The Mckenzie family was well known in that small town. It would not be for less, since a small boy who dreamed of traveling the country had grown up and had the idea of creating a chain of hotels spread throughout the Brazilian territory. Even if prosperity graced the Mckenzie family, that man ‒ who had once been a dreamy boy ‒ did not abandon his roots in the countryside.
For having such prestige carried in his surname, Sadie made a point of maintaining the dignity of the family even in his breath. If you paid the price, nothing could get your last name dirty. He would dedicate his every effort so that the prosperity coming from his father's dream would only increase.
Precisely because it aimed for a bright future, is that her brown eyes makeup fell on an intelligent and dedicated alpha that matched exactly with his dream. Gabriel Jones was the ideal guy to be part of your future.
Sadie had already dated other guys, but none of them seemed to have pleased her family. When her parents twisted their noses and kept silent when rumours of dating omega came to their ears, Sadie understood that it was time to end the relationship.
By the end of her first year of high school she was already frustrated that she didn't know exactly what kind of boy would be ideal to bring into her family. Not that her parents were pressuring her to date, rather they encouraged her to study instead of flirting. But she wanted to run towards her life goal as soon as possible.
And it was in the midst of this frustration that she finally understood what she called the divine sign.
— I'm sure the Joneses will be able to help us out here. ― She had heard her father say to her mother during the afternoon coffee ― With them in management, this little problem we had will be solved and forgotten. I've never received a bad report from the other managers about this couple.
― But are they prepared to be managers? She may be the chief maid, but he... It's an important position, my dear.
― Yes, yes, I know. I have high expectations of them and started to motivate them to do their best for our hotel.
― Let the pampering begin.
The white-haired man had let out a muffled and amusing laugh when looking at his omega wife.
— I've heard that their son is very dedicated to his studies, as well as promising. I offered a scholarship to the young man at the same school as our children.
— Don't you think you exaggerated that, Dad? ― Questioned Milles, the eldest son, while you snatched a cookie from the tray on the table. ― Looks like you're bribing them.
― I hope that the young boy can be a good influence for you since both are alphas.
Milles rolled his eyes biting the cookie, preferring not to answer.
― For anyone to put sense into my brother's head will require them to be worse than he is.
― Shut up, you little brat.
― Don't call me a brat, I'm just a year younger than you.
― Brat.
― Children, discussions over the table is not at all pleasant.
― Sorry mom.
— Anyway, next year, the Jones' son will be joining your school. I want you to be polite and help the boy get used to our little town.
Father's request was simple. Sadie, in fact, hoped that his brother would take care of the matter by befriending the boy, however Milles did not give so much importance. Since she imagined that the boy in question would be a short nerd with freckles, Milles had already dismissed the idea of being friends with a weak and annoying alpha.
Sadie, at first, had also twisted her nose about the possible appearance of such a boy. This soon changed when she accidentally found her profile on the social network Orkut. Immediately her eyes shone and her heart shot.
A handsome, tall alpha, apparently quite popular since his profile contained several testimonials.
And best of all... your father approved.
It was your only chance.
That night, Sadie soon sent out a friend request to the boy and waited anxiously to talk to him. It had taken him two days to agree to talk to her and pass on his MSN to Sadie, which she immediately added and called him to talk to.
Approaching Gabriel Jones was already a successful mission, the next step was to make him fall in love with her.
This task that she tried hard from the first day they talked on the internet, and that until then had no effect. Gabriel was a tough alpha compared to his exes. Sadie would seize every opportunity that arose, especially when she noticed her closeness to Moss.
Sadie simply hated Theodore.
Once volleyball practice was over, Sadie grabbed Gabriel's arm and made sure to take him away from the omega boy. Neither did she care about her older brother's raid on the team captain, both were left behind by the girl. Her only goal at that time was to keep Gabriel away from Theodore.
Under the pretext of taking him home, the alpha had no escape. He had to walk her down the street in the late afternoon, with Sadie holding his arm. Although they talked amicably, she noticed that the boy had arched eyebrows as if thinking of something.
Tilting her head to look at him better, Sadie poked the boy's arm.
― Is something wrong? You seem worried.
Gabriel looked at her for a moment and then swallowed dry before looking away and sighing.
― Just wondering why you were fighting with Theodore.
The mere mention of the name of the omega made the girl undo the smile and give way to a scowl. It was her turn to sigh heavy, but in no way did she release Gabriel from the embrace.
― That kid is bad character. Angry and shameless.
Surprised by Sadie's words, Gabriel seemed more interested in the subject.
― Why? Did something happen?
The girl let go of Gabriel's arm to walk a little in front of his. Turning her back to the path, and facing the alpha, she smiled sweetly.
― He destroyed my dear cousin's life.
That phrase said with smiles had surprised the boy, who widened his eyes curiously.
― What do you mean?
— I have an alpha cousin who's the same age as Milles. We grew up together and he was in our school. But when he met Theodore... he got kicked out of the house.
Gabriel had simply stopped walking. Realizing she had dropped a bomb on the boy, Sadie approached him holding his hand gently inviting him to continue on his way.
― Why? What happened to that?
— You don't have to know that, Gabi. Just know I don't pick on him for no reason. Theodore created a rift in my family because of his selfishness. He deserves all the Mckenzie hatred.
Gabriel seemed stunned by the little story, though he did not know the details. The rest of the way to his house was silent, he had not dared to say a single word. Just heard Sadie babble about how fun it was to hang out with her friends, inviting him to go to a party on the weekend.
The boy had only accepted the invitation without even paying attention to Sadie's words. When he was about to enter the gate of his house, he had his wrist held by the girl. Lifting his eyes to face Sadie, he noticed a faint, fearful smile.
― Don't think I'm being selfish in asking you to stay away from Theodore. I like you, so I don't want you to become his next victim.
― I don't know if I understand you, Sadie. So far Theodore has done me no harm, quite the contrary he tries to run away from me.
― That's good. For now he's scared just because you're with me. I'll protect you at all costs, Gabi.
It was then that Sadie had stood on tiptoes to kiss Gabriel's cheek, turning to leave. The boy watched to distance himself without knowing what to think of that conversation.
But one thing he was sure of: there was more to that story than he imagined.