Chapter 11 Noelle
Noelle
A snort leaves my nose when I look up at the rustic sign. “Wynter Lodge.”
A little on the nose, but Robin wasn’t lying when he said it was a beautiful place. A true winter wonderland.
Stalactites stick to the outside eaves of the lodge, glittering in the light of the sun as they drip gently, and they look as if they were placed there on purpose.
The fir trees planted outside bear all manner of colorful, twinkling lights as I walk the snow-dusted path toward the door, wrapping my coat around my body.
A warm, woody interior greets me when I step through the door. A Christmas tree dazzles me on my left, one decked with giant baubles. There are ornamental gingerbread men on the tree, too, as well as elves, Santas, angels, penguins, polar bears—anything remotely Christmassy and wintry.
There are presents wrapped beneath the tree, and a model train running its course at the base. The place looks like Santa’s workshop. All it needs is some elves, and we’re good to go.
One of their ornaments fell off the tree, and as I go to pick it up, the breath leaves my lungs. It’s a little girl made from dough, with glasses and red curly hair...
Hold on…The little girl is me. I made this back in kindergarten.
That’s when I find the branch where the ornament fell from. There I spy three little boys. One boy has blond hair, the other brown, and the last one has black hair.
With a shaking hand, I place the little girl back on the branch with her friends, and I don’t believe it.
They still have them after all these years.
I wipe a stray tear from my cheek as I turn to the front desk. No one is around to see me cry, and thank goodness.
I could have sworn I saw a silhouette through the window when I pulled up outside, and now I bounce on the balls of my feet, biting my lip.
There’s a bell on the desk, one just begging to be pressed, but I don’t want to be rude. So, I wait.
It's quiet. I thought Robin said business was booming at this time of year.
Maybe he lied. I wouldn’t be surprised, after all.
Something moves in the corner of my eye, and I jump, placing my hand on my chest.
Luckily, it’s just a big, white cat—a very judgmental big, white cat as it sits on the bottom step of the stairs that leads to the second floor, curling its tail around its body.
At least, I think it’s a cat… It could be a snow leopard for all I know, as its piercing eyes of blue watch me attentively.
When I look again, I realize it’s a Bengal. An albino Bengal with the most gorgeous spotted coat I have ever seen.
And from the light that spills in from the frosted windows, I notice that its eyes almost have a lilac tint.
Its face is long and extremely serious as I make a stupid pss pss pss noise, getting down on the floor.
“Come here, puss.”
Yet the cat continues to stare, and it’s beginning to get a little unnerving. It doesn’t want to be friends.
Oh, well. You win some and you lose some.
Suddenly, a shadow looms above me, and before I can turn around, someone whispers into my ear, “Boo.”
My yelp echoes through the lodge’s lobby. The Bengal scampers off, and now all hopes of becoming its friend are dashed as I round on the prick who scared me.
I thought the silhouette through the window looked hunched and closed off. As if to prevent anyone from getting inside.
“Frost Wynter, you asshole!”
The Alpha is still laughing as he leans against the desk, eyeing me up and down. “Never thought I would be seeing you again. Admit it, Hale. You can’t get enough of me…”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
He’s still sniggering when he asks, “So, why are you here?”
“Why are you here?” I mock, and he raises an eyebrow.
“I live here. We each have our own cabin on site.”
Of course they do. I don’t even know why I asked such an insipid question.
That’s when my gaze falls on the guitar strap around his shoulder, and a smile comes to my face. “Oh, so you haven’t completely given up on the music then?”
The Alpha casts his gaze behind his back. “This old thing? No, I just carry this around for show.”
Ha, ha, ha.
“Still not funny, I see,” I note.
The Alpha narrows his eyes, looking for a smart comeback, but then we’re distracted by the sound of brisk footsteps coming down the stairs.
“Noelle. You’re here!”
I turn, noticing the slight water droplets dripping from Robin’s hair. It looks like someone just got out of the shower.
Did he shower just because I was coming up? I doubt it.
At least one of them made an effort. Frost looks as if he just dragged himself out of bed, his hair mussed and clothes smelling of alcohol.
Good to know that he has truly made something of himself.
A wide grin comes over Robin’s face as he stops before me, widening his arms. “Noelle Hale, welcome to the Wynter Lodge!”
An awkward silence follows after he spreads his arms, broken only by Frost’s fake cough of “Nerd”.
Robin scowls at his brother over his shoulder.
“Wynter Lodge? A bit on the nose, don’t you think?”
Both Alphas look around at me, startled. Frost rolls his eyes, making a move for the doors. “That was all Robin’s idea.”
Robin blushes red as he glares at his brother. “Where are you going?”
Frost barely gives him a cursory glance as he says over his shoulder. “To sleep off the rest of this hangover.”
The Alpha beside me frets, balling his fists. It’s only when he looks down at me that he dons that brilliant white smile again. “Then I guess it’s just going to be you and me again, Noelle.”
My eyes fall on Frost. Why am I even surprised? Of course, he wouldn’t want anything to do with me.
“Well, let’s start your tour of the lodge, Noelle.”
Oh… yippee.
Still. I won’t deny that I’m excited. It’s time to see what they’ve made of themselves after all these years.
It's a beautiful lodge. I can see why it has become the staple of the town.
They have fifty private cabins on site. All beautiful and perfectly rustic. Back at the main lodge, they have twenty rooms.
Most of their guests tend to be Alpha and Omega couples, but they do host Beta couples here, too.
Robin wears a long woolen coat of pewter gray as we walk the idyllic path that winds through the woods of their property.
It's only when we stop by a private cabin at the top of a hill, one with a majestic view of the mountains, that I become curious. It’s nicely secluded, and I can just picture myself living there all year round, getting to write my books with a perfect view of the mountains just outside my window.
Damn. A girl could write many a trilogy in there. Maybe a saga or two as well.
“What’s that?” I point at the cabin.
The Alpha stops short, his Adam’s apple bobbing along his throat. “That’s one of our heat cabins.”
Oh. Now I understand his silence as I hang my head, shame rippling up and down my body.
“One of our most popular attractions, as you can imagine.”
Birds twitter around us as we both stare at the ground. I won’t lie. I read some of their reviews online before I arrived.
All glowing five stars. Apparently, their heat cabins are some of the best in the state.
“Well, it’s nice to know that some Omegas in the world are getting their Christmas wishes.”
Robin flinches as I continue to walk ahead, following the winding path through the woods as I skirt around pinecones. It was a cheap shot, but I was never good at hiding my true feelings.
They made this beautiful place for Omegas. Yet they cast me away like I was last Christmas’s turkey.
I’ve seen enough. It’s time I headed home. Nana will be waiting for me.
“Noelle… wait…”
I stop, turning around.
The Alpha stumbles, but I wait for him to get his words out.
He meets my eyes. “We’re hosting the Christmas Market this year for the whole town… and I was wondering if you would like to help out with all the planning.”
My heart pounds. Just like back at school, Robin and I were on the planning committee for the school’s winter festivities, too.
“The offer is there. But it would be awesome to have you on board. You always had a knack for these things, after all.”
I did. My ideas were always the best. I blame my writer brain, but there’s just something about the holiday that brings out the magic in me.
Well, at least it used to.
“It’s best I get back. Nana will be worried about me.”
The Alpha nods and starts leading me the way. I never gave him my answer, but I didn’t exactly turn him down either.
I guess I have a lot of decision-making to do.