Chapter 32 Winnie
Winnie
Mornings at the farmers market are some of my favorites in the spring.
Every stall is a rainbow of pastel colors.
Flowers burst from some, vegetables from others.
Some have homemade clothing or décor. Food trucks line the path, offering tasty treats while I browse.
The sun is just breaking through the clouds as I stroll in one of my favorite sundresses, Deputy at the end of a leash, sniffing everyone and everything in sight.
Yesterday, the heat spike at my cabin with Gage and Corbin left me exhausted, but today I feel amazing. Like my energy has doubled.
“Winnie!” Erin calls from behind me. She’s wearing her uniform and is clearly monitoring things at the festival. “And how’s my favorite deputy?” she adds in a sing-song voice, rubbing him between the ears. He’s so big now she barely has to lean over.
“Hey, Erin. How’s it going?” I ask.
“Oh, ya know. Quiet. Always quiet here. I love that about this place.” She smiles like she’s telling a joke I don’t quite get. “Your alphas are here.”
And sure enough, I hear them before I see them. Motors roar above the sound of milling people as five bikes park along the street in front of the farmers market barrier.
“Doesn’t that mask bother you? It’s warm today. Why can’t he just take it off?” Erin asks.
A hot wave of protection and anger rises up in me. Erin’s nice enough, but I’m going to nip this line of questioning in the bud.
“That’s none of your business,” I say coolly. “It’s nobody’s. He’s not hurting anyone.”
Erin’s eyebrows shoot up, and she looks lost for a moment before regaining herself. “You’re right. That was rude. I’m sorry.”.
The fist squeezing my gut unclenches, and I take a deep breath.
Then the guys reach us. Corbin sweeps me into his arms in an all-consuming hug. When he sets me down, Erin is already waving goodbye and heading deeper into the festival. Our eyes lock and there’s an apology in hers. I never enjoy confrontation.
My eyes find Eli, and I wonder if he’s okay here.
He catches my look and steps to my side, running a hand down my spine. “I’m okay, Softness,” he assures me.
Deputy nuzzles into his hand. Eli absently rubs him while still focused on me. Then he lifts the bottom of his mask. I take the offered column and nuzzle in, thoroughly scent-marking him. His purr revs up, and I melt a little.
“Any scent left for the rest of us, Dulzura?” Rafe asks.
I laugh and fall into his open arms, scent-marking along his chest and neck. He does the same to the top of my head. Zeke pulls me away by my hips and scent-marks into my throat from behind. My laughter bubbles up, bright even to my own ears.
Corbin and Gage are at the coffee truck and return with drinks for everyone. Gage hands me a chocolate chip espresso, and I take it tentatively.
“You know my order?” I ask.
His smile is small but proud. “Of course, Princess.” His hand brushes mine as he lets go of the cup.
“You opening the store today?” Zeke asks, arms still encircling me from behind.
“Yeah, Saturdays are always busy. The mornings will be slower because of the farmers market, but the afternoon will be heck.”
Gage chuckles a little. “You really never swear, do you?”
“Nope,” I confirm, taking a sip of coffee to hide my blush. Gage leans forward and brushes a scent mark across my cheek with his nose.
“It’s adorable,” he assures me.
“We’ll pick you up tomorrow for your family dinner?” Rafe asks, glancing around.
“Yeah. Listen, maybe I should meet with my parents on my own.” Everyone pauses at this suggestion and turns.
“What’s the matter, Sweetheart?” Corbin asks.
“Embarrassed of us?” Eli asks, and it’s meant to be nonchalant, but now that I’ve gotten to know him, I realize it’s not. I lean up on my tiptoes and kiss his masked face.
“Never,” I vow, and his eyes meet mine, full of gratitude and heat. “I’m just—uncertain of how my parents are going to react.” Actually, I’m pretty certain they won’t take their daughter being accidentally bitten against her will well at all.
Corbin steps up to me and takes my face between his hands. “Are we your mates?”
The phrase swoops through me. I haven’t said it. At first it was because this whole thing seemed so precarious. But that doesn’t feel true anymore. Everything’s started to feel solid. I nod.
“Then you’ll trust us to handle this with you. Okay, Sweetheart?” Corbin says.
“Yes, Daddy,” I breathe, knowing no one but the pack is close enough to hear.
His purr is deep and immediate. “That’s my girl.”
“What about Deputy?” Zeke asks, and it warms me up to know that he thinks of Deputy like I do.
“Sunny’s going to take him. She has a lot of land, and he’s going to enjoy running around for the day. I’ll get him tomorrow, as family dinners at my parents’ can run kind of late.”
On our way to the store, we pass Stella’s. She’s standing out front, taking down some signage.
“Hi, Stella!” I call. “How’re you doing?”
“Ugh, I’ll be better when this dusty trap is cleaned out and sold so I can get out of this bum place,” Stella replies.
I take a deep internal breath. She’s old and possibly in pain from her health issues. “Well, I wish you the best. I know we’ll be sad to see you go.”
She grunts and narrows her eyes. “Sure ya will, like your pack’s not the one angling to steal my store out from under me.”
I cock my head and furrow my brow.
“Stella, I don’t know what you heard, but that’s certainly not—” My voice trails off as I look to the alphas, who are all making variously strange expressions.
Corbin’s mouth is flat and his eyes are narrowed.
. Rafe is looking straight into the air like pretending he doesn’t exist will get him out of this conversation.
“Ah, trouble in paradise? Bad communication is never a good sign, you know,” Stella says with an absolute look of glee on her face.
“Have a nice time in Florida with the other crabs,” I say in rising irritation. I’ll regret it later, but I don’t care right now. Right now, I just need to get the alphas to my shop where I can talk to them about what in the world is going on.
The alphas file in, and I close the door behind, locking it up so that we’re not interrupted. It’s still ten minutes until opening time.
I turn to where they’re standing around the store. “What is she talking about?”
Gage takes charge of this one, which makes sense.
I found out he acts as the pack’s agent, doing bookings and major financial decisions.
“What she said isn’t right, Princess. We aren’t stealing it from under her.
It’s on the market. We hired a realtor, and we are actively seeking information on the property. ”
My heart leaps into my throat.
“Why?” I ask quietly, already hoping but not daring myself to say it out loud.
Zeke’s nervous excitement zips through the bond at the same time I feel his hands pulling me to turn toward him.
“Blossom, we were a broken fucking pack before we found you. I’d do anything to redo how I found you, what I did.
But finding you is something I’ll never regret or change.
And now that we’ve found you, leaving seems pretty impossible. ”
My entire self feels like it’s lighting up from the inside. Breath catches in my chest.
“So, you’re—you might stay?” I ask, feeling more exposed than if I were naked on Main Street.
Alphas who were scattered around the store suddenly aren’t anymore. Zeke stays at my back, but Eli crowds next to him and Rafe next to him. Corbin’s at my front and Gage is at my other side. I’m encircled in a wall of alphas.
Then the purring begins, one after another.
“Sweetheart, this is new,” Corbin says. “We don’t want to push you. Everything’s been pushed on you already. But we’ve all talked, and we’d like to be here for you. If that’s something you think you’d want?”
I nod, unable to speak for the chokehold my emotions have on my voice right now. Tears prick the edges of my vision. The purring only intensifies, their scents deepening around me.
Corbin nuzzles down into my hair, scent-marking me first, but then each of them, one after the other, puts their claim on me.
Zeke to the back of my neck, Eli to the spot just under my ear, Gage to my wrist, and Rafe to my shoulder.
Every touch is a brand, sending heat straight to my core.
Perfume pours off. One of my hands finds the back of Zeke’s neck.
The other holds to Corbin’s bicep for dear life.
Then it’s not just scent marks. It’s kisses.
Rafe kisses me for the first time, slowly, deeply.
I’d expected his kiss to be like his quick wit and charm, biting and fast, but it’s the opposite.
It’s steady and full of want and care. Zeke’s scent on the back of my neck is replaced by the feel of his tongue swirling and tasting me.
Eli’s lips caress the delicious spot just under my ear that makes my toes curl, while Gage takes a single finger into his mouth and sucks.
Corbin watches me through burning eyes before dropping to his knees, the hardwood echoing in the small space.
His hands circle my hips as he pulls me forward and plants a kiss to the sliver of exposed skin at my waist.
Every inch of me is alight with their attention, and heat absolutely burns a path from my core to my slick-soaked center. I keen, and they all snap forward, intensifying their attentions. Just as Corbin’s hooking a finger into the waist of my jeans, a knock sounds at the door.
They all freeze, and I groan. “Opening time.”
“Just ignore them,” Rafe growls.
It’s a nice idea, but another knock comes, and when I glance around, there’s a definite line forming. Though they can’t see us from the angle of the window.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” I assure them as we begin to disentangle ourselves. They file out the back door to avoid the crowd, and I straighten myself before opening the door and greeting customers for the day.
But a balloon of hope fills my chest.
They want to stay.
I want them to stay.