But that didn't mean that she was about to let her sister go—not after she'd fought so hard to find her.
Faith was learning that the Boundarylands were a difficult place for divided loyalties.
Still, she and Maddox had worked their way up to being cordial with each other. That was a promising start.
She ignored Maddox's frown as Hope got up from her barstool and wrapped her arms around Faith. "You sure you want to do this?" Hope asked.
Faith nodded. "Positive."
Hope held her at arms' length, gazing at her searchingly. "It won't change anything, you know. They won't acknowledge the gesture, and they won't come here looking for you. They've probably already made up some story about you meeting a terrible end, just like they did with me."
Faith nodded. She agreed with everything her sister said.
But it didn't change a thing.
"It's the right thing to do," she said simply.
"Oh, Little Bird," Hope sighed. "You always were the good one."
Faith couldn't help but smile. She very much doubted that anyone other than her sister thought of her that way anymore—not Ty, or Maddox, or her parents back at home.
But goodness had little to do with what other people thought.
The Boundarylands had taught Faith that as well.
Faith squeezed her sister's hand before releasing it and addressing the lone beta sitting at the end of the bar.
"Are you Travis?"
The man glanced nervously at Troy before looking back down at his beer. "Yep."
Faith could tell that the man was unnerved by having to deal with an alpha-omega couple. It was clear that he didn't fully understand the protocol.
And why would he? Despite Mia's presence behind the bar, and the occasional visits from the other omegas, couples were still very much in the minority here at Evander's.
Faith longed to reassure the poor beta that it was fine, that she was new at this too. But she had a feeling that such a gesture would only make things worse.
So instead, she simply placed the keys to the van next to him on the bar, along with a plain white envelope filled with cash.
"Thank you for doing this," she said formally. "My parents' address is in the envelope along with your payment."
"Happy to do it," the beta said without meeting her eyes. "Thanks for the job."
"You're very welcome."
"We had better not find out you ran off with the cash and the van," Troy warned. "Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because you're outside the Boundarylands, we won't know what you're doing."
The man paled. "N-No. Of course not," he sputtered, scooping up the envelope and keys. "I'll get going right now, sir."
Faith said nothing as the frightened beta scurried out the door, but the moment he was gone, she turned to Troy.
"Was that really necessary? Did you honestly think that poor man was going to try to cheat us?"
"Not really…but now I'm certain he won't." Troy grinned and threw his arm around her shoulder. "As long as we're here, let's get a couple of drinks. Are you up for a game of pool?"
Faith's mood lifted at the suggestion. There had been a billiard table at her church's community center, and since it was one of the few games the girls were allowed to play, she'd spent many hours mastering her technique.
"I'd love to," she said. "Though I should warn you, I'm pretty good."
"Is that right?" Troy said. "You wouldn't want to bet on that, would you?"
"I would, but unfortunately I don't have any money with me."
A devilish sparkle lit up Troy's eyes. "Oh, we don't have to play for money. I can think of lots of things you can give me when I win."
Faith matched his smile with her own. Oh, her alpha was in for a surprise—it wasn't every day that he got to test his skills against the billiards champion of the Church of the Beta Way.
And she too could think of a few things worth playing for.
Chapter Fifteen
Troy really needed to stop betting on pool. Either that, or he needed to start taking lessons from Zeke.
But what he was absolutely determined to never again do was lose to his omega.
The woman was a damned hustler. Sure, she'd told him she was good, but how was he supposed to believe a little slip of a woman with the face of an angel could play like Earl Strickland?
Not only that, but Faith didn't mess around when it came to collecting on the bet.
None of which mattered when he had to go face the pack of alphas gathered in front of his house, all of whom had heard about his mortifying loss. Troy ran his palm over his face, lurking just inside his garage, out of sight. He was never going to live this down if he lived to be a hundred.
"I just don't get why I'm here," he heard Maddox grumble.
"We're here for Faith," Hope whispered back…as if keeping her voice down mattered with this crowd. There was no such thing as a private moment with this many alphas around.
"I get that's why you're here," Maddox said. "But why the hell do I have to be?"
"Because it's my sister's wedding day, and you are her brother-in-law," Hope said in a tone that made it clear she didn't want to hear another word about it.
Unfortunately for Hope, the other alphas weren't as easily cowed by her.
"What I don't get is why there has to be this stupid ceremony at all," an alpha named Kian said. "They've both already claimed each other. What's the point?"
"The point is that Faith wants it," his mate answered in a tone as stern as Hope's.
Troy peered around the corner. It was even worse than he'd expected— the omegas had dressed up for the occasion, wearing their best clothes under their coats, and sprigs of holly in their hair. Naturally, the alphas were dressed like it was any other day.
Oh, they were going to have his ass for this. Honestly, Troy was amazed that any of them had agreed to come
