45. Epilogue Calliope
"It was my roommate!" Winnie yells as she comes in the front door waving a wine bottle.
Bax deftly plucks it out of her hand while she passes and takes it to the kitchen to uncork it.
Sunny, Clara and Rose are already here. Clara's standing, holding her wine glass next to the fireplace, while Rose is typing away on her phone on the leather couch with Sunny sitting next to her.
I'm sitting in the big reclining chair. The guys had set up a small table in the corner and are filling it with food.
"What was your roommate?" I ask.
"The Library vandal," she says, and we all freeze. The guys peer in from the kitchen. I can feel their tension through the bond.
"It was?" I ask. I'd never met Winnie's roommate.
"Yeah. I didn't know her before I moved in with her a few months ago. I'll never do that again, by the way. Answer an ad for a roommate. I don't know what I will do, but not that."
"Winnie," Bax growls, trying to get her back on track. The guys hang on to her every word. They've been incredibly stressed about the vandal situation. Visiting the Library every few hours when I'm working to stand as a library guards.
"Oh, right," she goes on. "I found the spray paint that she'd used. It was the same color as the writing on the Library. And who just keeps spray paint anyway? She also had pages from those books you said had been ripped up and written on."
"Did you confront her?" Rose puts away her phone and is on the edge of her seat. Drama seems to get Rose's attention above anything else.
"Heck no!"
I try not to laugh. I've learned that Winnie never swears. I have no idea why. She doesn't have a problem with us doing it, and doesn't mind it in our books. She just doesn't.
"I put all the stuff in a bag, took it straight to the police, and told them what I thought," she explains.
"They acted like it wasn't enough and then sort of acted like they thought the stuff might be mine!
" Now, her story is officially stressing me out.
I'd never suspect Winnie of doing such a thing.
She is just too kind and lovely. "But the moment they came to the apartment to ask her about it, at my insistence, the stupid B-word confessed.
Took the police completely by surprise."
The girls and I laugh, but the guys just look relieved as fuck. Seth actually slumps against the door frame where he's been listening.
"Did she say why?" I ask.
"Started spouting all that bullcrap about designations needing to know their place and that certain books were poisoning society.
The usual crazy stuff from the news. The craziest thing is that she's an omega.
I tried to get her to come to book club with us a ton.
She was totally freaked by the idea and tried to get me to stop going.
That's why I didn't think it was a good idea to have the meeting at my place. "
"Wait, what are you going to do about a roommate now?" I ask.
"I don't know. The landlord was kind enough to offer to let me out of my lease. He's thinking of turning the house into a vacation rental anyways. But I can't afford a lot up here and this time of year nothing is on the market."
"What about the cottage?" I offer. "I want to let go of my lease anyways. It's really reasonably priced and the utilities come with it."
Winnie lights up at this idea. "And I won't have to have a roommate. That sounds so great!" We beam at each other.
All the food gets placed, and the drinks are poured.
The guys retreat into their study to work.
We insisted they didn't need to, especially since they've read the books.
My pack and I had our own impromptu book club about it around the dinner table last night.
But they repeat what they'd talked to me about last night.
That I need time with my friends. A chance to miss them , as Bax had put it. An all-girls book club.
Rose had called it an omega book club. When I point out that that's an unfair name since she's a beta, she blushed for some reason. I hope I haven't made her feel uncomfortable or unwanted.
"Well, I guess I can be an honorary omega with the four of you," she says.
It's a perplexing thing to say, but then I remember my parents and their attempts to basically make me a beta.
I decide that there's no way for me to understand the complexities of her background with her designation, and take her at her word that it's what she wants.
We all agree on the club name. Rose is one of us, no matter what her official status.
So, we're officially dubbed The Omega Book Club.
I look around my home with my pack and friends, and am happy.
Thank you for reading A Pack of Cozy!