Page 1 of Surprise Mother Pucker

Chapter 1

Kennedy

The ice rink was one of my favorite places. Even though I very rarely stepped onto the ice, because I was the human equivalent of Bambi, there was a peace to it. I enjoyed the cold air filling my lungs, and more importantly, I enjoyed the kids.

I adored them.

For several months now, I had been working at the ice rink, helping my best friend, who taught young children how to ice skate. They were undeniably adorable, tottering around on their little skates. Beth had been trying to teach me as well for the last few weeks, but my skills consisted of barely being able to propel myself forward in a straight line.

I was probably a lost cause. Beth, my best friend, had declared it so many times.

Technically, my job was rink assistant. I helped people pick out ice skates for public skating sessions, or I assisted any of the teachers who were doing lessons. My university had its own rink that most students used, but I liked the public one. The people there were friendlier, and there were a lot fewer grabby young alphas.

“Do you want me to grab the butt pads?” I asked Beth as I picked up a few empty cans of soda from the side of the rink.

Beth nodded. She looked stunning and put together as always, wearing sleek black leggings and a long-sleeve thermal with a gray body warmer, her blonde hair up in a sleek ponytail. Every movement she made on the ice looked so graceful. I was bitterly jealous.

“That's probably a good idea. I've got the under-fives in today,” she said, checking her watch.

She had been teaching at the ice rink for several years and took great joy in it. Beth was an omega, like me, and had that typical nurturing nature. Omegas were far more maternal than any of the other designations. We were literally built to have babies, so it was rare to find an omega who didn’t like kids.

Beth was an example of a perfect omega: stunning, shockingly fit, and sweet as sugar but with a backbone. My mother always said that omegas needed a little bit of backbone to handle the alphas life threw at us.

My mother never found her alphas. She had my beta father who she cared about a lot more than me.

“Is that cute single dad coming again?” I asked, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively.

Beth's entire face turned pink as she stuttered to find her words. “I-uh-I don’t know,” she said, looking away from me.

There had been a particularly adorable toddler coming to the classes with a dad and no mom. He wore no wedding band or mating marks, so he was potentially available.

Plus, he and Beth had been flirting. It was nothing obvious, just a small hand touch here or there, a smile. Those little gestures that made me think they were interested in each other.

If Beth was trying to deny it, she wasn't helping her case by blushing like a schoolgirl every time he was mentioned.

“We should stop talking about my love life and start talking about yours,” Beth said as she sat down at the bench, putting on her skates.

“I don't have one. I've got far too much going on to worry about men.”

“Ahh, yes, your plans to take over the world.”

“I'm just starting my final year of school. I don't want to mess it up now, especially if I'm going to get into a good master’s program.”

“Kennedy, I have zero doubt that you will. You are smarter than most people I know put together.” Beth grinned, standing up with a shocking amount of grace, considering she was on her skates, and walking over to the rink. “But, really, you should try and go on a few dates. Nothing bad is going to come from expanding your horizons.”

I frowned. “Plenty bad could happen. What if I accidentally date a serial killer?”

“In that case, I would make a lovely memorial for you,” Beth said with a giggle before launching herself onto the ice, gracefully doing a few laps to warm up while I continued cleaning.

As I threw some leftover trash into bags, I thought about what I wanted. One day, I would have a pack. I knew that. Most omegas tended to look for their packs at college, but I had goals I wanted to achieve beforehand. I had seen several of my omega friends from childhood give up whatever academic pursuits they were chasing as soon as they found their pack.

And don't get me wrong—there was nothing bad about that. If they wanted to prioritize spending time with their family, that was their prerogative. I was just hoping that, once I finished my master’s and moved on to my doctorate, there would still be a few good alphas out there. If they all got snapped up while I was burying myself under schoolwork, then I was going to find myself in a conundrum once I graduated.

All my time was taken up by studying or working. I was double majoring in criminology and psychology, and theworkload was intense. Most of my fellow classmates didn't work and focused solely on studying, but that wasn't an option for me.

I was an orphan, so I only had myself to rely on.

My parents had passed in a car crash while I was in high school. Since I’d only been a few months short of eighteen at the time, I’d relied on the kindness of friends to stay in their spare rooms until I graduated. After that, I made it my sole focus to get into college, so I could support myself.

---