Chapter 159: Bowling

Lorali

The neon lights of the bowling alley flickered against the polished lanes, casting a dizzying glow of magenta and electric blue over the noisy, crowded room. The thunderous crash of wooden pins exploding under heavy bowling balls echoed through the air, mixed with the smell of stale concession popcorn, floor wax, and cheap beer.

I stood by the front counter, leaning my elbows against the scuffed laminate surface while waiting for the teenager behind the register to hand over our rental shoes.

I am so damn tired.

After the morning I just had (At a whole damn figure skating local competition) you’d think I’d be smart enough to choose to rest right after that, but nope I’m clearly not that smart cause I let Astrid talk me into going to bowling rink to celebrate my not so celebratory second place win. Aughh. It hurts each time I remember I was second place.

"Size six for you," the employee grunted, sliding two pairs of hideous, multi-colored bowling shoes across the counter.

"Thanks," I muttered, scooping up the pair.

Astrid was standing right beside me, already sliding her feet into her rental shoes with a level of enthusiasm that felt entirely unnatural for a random afternoon.

"I still can’t believe you dragged me to a bowling alley, Astrid," I said, slinging the leather strap of my purse over my shoulder as we began walking toward the middle lanes. "Of all the places in the city to celebrate, you picked a neon-lit basement that smells like rented socks."

"Oh, stop complaining, Lorali!" Astrid giggled, her high heels clicking on the tile before she swapped them out. "Bowling is retro! It’s fun! Plus, nobody comes here, which means zero cameras and zero annoying people asking you about Pack Spade."

"Fair point," I conceded, a faint smile tugging at the corner of my lips. If I had to endure one more pseudo-intellectual conversation about my pack status, I would have tossed myself off a balcony. We turned the corner near lane twelve, heading toward the scoring console and I stopped dead in my tracks.

Sitting on the curved bench at lane fourteen, lacing up a sleek, personal pair of black bowling shoes, was Erin.

My jaw practically hit the floor.

"Oh, come on!" I called out, crossing my arms over my chest as I took a deliberate step toward his lane. "I’ve been seeing you everywhere, Erin! Are you stalking me?!"

Erin looked up, startled, a ball held firmly in his lap. For a fraction of a second, he looked caught off guard, but then a smooth, quiet smile broke across his face as he stood up, smoothing down his shirt.

"No," Erin said smoothly, his voice calm and unbothered over the crash of pins around us. "This is where I usually bowl." Astrid immediately chimed in from right behind me, her voice ringing out a little too quickly. "Yeah, it is! He’s the one who introduced me to this place to begin with!"

I whipped my head around to look at Astrid, my eyes narrowing in amusement.

"Astrid, look at you making me look like a stalker!" I joked, letting out a laugh as I shook my head at her. This is so embarrassing.

Astrid laughed right along with me, her cheeks flushing a faint, rosy pink that I had never seen on her face before. Erin chuckled softly, getting up holding the ball.

"Are you bowling alone?" I asked him, gesturing toward the empty seating booth around his lane. "Yeah, I usually bowl alone," Erin replied, tossing a ball effortlessly from his right hand to his left. "It’s peaceful. Good way to clear the head."

"Well, you can bowl with us!" I offered instantly, waving my hand toward our assigned lane right next to his. "We have plenty of space, and the goddess knows Astrid needs someone who actually knows how to throw a ball."

Erin held up his hands defensively, offering a polite, hesitation-filled smile. "No, it’s fine, Lorali. I don’t want to infringe on your girl’s afternoon out."

"Oh, stop being ridiculous, Erin!" Astrid blurted out before I could even open my mouth, taking a quick step forward. "You would never be infringing! I quite literally like your company!"

I froze, slowly turning my head to stare at Astrid.

Wait a second,

Does Astrid... have a crush on Erin?! The idea hit me like a splash of ice water. It made a strange kind of sense, Erin was quiet, competent, handsome in a subtle, dangerous way, and completely unfazed by her bratty demeanor. But as soon as the thought formed in my head, I instantly shot it down.

No way,I don’t think Astrid is even physically or emotionally capable of having a crush on anyone. She views men like disposable accessories or temporary business leverage. And plus she’s always actively wanting me to pursue him. She wouldn’t tell me to date someone she likes.

"All right, all right," Erin said, breaking me out of my thoughts with a soft smile. "If you’re sure. Let me just go get my stuff from my booth and I’ll join you guys."

"Take your time!" Astrid beamed.

The second Erin turned his back and walked over to the neighboring booth to grab his coat and bag, I pounced. I grabbed Astrid by her arm, dragging her a few steps back toward the scoring console, out of earshot.

"Do you have a crush on Erin?" I whispered loudly, leaning into her space with wide, probing eyes.

Astrid jumped violently, her entire body twitching as her jaw dropped open in absolute shock.

"No!" she gasped frantically, her hands flying up to cover her mouth as she glanced nervously over her shoulder. "What are you talking about?!"

The sheer, panicky speed of her reaction gave her away instantly. Her eyes were darting everywhere, her chest was heaving, and that bright red flush had spread all the way down to her neck.

Oh my Goddess, I realized, a huge, wicked grin spreading across my face. "Oh my gosh," I squealed under my breath, pointing a finger directly at her nose. "You do! You have a massive crush on Erin!"

"Shh! It started recently and I’m sure it will die." Astrid hissed, grabbing my wrist and tugging my hand down with frantic strength. "Don’t tell anyone! Keep your voice down, Lorali, I swear to the Goddess!"

I threw my head back and let out a genuine, booming laugh, clutching my stomach.

"I honestly never thought you were capable of having a crush on anyone!" I laughed, shaking my head at her in pure delight. "I feel like you use every single person you meet, especially if they’re a man!"

Astrid let out a dramatically wounded gasp, though a laugh burst out of her throat right alongside mine. She slapped my shoulder lightheartedly, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling.

"Stop making me seem worse than I am!" she whined, though her lips were trembling with a helpless grin. "I have feelings! Now shut up before he walks back over here!"

"My lips are sealed," I promised, still giggling as Erin walked back over carrying his gear bag.

For the next hour, the stress that had been suffocating me for the past week completely melted away. We bowled, we trash-talked, and we ate terrible, greasy onion rings off a cardboard tray. Astrid was disastrous at bowling, her ball hit the gutter four times in a row, sending her into dramatic fits of frustration while Erin calmly stepped up to give her stance adjustments. Watching her try to act demure and graceful while holding a fourteen-pound plastic ball was the funniest thing I had seen all month.

I was up next, chalking my hands and picking up a bright magenta ball, when the heavy vibration of my phone buzzed violently against my hip.

I pulled it out of my back pocket, expecting a notification from my training app.

The screen flashed with a single, dark name: TORIN.

My mood plummeted instantly.

Of course. A bitter taste filled my mouth as I stared at his caller ID. He couldn’t even let me have two hours of peace. Damn I hate him, he should have died in that car.

I pressed the decline button, shoving the phone back into my pocket, and picked up my ball.

Five seconds later, the phone buzzed again, because apparently Torin’s, damn ass, doesn’t know that if someone rejects his call it means ’I DON’T WANT TO TALK TO YOU’.

"Everything okay?" Erin asked quietly, noticing my rigid posture from his seat on the bench.

"Yeah," I lied, forcing a breath out through my nose. "Just... annoying pack business. I’ll be right back, guys. Save my turn."

"Take your time, sweetie!" Astrid called out, already trying to coax Erin into teaching her how to curve a hook shot.

I walked away from the noise of the lanes, pushing through a set of heavy double doors that led into a quiet, dimly lit hallway near the back exit of the building. The muffling of the pin-crash noise was an instant relief, but my pulse was hammering against my ribs as I slid my thumb across the screen and brought the phone to my ear.

"What do you want, Torin?" I answered coldly, dropping all pretense of politeness.

"A greeting would be nice," Torin’s voice purred through the receiver, smooth, low, and terrifyingly calm.

"I’m busy," I snapped, leaning my shoulder against the cool concrete wall. "Say what you need to say so I can get back to my life."

"Your life?" A soft, dangerous hum vibrated from his end of the line. "That’s funny, Lorali. Because I just spent my entire afternoon watching footage of my Omega gliding across an ice rink in a sequined dress. I saw you skate."

My throat tightened, but I clamped my jaw shut. "Did you? Hope you enjoyed the performance. I took second place."

"How did you even land on that ice without my permission?" Torin asked, his tone shifting, the playful purr dropping into a hard, demanding command that made the tiny hairs on my arms stand up.

"Mind your business, Torin," I hissed, my fingers tightening around the metal edge of my phone until my knuckles turned white.

"Mind my business?" Torin let out a low, dark laugh that sent a wave of irritation straight down my spine. "If I may remind you, sweet girl... anything you do is my business. You carry my pack’s name. You sleep under my roof. And right now, you’re on national television telling the world that we’re planning a grand, lavish wedding."