19. Claire
Later that night I found myself on a scavenger hunt.
We’d split up again, Adrien and Riley having an impromptu date while I had one with Vance. We were trying to figure out exactly what we needed to do for the second clue.
I couldn’t fault the founder’s logic as cuckoo as it all seemed. We did seem to be growing closer by the day, and the moment that Hector had with our pack had meant a lot to all of us. I could tell how surprised Adrien and Vance were at their easy inclusion.
Plus, after Adrien’s confession today about his family, I couldn’t help but want to smother him in love and show him that not all parents were crap.
Fuck, what if they didn’t even want kids?
“What’s got that look on your face, Peach?” Vance asked as we walked to our destination.
“I just realized that we’ve never talked about whether Adrien or you actually want kids,” I said with a shrug. “I know you both haven’t had the greatest experience with that.”
“True,” Vance said, his blue eyes twinkling behind his glasses. “But if anything, I think that’s made us want them more over the years. To be able to give someone the unconditional love growing up that we didn’t get to experience would be amazing. We actually had begun talking about adoption recently.”
The tension completely slid from my shoulders as a breath of relief left me.
“Is that something you still want to do? Adoption, I mean?”
His hand tightened on mine. “I guess that would depend on what you’d want to do, omega. You didn’t seem opposed when Riley was talking about filling you up in the truck the other night.”
I stumbled over my feet on the sidewalk. Thankfully Vance was quick to right me, pulling me closer to him. I let his body heat sink into me, reaching up on my tiptoes to try and reach his face.
With a low chuckle he bent, giving me a slow seductive kiss that had me melting. But since we were in the middle of a sidewalk, I pulled back, choosing to rub my cheek against his.
“I’m not opposed,” I said, with a small smile on my lips. “Although don’t expect me to pop out an army like Riley’s mom. I think two might be my max.”
Vance cursed under his breath, tucking me against him and pulling his coat around me.
“First, you scent mark me, and then you fill my head with visions of you having our kids,” he said, sounding slightly tortured. “Are you trying to ruin me, Peach?”
“Didn’t I do that when I took your knot the other night, alpha?” I asked, my tone way more innocent than my question.
“Trouble,” he said with a huff. “I still can’t tell if Riley’s sass rubbed off on you or if you’re just as feisty in your heart and only let it out at certain times.”
“A mystery you can solve another day, alpha,” I said. “Well, if we make it through this courting countdown list.”
“List or not, you’re ours,” Vance said seriously. “Unless you tell us to, we’re not going anywhere.”
I knew he meant that, I could feel it in my bones. It was moments like this that made me fall for him more. Vance was usually friendly and inquisitive, his glasses, freckles, and lithe frame giving him a cozy vibe for an alpha. But despite that warmth, when it came to making sure his intentions were clear, he definitely didn’t hold back.
Well, unless you counted when he’d grazed my neck with his teeth.
I wasn’t quite ready for a bite from him and Adrien, but I knew that it wouldn’t take long for me to get there.
Hell, if they kept being so freaking thoughtful and sexy and just damn irresistible, I’d probably sink my teeth into them just like I had Riley. For now, my instincts were appeased that my scent was wrapped around Vance’s.
“The only place we’re going now is the bookstore,” I said, sliding my hand in his once again and pulling him into The Book Hollow.
“What makes you think we’ll find a clue to the second piece here?” he asked.
“Well, we think the second clue is about opening ourselves up to one another right?” I confirmed. “Next be careful, next be quick, open yourself, it’s just a nick.”
“It’s either that or we need to perform some kind of Holiday Hollow seance with a blood rite,” Vance said. “How does the town feel about the occult?”
A laugh spilled from my lips as we slipped through the shelves. “Well, we have a few practitioners but the whole town gets pretty into Halloween, Samhain, and Dia de los Muertos.”
“So basically any holiday or celebration.”
“Now you’re learning,” I said, shooting him a wink. “But honestly, I don’t think we literally need to bleed ourselves dry or anything. That”s why I thought it might be a good idea to come here.”
“Good. Anything that involves you getting hurt is automatically out, weird traditions be damned.”
The plan for the scavenger hunt was to take your partner and show them something that meant something to you or find something you enjoyed. We figured along the way, we’d be opening ourselves up like that damn line on the list and maybe one of the store keepers would bless us with another piece of the town’s gift.
So far we’d been to the cafe and received some weird eyes from my employees, before Vance took me to this really cool exhibit that he had loved at the local museum. It was all about mysteries and detectives which totally fit the theme for the evening. I hadn’t had a chance to go home beforehand from all the work craziness, but we’d had fun in the gift shop, trying on different disguises and making each other laugh.
“So why the bookstore?” Vance asked.
“Because I have an order to pick up,” I said, heading to the counter.
One thing I loved about The Book Hollow was that it was so light, bright, and airy. Air plants decorated the walls in-between the birch shelves and lights twinkled along the ceiling. Sheer curtains hung in the windows and low music swirled through the space.
It reminded me of a nest, honestly. Okay, not my nest, but some of the ones other omegas preferred. I’d been using my bedroom as my makeshift nest whenever my heat struck. I told myself I didn’t make a true nest because my cottage was so small, but in truth it was because I didn’t want to make a unique space and not have the scents in it I so desperately craved. But now that Riley and I had found our way and I was becoming part of a pack, maybe all that would change.
Hell, Autumn even had a damn skylight in hers. But everyone had different tastes. Regardless, the bookstore was welcoming.
“Hey guys!” Natalie, the owner, said brightly when she saw us. “I haven’t seen you in awhile, Vance. We got that new shipment in for that urban fantasy series you like. Oh, and Claire! I have your order right here. You’re going to love this one, it was so so good.”
“I’ve been working over at Claire’s on the days I want to get out of my office,” Vance said, looking over fondly at me. “But I will definitely take one of those new releases and whatever Claire ordered.”
Natalie bobbed her head excitedly, turning behind her and plucking a book from the display shelf behind her before snagging my book off a different one.
“I forgot to say congrats on your courting! Everyone is super excited for you all, including me,” she said, with a grin, setting the titles down on the counter. “Sorry I missed the ceremony.”
I saw the moment Vance saw what I’d requested, his eyebrows raising in surprise and his cheeks pinkening ever so slightly. Okay, maybe I was imagining things, but he did look a little sheepish.
“That’s what you ordered?”
“Yep,” I said proudly. “The author happens to be really important to me so I’ve decided to read all of his works.”
“Oh my god,” Natalie gasped. “You’re the Vance Laveaux? How did I not know that?! Okay, excuse me while I fangirl here, but would you be open to doing a signing? And I don’t say that just for my own collection. We have quite a few locals in this town that love your novels too.”
“Um yeah,” Vance said with a nod. “We can work something out.”
“Eeek, best night ever!” Natalie said happily. “I don’t want to interrupt the serious courting that is going on here, so I won’t talk your ear off now, but drop by when you’re free. Consider these two on the house as a thank you!”
Natalie, wrapped both books in lilac tissue paper before dropping them into the bag and handing them our way. For a moment I waited to see if she had anything special to give us, but alas, no such luck.
Still, I was very excited to read Vance’s work.
Natalie shot me a huge thumbs up when Vance wasn’t looking, fanning herself with her other hand.
“Where to next?” Vance asked as we stepped outside.
“Would you be offended if I said home?” I asked. “I know it’s still early…”
“But you want to spend time with them too?” Vance mused.
“I’ve had a blast with you tonight, I don’t want you to think that I haven’t,” I rushed out. “I kind of would just rather curl up on your lap then walk all over town, and I wouldn’t mind if our boys were there too.”
The damn dimples appeared on Vance’s cheeks again as he grinned.
“I don’t think that at all, Peach,” he promised. “What I do think is that we’re on the same page about wanting some full pack and quality time. Maybe the two of them will be back early, if not I’m sure we can find something to get up to until they do.”
It was only when we were driving back to Vance and Adrien’s place that I had realized I had called it home, and he hadn’t even questioned it.
When we pulled up to the house and saw Riley’s truck there, I almost laughed. They were standing on the porch with coats on like they’d just arrived. The way their faces lit up as we approached had my chest warming. It was nice having not just one person, but three, who got excited at the mere sight of you.
“You missed us too, didn’t you?” Riley accused as he pulled me into a hug.
“I did,” I admitted without hesitation. “We’ve been all around town looking for our next courting item, and as much as I love spending time with Vance, I missed you and Adrien too.”
“Any luck?” Adrien asked. I narrowed my eyes at his tone, he seemed a bit too casual in how he spoke.
“Can we go inside first, it’s too cold out here,” Vance urged as he bounced from foot to foot. A cold spell had blown in as the evening wore on and he was over it.
“Oh, we can have a fire tonight,” Riley suggested.
“Of course,” Vance agreed as he pulled the beta into a greeting of their own before heading right for the fireplace.
“I think he would have done one anyway,” I laughed at the alpha’s eagerness.
“Vance is always cold,” Adrien said with a small laugh. “Just wait until you get to feel his cold feet in the middle of the night. That’s what nightmares are made of.”
“Speaking of the night,” I said, drawing their attention. There’d been something I meant to bring up recently, and this just felt like the right time.
Vance finished lighting the start log before grabbing a throw blanket. I’d settled on the couch between Adrien and Riley and he draped it over us before taking the empty armchair with his own blanket. Damn it, I wanted to cuddle in Vance’s lap and snuggle into him. Maybe he could come sit where I was on the couch, and I could just lay over all of them at once.
“What is it?” Adrien asked as he nudged me to continue.
“I don’t want to be apart anymore. This whole courting process is about testing out the waters of being a pack, right? But we keep breaking apart and I know that happens sometimes, but I don’t want to spend evenings like that too. Even if it’s here, or our place, I want us to stay together now.”
Adrien let out a breath of relief. “That would make us feel so much better. I don’t like you two across town. How could I protect you like that?”
“If it means all the cozy fires and snuggles, count me in,” Riley agreed.
“Oh, didn’t you have something you wanted to tell us?” I prompted Adrien right back. “Don’t act like your cute little tone out there wasn’t you hiding something from us just to rile me up.”
He grinned at my assessment. “But you’re adorable when you’re fired up.”
“And we weren’t hiding anything, we were just talking about how we’d come back early in hopes you guys would already be back and you pulled in right after,” Riley clarified.
“But it works out,” Adrien said. “I want to talk about something. But… let’s grab some snacks.”
“Subtle,” Vance teased his husband but Adrien didn’t look back as he scurried off to the kitchen. The smell of popcorn filled the air as we waited. It felt like whatever he was about to drop on us was monumental. I wondered if it was about his parents… but the way he seemed anxious didn’t fit the same frustration he’d shown during that conversation.
“Well, while we wait on him I’ve been thinking about what you’ve said,” Vance said as he rubbed a hand over his chin. “Our house is much bigger than yours. I’m not asking you to give yours up, but why don’t you start bringing some things here as well so it’s not stressful and feels a bit more like home to you.”
My eyes widened as I turned to Riley, who was trying to not laugh. Both of us had enough belongings to fill both houses.
“You don’t know what you’re asking,” I said in an attempt at a joke, but it ended up sounding more uncertain.
“What I want to ask is for you to move in every single thing you both own immediately, but I don’t want to push you too hard. Look around. We’ve never settled anywhere long enough to make it a home,” Vance admitted as Adrien came in with snacks and sat them down at the coffee table.
Taking in the room I could easily see what he meant. The walls weren’t plain, there was some generic artwork, but it lacked… personality. Even the throw blankets and decorative pillows were a neutral color.
“He’s right. We’ve never wanted to invest time or effort into something when we may have to pick up and leave. Like we’ve said before, not everyone is accepting like Holiday Hollow is,” Adrien agreed. “Your own touches will just make it feel like home. I don’t know that I’ve ever really had one.” He said the last part almost absently, getting lost in his own thoughts.
Vance reached out and pulled his husband closer so he was sitting on the arm of the chair and he could offer comfort. They were so in-tune with each other, and I couldn”t wait until our whole pack was the same.
“My foster parents didn’t like that I was bisexual. I came out and lost my entire support system fairly quickly. So I went as far away as I could manage, and it eventually led me to this one,” he chuckled, bumping into Adrien. “France was amazing, but I was afraid to tell anyone about myself. Then I found myself in the shop Adrien worked at, and he won me over and enticed me out of my shell, one treat at a time.”
“I told you a bit about my parents earlier, how truly vile they were towards us, they completely refused to acknowledge Vance at all. Combined with his experience, you see why we were hesitant and used blockers,” Adrien said before taking a few deep breaths. “The towns we were in before weren’t much better, but I’m beginning to see that Holiday Hollow is different in a lot of ways. I’m different in a lot of ways now too, thanks to all of you.”
Vance looked at him with total adoration. “Love you Ady.”
“Je t’aime, mon cheri,” Adrien said softly, running his hand through his goatee. We waited for him to continue since it was obvious he had more to add. “I want to stop taking blockers.”
My breath caught at the prospect, hope dangling in his words. Talk about a courting gift.
“Really?” Riley asked. “What changed?”
“You two,” he said simply. “I don’t want to hide a single side of myself from you. But, I haven’t gone on and off them like Vance. I have taken strong doses for a very long time. It may be a while before my scent comes back.”
“And we’ll be patient,” I promised him.
“Well, I’d say this conversation definitely has shown vulnerability,” Riley said with a flourish as he stood up.
“Uh, what are you doing?” I questioned when he didn”t bother to give a single explanation as to where he was going with this conversation.
“Did you find our next clue?” Vance asked curiously. “You didn’t mention it.”
Riley moved out from his spot and went to his jacket, pulling out what looked like bubble wrap. As he came over he unwrapped a perfectly cut rectangle of glass.
“Janet pulled me aside this afternoon, actually cornered me would be a more apt description. She explained that it can’t be up to random people in the Hollow to know when we’ve reached this point. She handed it to me and swore me to secrecy until I thought we had found a way to be vulnerable with each other. If ever a moment counted, this was it,” he explained with a chuckle.
“Glass?” I said as I studied it and replayed our clue in my head. “Oh my gosh how dense. Here I was thinking nursery rhymes and open books.”
“It’s funny,” Vance laughed in surprise. “We have opened up. Already we’ve spent a few days doing this whole thing, and I know more about you two than before. And cluing you in on our own stuff wasn’t quite as painful as I anticipated.”
“A pack is a delicate process, just as glass is delicate. We have to take our time and be careful as we build it. The glass makes sense,” Adrien agreed. We moved on to the snacks as the conversation veered away from intense topics.
“Where did you two end up going?” Riley laughed at my question, as if he were reliving the memory and I just knew it was going to be another Holiday Hollow type of moment.
“The theater in town was having their horror night. I know you hate them so I convinced Adrien to go with me. Apparently, you and Vance are both cowards,” he teased and blew a kiss our way. “We walked in, paid for popcorn and drinks, and Lettie nearly pulled Adrien over the counter and gave him the stern ‘you hurt my brother and I’ll unalive you’ talk.”
“Which included some horror movie variations of how she’d handle us if we hurt you two,” Adrien mused. “My favorite was the very colorful description of taking us to a corn maze and letting the town hunt us down.”
“She’s nuts, but her heart is in the right place,” I said as a yawn overtook me. “Two down, three to go. But for now, how about we pile into bed and put on something not so scary.”
“Sounds perfect,” Riley agreed. He helped me up, and we both laughed as we headed right for the alphas’ bed, claiming our space on it until they came in and made a Riley and Claire sandwich. My eyes were already closing. It had been an insanely long week, and with their warmth already surrounding us, it wasn’t long before I gave in.