Chapter 14
Spending half an hour in Tyler’s presence had me in awe of Madison’s ability to tolerate him for all those years.
The man was slime.
He really and truly didn’t care about omegas or their safety if it meant he could profit off it.
I had sat through a rant about how my money would be better spent on a matchmaking service so omegas didn’t need safe housing to begin with.
After that, I had excused myself to the washroom and texted Beau, begging him to call me with an emergency when he had the chance.
Since I didn’t want to completely sour business relations with Tyler in case we ever needed to get him out of the way again, I had to instead steep in my own personal misery, nodding along and trying not to make it obvious that I was grinding my teeth.
My phone buzzed and I reached for it.
Thank god.
“Hello?”
It wasn’t Beau’s voice that greeted me, but rather his packmate, Dylan’s. “Emergency! Alve, you have to come immediately.”
“What’s going on?”
“No time to explain. We need you now!” His voice carried enough that Tyler could overhear and was perked up listening.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I ended the call and turned to Tyler, trying to summon a look of regret onto my face. “I’m so sorry, but I need to cut this short.”
“Yeah, I heard. Go on.”
I fumbled out a few platitudes, passed some money to our server on my way out, and sprinted to my car where I texted the others that Tyler would be on his way soon.
Had I failed them? What if they didn’t have enough time?
Maybe I should’ve stuck it out for longer, but they would have to forgive me.
Anything Madison needed, I would buy in a heartbeat.
I had to go straight back to my place rather than to where the rest of my pack was so we didn’t risk Tyler seeing me and getting suspicious. By the time I arrived home, Nathan had messaged.
Nathan:
Pizza is ordered and we’re on our way over
Alve:
Perfect. I’ll see you all soon.
I paced my apartment in anticipation of their arrival.
I had enough bedrooms for everyone, mostly to accommodate my sisters and their families whenever they visited.
This probably meant we would need a much bigger home.
While I could certainly pay for hotels, that wasn’t the same as being able to host someone in your home.
I looked up options, continuing my pacing. There were a couple of apartments that spanned two floors, but they would take Leo and Jude through the worst of rush-hour traffic. Maybe a house would be better…
The buzzer startled me and I tripped over myself rushing to answer it.
“We’re here,” came Madison’s voice over the speaker.
I let them inside and raced to the elevator so I could get them all the way up. On the way down, I sent my executive assistant an email requesting she get the copies of my apartment key and elevator card I had at the office in case of an emergency.
Loud meowing was my first clue I’d entirely forgotten the two additional guests I’d be hosting. In a panic, I looked up first-time cat owner essentials and ordered a rush box from a company that would get us started.
I’d never had cats before. I didn’t know the first thing about them, but I would have to learn, since they were precious to Madison.
Years of planning and hoping for an omega hadn’t prepared me for accompaniments.
I suppose I should’ve thought of it, considering Charlotte had come to her pack with two children already.
Cats were a small adjustment by comparison.
Madison held one carrier in her arms, and the other hung in Jude’s hand, everyone else laden with bags of her belongings.
“I see the mission was successful.” I stood aside, all of them filing in, the elevator cramped with five of us and Madison’s many bags.
“I had way more fun than I expected to,” Nathan announced.
A cloud of raspberry sweetness filled the air.
“Did I miss something?” I asked, trying to sort out the reason behind her response.
“Not a thing,” she said too quickly, and bustled away into the suite the second the doors opened.
Once the door closed, she let the first cat out of its carrier.
A little black face poked out, sniffing the air curiously.
Jude set down the second, and Madison freed that one as well.
Her other cat had brown patterning, but I couldn’t begin to guess at the breed or any other information about them.
They sniffed cautiously before slinking right back into their carriers.
Nerves tumbled in my stomach. If her cats didn’t like it here, did that mean she would leave? “Are they all right?”
Her expression fell. “I’m sorry. They’re probably not allowed out here. I’ll take them to the nest so they don’t come into your space.”
“What? No. They can go where they please. It wouldn’t be right to lock them away.” I bent over, reaching a tentative hand for the patterned one to sniff, like I had learned to do with dogs. “Hardly seems fair to make their world even smaller when they have to stay indoors.”
“They had a rough day,” Madison said softly, looking at me like she was about to cry. “It’s really okay for them to go anywhere?”
“They seem quite content where they are at the moment, but I have no objection if they would be more comfortable elsewhere.”
“They’ll take some time to adjust. Moving is hard on cats at the best of times.”
Leo rustled through one of the bags, pulling out a few brightly colored toys that he set in front of each carrier opening.
The cats gave them an experimental sniff, but opted to stay where they were, tucking their front feet beneath themselves.
The cats were certainly cute, even if we were a touch wary of one another.
I could see how a home might feel warmer with them around.
“What are their names?”
“This one is Pepper,” she said, tapping the nose of the fluffy black cat, then the short-haired brown one. “And this is Poppy.”
“It’s a pleasure to have you both in my home,” I told them.
Maybe it was silly to talk to them, but they both looked at me curiously, and I wanted them to feel safe.
If the cats were comfortable, then odds were much higher Madison would be, too.
“I’m afraid I have no idea what cats need, but I ordered what I hope are acceptable basics. ”
My omega perked up. “You’re buying things for them?”
“What sort of host would I be if I didn’t make sure everyone had what they needed? I’m well set up for human guests, but not for animals.”
“You don’t seem like the hosting type,” Nathan observed.
He wasn’t wrong.
“Ordinarily, I’m not.” I gestured to a photo on the wall showing more than twenty of us—my parents, sisters, in-laws, and niblings—gathered together. “I enjoy my peace, but my sisters and their families visit often enough that I decided to make sure they would always have a place to stay.”
“How are they supposed to have a place to stay if we’re here?” Madison asked. “Do they use the nest?”
“They won’t visit until things are more settled.
The nest has never been used. No one but you has ever, or will ever, stay there.
I thought it might be a bit premature to plan so far ahead, but I have no opposition to transitioning from apartment to house for the sake of additional bedrooms.” A bolt of anxiety silenced me for a second.
“Of course, that’s assuming you’d want them to stay with us.
I feel like I’m rambling. I’m getting too far ahead of myself, aren’t I? ”
Madison rose to her feet and wrapped her arms around me, halting my spiral.
She was so warm against me. “You’re so considerate of everyone.
Obviously things are still up in the air, and I’d like to meet people who would be staying with us if we all live together, but I’m not about to nix family gatherings.
The only family I have I don’t talk to. I think it would be nice to have some. ”
The buzzer heralded the arrival of our dinner. Nathan took my elevator card and went to fetch it so I didn’t have to extract myself from our omega.
What a concept.
Not once had I considered that if fate delivered me my mate, she might come with a pack in tow.
I suppose they weren’t technically a pack.
It seemed we were strangers to each other.
How did fate think we would mesh together with such a mix of personalities and experiences?
I should’ve considered that. Beau was far more like me than he was like his packmates, but he always spoke highly of them, and there was an aura of love threaded between the alphas as well as through their omega.
Perhaps I should have more trust. I had been through a great many things in my life where I couldn’t see the final destination and simply had to trust that I would get there eventually.
If a person could travel from one end of the country to the other with nothing but the road lit by their headlights in front of them, then I could navigate the path ahead of me.
One foot in front of the other might lead me from where I was now to having a pack I loved, and an omega we treasured.
Whether or not we were incongruous puzzle pieces now didn’t mean we couldn’t fit together in the future.
I could be patient.
Nathan returned with a stack of pizza and a mile wide smile. “Dinner is served.”
I didn’t hope they had magically ascertained what my favorite flavor of pizza might be, but I was delightfully shocked to find Nathan had the same favorite—black olives and Italian sausage. I earned myself a high five from him for having excellent taste.
Madison joined me to collect plates. Seeing her move about my kitchen was surreal, but I loved every moment of getting to observe her. While I may not know what fate had in store for us, my anxiety was quieting for the first time, and I was actually excited to find out.