Chapter 8 Robin
Robin
I find a spot at the high school parking lot, grabbing the big box of toys that awaits me on the passenger seat as I head straight for the gym.
The memories come crashing back instantly, and once again, I am seventeen, confused, and a total idiot.
The gym still smells of wood polish and faint perspiration as the school’s banners welcome me back like an old friend.
That was the age I made the biggest mistake of my life, and it will surely go with me to the grave.
I’m greeted by a volunteer at the door. “Just one box of toys,” I tell her.
The woman smiles, pointing at the table. “Just over there, sir.”
I match her grin, moving over to the table. The town is hosting a local toy drive, and every year I come with a box stacked to the brim.
Some of the toys I bought myself, but I also brought toys from the Lost and Found box at the lodge—dolls and teddy bears that were never reclaimed. So, I thought they could go to better use and help a struggling family this year. Plus, it’s good publicity for our lodge.
I tried to get Frost involved today, but he’s currently recovering from the world’s worst hangover. He had more women over at his cabin last night, and some of the guests complained, too.
How am I supposed to tell them that my brother is a slut and needs these vices to help him get over "the one who got away”?
Unlike my brothers, I’m keeping my distance from Noelle. Even though I was very adamant in my instructions, Shepard went against my wishes and still had breakfast at her Nana’s house.
Out of both of my brothers, he’s the one I thought I could count on the most, but no… It’s always the quiet ones who surprise you the most.
I’m still seething at the idiot as I place a teddy bear with a red velvet bow down beside a creepy clown doll.
I once got Noelle a similar bear for her sixteenth birthday. She promised me she would keep it forever.
My Alpha stirs at the sound of a familiar voice, and then her scent drifts my way: warm, sweet caramel…
Fuck. It’s even better than the faint whiff I got from Frost’s jacket.
“Just a box of toys, please,” she warbles.
Finally, I turn. Shit. It is her... It was only a matter of time until we ran into each other. It’s a small town, after all. Now I try to make a point of being invisible as the Omega heads over.
But when I hear her intake of breath, I close my eyes.
Of course, she was bound to see me. Like my brothers, I’m six foot five; I couldn’t be invisible if I tried.
“Well, well, well… if it isn’t Robin Wynter.”
I sigh, meeting her sparkling brown eyes. They ignite that long-forgotten passion inside of me, the one I thought I’d buried long ago, and now I try to keep the purr out of my voice as I say, “Hello, Noelle... I heard you were back in town.”
She balances the box of toys on her hip, shaking her head at me with clear disappointment. “I bet you did. No doubt your brothers told you.”
They did, but I don’t bother confirming that fact. Because then she will know that we’ve all been talking about her.
A gritty sigh leaves me. “Look, Shepard shouldn’t have dropped in on you like that. And Frost…well… honestly, I can’t fault him there. It was lucky he was there to help you out on the road.”
She rolls her eyes and approaches the table, dropping the contents of the box unceremoniously with the others.
They’re all toys from her childhood, most likely gathering dust in her Nana’s attic. It’s only when a familiar bear drops out with the rest of the toys that I pause.
It’s the bear I got her… with the same red velvet bow. My Alpha whimpers, bowing his head in shame.
I get it. She doesn’t want it anymore. But I won’t deny that it hurts.
Her eyes flit up to mine, and when she sees me looking at the bear, I glance away, pretending to be nonchalant.
But my Alpha is dying inside. It's a rejection of his Omega, and it’s no more than I deserve.
Once she’s finished depositing her childhood toys onto the table, she saunters back to the doors without so much as a second glance.
I take it she got her car off the road. Her Nana’s place is quite the drive from here. I bet one of her dads went and collected it off the highway, and at least she has some Alphas in her life taking care of her.
Still, that should have been us collecting her car for her.
The idea of her driving in this weather doesn’t bode well with me. I heard on the news that a storm is about to hit Silverpine. Maybe I should offer her a ride back to her Nana’s—don’t want her to get caught up in it, after all.
Unfortunately, before she reaches the gym doors, a strong wind blows them wide open, and then the entire building shakes in protest.
Fuck. That’s more than just a storm.
It’s a raging tempest.
“Everyone, away from the doors!” a volunteer hollers next.
Two other volunteers rush forward to force the doors shut. They’re not quite strong enough, though, so I run over and help.
We finally get the bolt down, and a tense silence spreads throughout the gymnasium as another wind shakes the building.
It's Noelle’s eyes I find in the small crowd.
Well, it looks like we’re trapped for the time being. There’s no driving in that storm anymore.
Hours pass by, and there’s still no sign of the storm clearing. In the end, the volunteers hand out cups of tea and coffee.
To make matters worse, the generator broke an hour ago, so now we are spread out on various cots and blankets.
I watch Noelle as she huddles on a cot near the corner, texting wildly on her phone. I doubt she can even get a signal.
I’ve tried contacting Frost, but he’s probably still sleeping off the world’s worst hangover. The world could literally be ending, and he would still sleep through the whole damn thing.
There’s no one at the front desk at the lodge, and I just hope Shepard has the common sense to take over.
Now, he has to be the handyman and the face of the lodge, and I will apologize if I survive this.
“Fuck!”
The curse comes from Noelle. A few people turn her way, and several old ladies shake their heads in disappointment at her language.
Perhaps I should go over and check on her.
She does look cold. Her breath clouds as she shivers, wrapping the blankets around her shoulders.
But I would be a massive hypocrite if I made my move, especially after I chastised my brothers for doing the same.
Yet, she looks so cold and vulnerable.
Once again, I see her at age seventeen standing in front of her drive. How her big brown eyes were magnified behind those glasses, making her tears bigger than they appeared.
I was a dick then. We all were.
But I am not about to let her freeze to death in the corner. Even old Mrs. Peterson has her Alpha by her side to keep her warm.
That’s it. I’m going over.
I’m just a concerned Alpha helping an Omega out—that’s all. I can do this. Even if she does reject me…
No one can say that Robin Wynter has never helped a damsel in distress after this.