Chapter 13 Noelle
Noelle
I can’t take my eyes off Robin Wynter as he commands the entire committee like a professional, and he’s incredible. Absolutely.
Some things never change, I guess. Even back at high school, he used to take charge of every meeting, and just maybe, things will be different this time…
Maybe.
But for now, I will keep my distance; I will shield my heart a little longer.
Besides, Robin is a man now—an adult. He is no longer governed by teenage hormones, and when coupled with the beginnings of Alpha pheromones, too, it's a deadly combination. He knows how to conduct himself now professionally, while looking incredibly hot in his suit and glasses.
Seriously. Every time he turns to scribble something on the whiteboard with his marker pen, he gives me a perfect view of his ass.
Yep. Definitely not a boy anymore…
Robin works out. It appears they all do, and they must have an on-site gym somewhere.
They need to lower the thermostat a little. Or perhaps the thing is broken, and the heat is just coming from me.
Oh, well. They will have to call Shepard back in then, I suppose, but maybe it’s for the best that the rugged Alpha keeps away.
That’s the last thing I need right now. More reasons to be hot.
I glance across the table, and something stirs deep inside me, something primal with teeth and claws. As it turns out, I’m not the only woman in here getting hot under the collar at the sight of Robin’s derriere.
The women of the committee can’t stop gawking at Robin, and I almost snap my pencil in half when one bites her lip.
My Omega writhes in her cage, wanting to gouge her pretty eyes out, and I have to look away lest I do something I regret.
Robin serenades us with his rich, handsome voice again, “So, we agree that Santa’s grotto will be the main attraction. We will have Christmas lights signposting the way to the cabin to give it that wintry, magical feel. Make the kids feel as if they’ve ventured into a whole new world...”
Damn. That is a good idea. It takes me back to being a kid myself, seeing Santa.
I still remember the first Christmas I spent with the guys. We were neighbours, so we played all day outside in the snow on our new sleighs, bikes, and rollerblades.
Such a pure, different time. Almost like remembering being someone else—a sweet little girl with big, big dreams of growing up and marrying the three little boys next door.
“Don’t forget the reindeer, too,” the lady who was just biting her lip warbles sensuously.
Ugh.
“Yeah, you can’t have Santa without his reindeer,” another lady chimes in.
They all nod in agreement, clucking like a flock of hens.
Robin winks at the pair. “Gotcha, ladies.”
The women swoon, and seriously… someone needs to throw a bucket of ice-cold water over them.
Robin doodles a paddock beside the grotto where the reindeer will go. “We can sell carrots, too, so the kids can feed the reindeer.”
“Will you give one a shiny red nose?” I suggest out of the blue next.
Everyone deadpans me. A tense silence follows, and my cheeks turn as red as the fictional reindeer’s nose I was just referencing. “I’m just throwing out suggestions.”
Lip-biting lady—I don’t know her name—smirks at my embarrassment. Her friend rolls her eyes at me.
Tough crowd. Everyone just wants to hear Robin speak—the Alpha male. He's a natural-born leader, so it can’t be helped.
His father is the mayor now. A seat that the senior Alpha had been chasing for years. So, Robin is sure to follow somewhat in his footsteps.
“It’s an interesting suggestion,” Robin mutters quickly, going back to the board. Yet he doesn’t add my red-nosed reindeer.
It wasn’t interesting. It was stupid and unoriginal, but I know he is just humoring me. Some members of the committee whisper about me under their breath, and the tips of my ears burn red hot.
Bitches.
I’ve seen how they’ve all been pointing and talking about me since I got back. Even when I go to grab my morning coffee at my favorite café, they whisper. After all, I’m the one who got away…
The Omega with big dreams of the city.
Many girls were jealous of me back at high school after I scent-matched with the Wynter Pack. I have no doubt in my mind that they tried to go after the guys the moment I left.
Well, they can back off.
Because I’m back now. And the guys are mine.
Woah. Where did that come from?
My Omega smirks somewhere inside me, and I roll my eyes. He's not ours. We need to keep our distance.
The meeting is wrapping up, and thank God. I can’t wait to get outside into the cold, crisp air—a breath of fresh, piney, wintry air is exactly what my Omega needs right now.
“We will pick up where we left off on Friday, ladies,” Robin announces, clipping the top back on his marker pen.
Everyone rises from their seats, heading for the door. While I'm eager to put some distance between Robin and me, I still linger.
It just feels wrong to run out. After all, I’m grateful that he allowed me to be a part of this, even though all I had to offer was a red nose on a reindeer.
The kids will love it, though.
Now I gather my coat from the rack, making a point of wrapping my scarf around my cheeks slowly.
I take my time; I even pretend to search for my gloves, even though I can feel them poking me inside my pocket.
Oh, there they are… Yeah, right.
All the while, I sense Robin watching me. He perches on the edge of the table, making it groan in delight, and I just know he has that brilliant white smile on his face. “You did well, Noelle.”
I scoff. “Please… you saw how they all looked at me. Let’s face it. I’ve lost my flair, Robin.”
Robin falls still as I make my sad declaration. I’m right, though. I was once full of Christmas cheer that almost bordered on insanity; I used to come to school with bells on my feet. I repeat—feet.
I’m surprised I never got bullied, but I suppose my friendship with the guys, and later, bond, prevented anyone from daring to breathe so much as a wrong word about me.
He sighs. “Don’t say that. You were extremely helpful. You did suggest we have a mulled wine stall. Even though you always hated the stuff.”
Despite how embarrassed I am, a laugh bursts from my lips. “Yeah. It sells, though. But at least the proceeds will go to a good cause.”
A large portion of the money from the market will go to a charity for impoverished children. Robin said it helps with the lodge’s publicity, but I think he’s just too ashamed to admit that he has a good heart.
He just likes to lift everyone’s spirits.
My eyes land on a nearby table. The committee barely touched the food, and it seems such a waste.
Robin follows my gaze. “Why don’t you take some food home for your family?”
I meet his piercing blue eyes. “Sure. But just one platter of sandwiches. I don’t want to be a bother.”
“No, it’s fine, Noelle. Please, take anything you want.”
So long as he’s offering, but I still settle for the single platter.
Yet Robin insists that I take it all, stacking several platters for me, and he even finds a Tupperware box in the kitchen so I can take home some Christmas cookies.
He even carries it back to my car for me in the parking lot.
Snow falls gently, drifting onto the ground in flurries as it appears last night’s storm is a thing of the past.
I think back to last night in the school gymnasium. Even though I slept on the world’s most uncomfortable cot, it was one of the best sleeps I’d had in years.
I’m not sure if Robin even got any sleep. He'd purred throughout the night in a register that only my Omega’s ears could hear. And through every soft vibration that left his chest, there was a promise, too: he wouldn’t hurt me again.
If we did make another try at whatever this is, then he would never be so stupid as to let me go again.
But it’s hard. I’ve built up this fortress. One that no man could ever penetrate again.
“Well, that’s the last of them,” Robin notes, placing down the sandwich platters and the Tupperware box filled with cookies in the trunk of my car.
Well, I guess there’s nothing else to do but head home. Mom will want all the juicy gossip.
“Well, goodbye then,” I mutter, moving around to the driver’s seat of the car.
It takes every ounce of energy in me to resist the urge to run into the Alpha’s arms, combing my fingers through his coiffed hair as I kiss his lips.
But I can’t. It would be too hard.
I don’t make it to my car, though. Instead, I go skating on the ice as I lose my footing, and seriously…this again?
I’ve never seen Robin move so fast. One moment, he’s behind me, watching me fight to regain my balance as I spin my arms like a windmill. And the next, he’s in front of me, arms wrapped around me as he presses me flush to my car.
His piercing glacier eyes glow brighter than the moon. His Alpha has come out to play, and no wonder he moved so fast.
His Omega was in danger. And his Alpha acted accordingly.
A deep purr erupts in his chest, and just like the night of the storm, it’s meant for my ears only.
A heartbeat passes between us. Then two.
By the third, we’re at each other’s lips, running our hands all over each other as we just want to feel the other’s skin.
So much for keeping my distance. But I’m going to drink up every moment of this.
I forgot how good kissing him was. When I bite his lower lip, a strangled sound escapes him, and then he lifts me off my feet, crushing me against my car.
Now my pussy throbs in time with my pulse as he grinds his hard cock against my pink coat, and my Omega whimpers, curling her booted feet around his waist.
My heels prod him in the ass as another growl slips loose from his throat. Well, there goes my fortress, falling down brick by traitorous brick.
I just hope it will all be worth it.