Chapter Nine – Noelle
Orgasms are nice. I know we, as omegas, are told to explore our bodies, get to know them, before we find our packs—but self-exploration definitely cannot be compared to letting someone else take the reins. A part of me still can’t believe Felix went there, but a bigger part of me is glad he did.
It was amazing. Honestly, my head is still spinning by the time Matteo and Nico come inside the house and tell Felix and I to get dressed and come outside. Both of them give Felix a long, lingering look—probably because they can smell me on him—but they don’t say anything about it.
I suppose that’s how it’s going to be from now on. Packs share everything. In a perfect pack, there are no secrets, especially when it comes to their mate… and in that scenario, I’m that mate.
Man, it still doesn’t sound real.
Felix and I hurry to dress for the weather outside, and once we’re good to go, wearing our puffy jackets and boots that go up to our knees, we head out.
As we venture away from the house, I don’t know what to expect.
The sky has cleared up, blue finally peeking out.
It’s late in the afternoon, so the sun hangs low in the horizon thanks to the short winter days.
What bits of clouds are left are a pretty pink hue, dotting the sky, making it look like a watercolor painting.
Felix holds my gloved hand as we walk, following Matteo and Nico around the side of the house.
It looks almost as though we’re going to the back, but—no, I soon learn as we start to walk away from the house, we’re not going to the back, where a snow-covered patio sits.
I bet we’re going to the gazebo that’s by the nearby lake.
I’ve seen pictures from Miranda’s socials; in the summer, it’s gorgeous.
In the winter, it’s a winter wonderland.
Eventually, Matteo coughs and stops walking, turning around to face me and Felix. “Close your eyes,” he instructs. “I’m going to carry you the rest of the way.” As he says this, Felix lets go of my hand and takes a step away.
“I can walk just fine,” I say, but based on the look Matteo is giving me, I can tell he’s not going to give this up, so I surrender and shut my eyes. The über alpha picks me up effortlessly a few seconds later, heaving me into his arms.
“You better promise to keep those eyes closed,” he warns with a playful growl.
That growl does something to me. I squirm in his grip and turn my face against his chest as I mumble, “Yeah, I promise.”
I hear Nico deadpan, “I told you we should’ve blindfolded her. What if she peeks?”
“I’m not going to peek,” I say, but based on his silence, I don’t know if he believes me.
Ah, well. Whatever they want to be a surprise will be a surprise; he and Matteo were outside for a while today, after the kiss in Matteo’s room.
I don’t know what the alphas have planned, but I am excited to see it, whatever it is.
“Come on,” Matteo says. “Let’s get there.”
For a while, all I hear is the crunch of snow beneath snowboots as we walk along.
Or, I should say, as the three guys walk along and Matteo carries me.
Not going to lie, it is kind of nice to be carried around like something precious.
It’s not something I’m used to, but a girl, especially an omega girl, could get used to being treated like a princess.
I don’t know how long it is, but it feels like an eternity, though in reality it’s probably mere minutes before Matteo’s deep voice says, “We’re here. Keep your eyes closed. I’m going to put you down, okay?”
“Okay,” I say, and instantly the alpha sets me on my feet. It’s a strange thing to be set down and regain your own balance after being carried, and having my eyes closed still definitely doesn’t help, but I play along with their surprise. Behind the scarf I wear, I can’t stop grinning.
The guys move around me, to stand behind me, and it’s a moment longer before Matteo says, “You can open your eyes now.”
The moment he says it, my eyelids lift, and I come face-to-face with their little surprise—although I shouldn’t call it little. There isn’t anything little about it.
It’s just as I thought: we were at the gazebo. Its wooden structure has been cleaned off, multiple pairs of skates resting on the steps. It sits directly beside a frozen-over lake, whose nearby surface has been shoveled clean, the ice reflecting the blues and hints of pink in the darkening sky.
It’d be beautiful if that’s all there was, but there’s more.
The gazebo is strung up with Christmas lights, the strings with big bulbs. The lights are wrapped around every wooden beam, even strung under the gazebo’s roof, creating a holiday glow. It’s the very definition of romantic, and my breath catches when I gaze at the picturesque scene.
“Do you like it?” Nico asks after a few moments.
“Yes.” What else can I say? Of course I do. “I love it. It’s beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you,” Felix says.
“Ignore him. He didn’t do anything but distract you while Matteo and I were out here doing the real work—”
“Hey, it was my idea to string the lights.”
“Yeah, but you weren’t out here stringing them. You were too busy getting busy—”
Matteo’s chest reverberates with a growl, and he silences them both by saying, “Enough.” The über steps around me, standing between me and the beautiful scene.
“Noelle, I know we’ve been fools, but no more.
We want you to be our omega. We want you as our mate.
” The normally stony, silent alpha is, for once, laying his emotions bare.
I love it.
I… I think I love them. Miranda was right. I think I’ve loved them for a while.
We’ve wasted so much time, huh?
When I don’t say a word, Matteo flat out asks, “Will you? Will you be ours?” While he’s before me, Felix and Nico are on either side of me. I’m surrounded by alphas, and yet I’ve never felt more at home, more at peace.
This is right where I’m supposed to be. How silly were we all for trying to ignore the link between us? Fate has been trying to push us together for years now. Imagine where we would be if we wouldn’t have resisted the pull.
There’s only one thing I can say to them, one single word that slips from me easier than the breath in my lungs, and that’s “Yes.” Just one three-letter word, and in the blink of an eye, everything about my future changes.
Nothing stays the same. Everything becomes different, and at the same time, so much clearer.
All I can see is them. Felix and his gentle kindness.
Nico and his earnest but witty self. Matteo and his normally stone-cold exterior that’s now radiating nothing but an unfamiliar warmth—but at the same time, it’s more familiar than anything in the world.
A contradiction, yes, but one that I welcome more than anything.
They’re mine. These three alphas are mine, and I genuinely can’t wait to tell the world.
The moment the word is spoken, Matteo rushes to me and sweeps me off my feet, lifting me up in the air as he brings his mouth to mine.
He kisses me hard and roughly, and I can’t help but imagine his kisses are a sign of how he’ll be in bed—not a thought I should have right now, but one I can’t push away, either.
He only sets me down so the others can grab hold of me and kiss me in their mini-celebration.
Felix is next, and he wraps his arms around my back as he goes in for a kiss. I stand on my tiptoes—not the easiest thing to do with the boots I wear—but I manage. Our mouths meet, and for a few seconds, I reacquaint myself with those wonderful lips.
“It’s all right,” Nico says loudly. “I’ll patiently wait my turn.” Then he starts singing The Christmas Song, launching into chestnuts roasting on an open fire. He does a pretty good job nailing the tune, too, but he makes it plain that he’s going to keep singing until it’s his turn to kiss me.
I laugh into Felix’s kiss, which makes the alpha pull away from me and mutter, “Fine. Better give Nico what he wants, otherwise he’ll never shut up.”
I’m smiling when I turn to Nico, and his singing gets jumbled when it becomes clear he doesn’t know the lyrics to the next part of the song.
Beneath his puffy jacket, he shrugs it off before he grabs me and pulls me close, picking me up much like Matteo did, only he twirls us around as he says, “I’ve been waiting for this forever.
” And then he brings his mouth to mine, kissing me so hard my toes curl in my boots.
He puts me down, therefore stopping the twirl, and right when he pulls his mouth off mine, he whispers, “Whoa. Dizzy.”
“From the kiss or the spinning?” I ask.
He flashes me a toothy grin. “My manly ego wants to say my dizziness is unrelated to both, but, if we’re being honest here, it’s all from you. You make me feel all warm and gooey inside, like a cookie fresh out of the oven.”
Matteo talks over him, “You want to skate? We brought Miranda’s shoes out. You guys have about the same size feet, I think.”
“Um… I’ve never skated before,” I say. With every passing minute, the sky darkens even more, which makes the Christmas lights hanging on the gazebo appear even brighter, their colors glowing deeper. “I’ll probably just fall.”
“We won’t let you fall,” Felix says the same moment Nico quips, “Falling’s half the fun.”
I go with them to the gazebo, and to my surprise, Matteo drops to his knees before me and helps me out of my boots.
One after the other, he pulls off my boot and then helps my foot into the skate, which he then ties tight.
When he’s busy doing the second one, I say, “You know, I could get used to this.” As I say it, the über tosses me a mischievous glance, meaning he probably knows I don’t mean I could get used to him doing my shoes.
No, I meant I could get used to the über on his knees for me.