am,” they answer together.

When we reach the main floor, the party hasn’t slowed down at all. Laughter, music, bodies moving- like nothing in my world has cracked open.

Sienna and Archer come toward me with hopeful faces. I force a smile back and shake my head.

Their expressions fall immediately-surprise first, then the kind of sadness friends try to hide.

I hook my arms through both of theirs. “Come on. We’re having a great night. Drinks. Now. Agreed?”

Sienna’s eyes flick to mine, and her voice hits my mind through the link.

‘We’re not talking about it?’

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< Chapter 41 What is happening.

‘Nope.’

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Out loud she rallies like she always does. “Fine. No spiraling tonight. We’ll get you something to drink, and if you want, we’ll find you a hot guy to use for fun.” She throws an arm around me like she can physically hold me together.

Archer snorts, already reaching for wine. “Please. There isn’t a shortage of men in this room who’d

volunteer.”

She hands us glasses, and I scan the crowd, realizing I haven’t seen my parents in a while. Goddess only knows where they disappeared to. They sneak off like they’re still newly mated, like they just found each other yesterday.

That’s what I had wanted.

Ryder and Bridget are missing too. Probably for the best. If they were here, they’d look at me like they could see straight through me, and I have questions I’m not ready to ask out loud.

Men keep circling. Birthday wishes. Requests for dances. Compliments that slide off me like rain.

I let them pull me onto the floor anyway.

I dance with Alphas. A commander. Two Betas. I keep going until my feet ache because pain in my muscles is easier than whatever is sitting in my chest.

I smile when I’m supposed to. I thank them when the songs end.

The wine helps. It softens the sharp edges. It blurs the part of me that keeps trying to replay Connor’s

face.

A royal guard-off duty-whisks Archer away, and she goes willingly, grinning like a girl with her first crush. Sienna checks in between her own dances, always circling back like she refuses to let me drift

too far.

Eventually I end up at the bar, resting my feet and nursing a glass.

“Why is the birthday girl sitting here by herself?” a voice says behind me.

I turn and find Patrick. I offer him a genuine smile and gesture to the seat beside mine.

“Having fun tonight, Alpha Patrick? I saw plenty of women trying to get your attention.”

He sits, relaxed, amused. “I’m doing fine. Mostly I’ve been keeping busy while I wait for the most

popular girl in the room to finally leave the dancefloor.” His gaze sweeps the crowd. “I’m also waiting for my cousin to appear out of nowhere and ruin it. I swear he can sense when I’m enjoying myself.”

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Patrick is… easy. Light. The kind of company that makes breathing less complicated.

I tip my head. “No one is interrupting us. I’m the birthday girl. Who’s going to challenge me?”

His grin sharpens. “Let’s see if that’s true.”

He holds out his hand. I place mine in it.

Nothing sparks.

No tingles. No pull.

And Zephyr stays quiet-still, ever since my last contact with Connor.

We step onto the dancefloor together. I feel attention turn our way as Patrick draws me into a smooth, practiced hold. We move easily, gliding with the music.

He really is the full package: handsome face, warrior’s body, blond hair and blue eyes, skin kissed dark like he spends half his life near water and sun. More than that, he’s warm. Normal. Grounded.

Exactly the kind of man women dream about.

As we turn, he asks casually, “So. No mate tonight?”

I huff a laugh. “Not really, no. How about you? Find yours yet?”

He shakes his head. “No. I was thinking, if all else fails, maybe I can take you out while I’m still in

town.”

“How long are you here?”

“I don’t know yet. I need to talk to the King and Queen about my pack’s situation. After that… I might

come back through. If you’d want to see me.”

I look up at him and force myself to stay present. He’s not Connor. Not even close. Connor’s presence is a storm; Patrick is a clear day.

“Honestly,” I say, “I’m dealing with a lot right now. But when you come back… maybe we can see what happens.”

His expression softens with understanding. “It’s my cousin.”

“It’s a crush,” I correct quietly. “A stupid one I need to get over. But maybe when you return, I’ll be in a better place.”

Patrick’s smile comes easy again. “Then it’s a date. Whoever gets your attention is lucky. I hope they’re smart enough to realize it.”

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< Chapter 41 What is happening….

“You’re too sweet, Patrick.”

He asks, “Are you staying here in the pack house?”

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“My aunt and uncle set me up in a cottage outside the main house,” he says. “They probably assumed

I’d find my mate tonight.”

“Or that you’d want privacy,” I tease. “They love playing matchmaker.”

He chuckles, turning us with the rhythm. “My mom and my aunt are the same that way. Hearts of

gold.”

After another spin, he leans closer. “Want to get some air?”

“Yeah. Let’s go to the deck,” I say. “There’s another bar out there, and they’re serving food.”

It had been my suggestion-because I know how much it takes for wolves to feel anything from alcohol. And tonight, I have been feeling it. Our family’s wine is local, but we’ve got stronger ventures too-cognac, whiskey. I have been in the labs pushing them as high as possible for our kind.

We even made a human version once.

They’d never survive what we can drink.

Patrick guides me outside, and the night air hits my skin like relief. With all the dancing, cooling off is instant. I tilt my face up.

The sky is clean and dark, crowded with stars. The moon is partially covered tonight, but tomorrow it

will be full.

I can’t wait to run.

To welcome the newly mated.

To say goodbye to the ones leaving because they found their mates elsewhere.

A staffer approaches with a bright smile. “Good evening, Alpha Patrick. Happiest of birthdays, Ms. Evelyn. Can I get either of you something to drink or eat? We’ve got the late-night carts-tacos and burgers.”

Her eyes barely touch me, but she makes a point of shining them at Patrick.

Patrick, meanwhile, looks only at me. “What do you want, Evelyn?”

“White wine,” I say. “Please.”

“I’ll take a cognac,” he tells her with a nod.

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< Chapter 41 What is happening….

She practically floats away.

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The drinks arrive almost immediately. I lift my wine and take a sip.

It’s stronger than the last.

Something shifts inside me-like a sleeping animal rolling over.

Zephyr stirs.

‘There you are,’ I murmur to her in my head, taking a deeper swallow. ‘I’m glad you’re back.’

And then it hits me-this sensation that Connor is nearby.

Or maybe I’m just desperate enough to imagine him in every shadow.

Patrick is talking and laughing with me, but my chest feels hollow, like my heart never actually sat

down at this table.

I drink again.

Pain snaps behind my eyes.

Not a dull ache. A sudden, driving pulse that makes my breath catch.

Patrick’s voice sharpens with worry. “Evelyn-are you okay?”

“A headache,” I manage. “It’s coming on fast. I should probably switch to water.”

He flags someone down immediately. A bottle is handed over, and he opens it for me. I take a huge

gulp.

The cold should help.

Instead, it spreads-like burning under my skin, radiating outward.

‘Stop…’ Zephyr yelps, and grogginess floods through the bond.

The pain climbs. My stomach twists. Nausea punches hard, sudden and violent, and cramps lock me

I don’t understand what’s happening-only that it hurts.

I bend forward, gripping myself as if I can hold my body together.

“Evelyn. Look at me!” Patrick’s hands are on my shoulders. His shout cuts through the music from inside. “We need help over here-now!”

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<Chapter 41 What is happening.

The edges of my vision smear.

Darkness rushes in.

And then there’s nothing at all.

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