Unwavering Bonds (Champagne Falls Omegaverse #1)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Kiara

Wind blows through the open windows, bringing the scent of the fresh mountain air with it as I sing along to the radio at the top of my lungs.

I can’t wipe the smile off my face as I drive down the highway. It won’t be much longer until we make it to Champagne Falls—until we make it home.

When the “Welcome to Champagne Falls” sign appears, a loud whoop spills from my lips that’s quickly sucked out the window. I startle slightly when two quick beeps sound out from the truck behind me.

I wave my hand at Crew, who’s driving the moving truck with our stuff. This will be his first time in Champagne Falls, and yet, it was so easy to convince him to move to the small town I lived in for years—sight unseen.

Crew and I were next-door neighbors and best friends as children.

My mom died when I was ten, and he helped me through it.

Then, my dad found his scent-matched pack, we had to leave the house I grew up in just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, to move to the Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee.

I was excited to have a new parental pack and step-siblings, but I was less excited to be leaving Crew.

Even at fourteen, I was already in love with him.

It broke my heart to leave him behind, but I really found my home in Champagne Falls. Thankfully, teenagers bounce back quickly, and I never forgot Crew. Every summer, my dad would drive me down off the mountain and take me to spend a month with my best friend and his family.

He’s been my first everything—first crush, first kiss, first love. We even lost our virginity to one another during the summer we were sixteen. I can’t imagine my life without him in it.

I never thought I’d have to until our designations revealed at eighteen. It was no surprise that I revealed as a beta since both of my parents were betas. Whereas, Crew revealing as an omega was unexpected—at least to me.

We’d planned to go to college together, but when he decided to attend the Omega University North Carolina, I was left alone to attend University of North Carolina on my own. I thought that was the end of any romantic entanglement between the two of us.

After all, omegas need alphas—not betas like me.

But Crew was having none of that.

We may not have attended the same college like we thought we would, but he made his intentions clear from the beginning—he didn’t want a pack that didn’t want me.

He wanted to be with me more than he wanted a pack, which he never let me forget, and luckily, our schools were less than an hour apart.

Anytime I doubted what we had together, he’d get into the car and drive to my dorm to show me how much he loved me.

I keep waiting for him to realize this is all too much—that I’m too much.

While it’s a sweet sentiment, I try not to get my hopes up too much.

If he meets his scent-matched pack, then he’ll want nothing to do with me—no matter how much he denies it to me.

Omegas need alphas, and alphas need omegas.

That’s not to say that betas don’t end up in packs or in monogamous relationships with alphas or omegas.

It’s just not what nature intended. Hell, neither are the monogamous relationships that are growing more popular in the major cities.

It’s just another reason I’m happy to be back here, where packs are still the norm. Because I really want to be a part of a pack, even if it seems unlikely.

Shaking away my somber thoughts, my lips turn up at the corners as I slow the car as I reach Main Street.

It’s been three years since I’ve been home, but it looks exactly as it did the day I headed out of town to move in with Crew in an apartment in Charlotte after graduation.

Shops line the streets, and more than a few of the business owners stand outside chatting with people. They all take a moment to wave at me, and I easily return the gesture.

There’s nothing like small-town living.

Hell, they even wave at Crew, even though no one knows who the hell he is. I’m sure they can guess who he is, since I’m sure the gossip mill has been working overtime after hearing that I was coming home with a male omega.

Not that I care if they talk about me and Crew. Champagne Falls is a place of acceptance, so it’s unlikely that they’re saying anything cruel.

More than likely, they’re talking about how happy they are that I've found someone. How glad they are that Crew and I were finally able to get jobs at the rural hospital about forty-five minutes outside of town. It’s used by the many small towns that dot the area.

We’re lucky enough to have a local doctor for the usual care, but he’s had the same nurse working for him for over twenty years, and he definitely doesn’t need to add on two more nurses.

Turnover at the rural hospital is practically nil, which is why we’ve had to wait three years for both of us to be able to get a position.

As I continue down the road, leaving behind our downtown area, my phone rings. I grin, glancing at the caller ID before accepting the call via Bluetooth.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Hello, Kiki. How are you?” Dad sounds a little distracted, but I’m not surprised.

My parental pack took my omega stepsister, Delilah, and my half-brother, Ren, to Europe for a month-long vacation while they’re on break from school.

He’d been so upset that they wouldn’t be here to welcome me and Crew, but I don’t mind.

We get to have the run of the pack house until we’re able to find a place of our own.

We haven’t decided whether we want to rent one of the apartments over the shops on Main Street or if we want to buy a house.

We have more than enough money saved up for a sizable down payment, but I’m not sure what will happen if he finds a pack that doesn’t want me.

“I’m okay, Dad. We just made it to Champagne Falls. We’re almost to the house, actually.”

He sighs. “I’m really sorry we’re not there. If you want us to come home early, we can.”

“Really, Kiara. We don’t mind,” adds Evelyn, my dad’s omega and my stepmom. I adore her and the rest of Pack Owens. They accepted me and Dad like we were always part of the pack.

At fourteen, I’d been so sure I would hate them all.

What can I say? I was an angsty little shit back then.

But Evelyn and her two alphas, Adan and Dylan, welcomed us with open arms. So did their two kids, Mason and Delilah.

Mason is two years older than me and took me under his wing when I arrived—well, he and his two best friends.

Delilah is five years younger than me, and she was so freaking excited to have a big sister.

At nine, she loved her big brother but thought boys that weren’t her dads were gross.

We’re closer now that we’re older, even though she’s an omega.

She attends Omega University Tennessee and loves it.

She’s planning to take over the bakery that Dylan currently runs.

It’s been in his family for generations, and Mason has no desire to take it over.

That’s probably a good thing, because Delilah would’ve likely murdered him if he'd tried to take it from her.

Dad took the last name Owens when he officially bonded with Evelyn and her pack since members always take the omega’s last name, but I decided I wanted to keep my dad’s last name.

It made me feel like a bit of an outsider at times, but I’d been Kiara Oka for fourteen years, and I didn’t plan to change it until I mated with a pack or got married.

Dad and Adan are both doctors who work at the rural hospital. They actually met at a conference they were both attending, and as soon as Dad and Evelyn smelled each other's scents, they knew it was inevitable. At least that’s how they tell the story.

As a fourteen-year-old, I thought it was romantic as hell. It led to more than one fantasy of me revealing as an omega and finding my scent-matched pack. Unfortunately, that isn’t in the cards for me.

Omegas, betas, and alphas all have the same scent until they either meet their scent matches or they form a pack bond.

All omegas have a vaguely sweet scent, betas a herby scent, and alphas a musky scent.

They’re very light and neutral, allowing everyone’s hormones to stay under control—unless they meet their scent matches.

Scent matches aren’t rare, but they also aren’t common, so most people don’t know their mates’ scents until they’re bonded. And, apparently, they never smell bad. Can you imagine bonding with someone and they smell like something you’re allergic to?

Crew and I aren’t scent matches, so I have no idea what his scent is. I’ve driven myself crazy on more than one occasion, trying to imagine what he will smell like.

I plan to be with him until he no longer needs me. Even if that means hurting myself when I have to walk away.

“No, you don’t need to do that. Enjoy your vacation. Delilah and Ren were both looking forward to it. We’ll be fine without you here. We still have to find a place of our own, plus we’ll be working. Spending time at the pack house is going to be like a vacation for us.”

It really will be. Pack Owens is loaded. Both Evelyn and Adan come from wealthy families and having two well-paid doctors in the pack means they won’t be running out of money anytime soon.

Another sigh from Dad has my eyes narrowing as I slow down to turn onto the road the house is off of. “I just feel bad—”

“Enough, Dad. You’re going to enjoy your vacation.

I’m turning into the driveway now.” I squeal when I find Ruby and her pack waiting for us.

“Plus, Ruby’s here to help us unpack. Stop worrying, Dad.

We’re going to be okay on our own. Yes, the house is a little big for the two of us, but I think we’ll be fine. ”

“Oh, right. There was something I forgot to tell you, Kiara.”

I’m only half listening to him as I pull around the circular driveway, stopping just behind Ruby’s car. My best friend is jumping in the air and clapping her hands but darts toward my car as soon as I put it into park. She slams her hands against my window, and I shake my head.

“What was that?”

“That was Ruby slamming her hands on the window.” I snort as she yanks the door open.

“Bestie!” She squeals and bends down to hug me awkwardly, her purple hair falling into my face. I smile as I suck in her sweet scent. Nothing smells better than an omega—although, I might think differently if I ever bond with a pack.

“Hello, Ruby.” Dad’s voice is amused.

Her head snaps up, a sheepish grin on her face. “Hi, Akira. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize Kiara was on a call.”

“Are we having a party in Kiara’s car?” Crew asks, poking his head inside the door.

I slam my head back against the seat, an exasperated laugh spilling from me. “Well, I’m trying to have a conversation with Dad, but Ruby burst in and then you joined.”

“Oh, hey, Akira. I hope you’re having a blast in Europe! We need to get our stuff unloaded so we can return the truck. I’m sure we’ll talk soon!” Crew nudges Ruby aside so he can brush his lips against mine. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.” I sigh as he steps back, waving at Ruby’s pack to join him.

Her alphas, Christopher and Adrian, along with one of her betas, Tyson, trail Crew to the truck.

Her other beta, Allison, remains leaning against their car, but she sends me a quick wave before returning her attention back to her phone.

“Okay, Dad. What were you trying to tell me?”

He clears his throat. “When we agreed to let you and Crew stay at the pack house, we didn’t realize—”

“What the fuck is Mason doing here?” I ask, jaw dropping as my gorgeous stepbrother strolls out the front door and heads for my car.

Fuck.

Somehow he’s gotten hotter in the last three years. That shouldn’t be possible. He was hot enough as a teenager—he shouldn’t keep getting more attractive as he gets older.

“That’s what I was trying to tell you, Kiki. Mason, Alexander, and Davis are staying at the house for a bit while they finish the remodels on their pack house.”

Well, fuck me sideways.

That’s not at all what I wanted to hear.

I have to spend the next however long living under the same roof as my teenage crushes.

Fantastic. I’m sure nothing will go wrong.

“Okay, Dad. Thanks for the heads-up. I’ve gotta go. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Ruby’s eyes are wide as she tears her eyes away from Mason to meet mine. “Well, shit.”

“No kidding.” I sigh, unbuckling my seat belt and nudging her out of the way. “I better get this over with.”

Here goes nothing.