Chapter 35 Noelle
Noelle
Christmas morning finally comes around as I just finish unwrapping Nana’s present. I place it to one side, throwing my arms around her.
“Thank you, Nana. I love it.”
She made me a hand-knitted scarf with a pair of matching gloves and a hat, and I am going to cherish them forever.
“You’re welcome, dear,” she replies. “And thank you for my gift.”
I smile, squeezing her harder. I gave Nana an early manuscript of my book, and she even promised me she would read it when she goes to bed.
I hope it lives up to her expectations. If anyone knows a good story, then that's my Nana. She’s been an avid reader her whole life, hence why she encouraged my writing dream.
I look around the living room. Nana and I gather around the tree, opening presents. Mom is in the kitchen helping my dad, Joel, with dinner preparations.
Duke talks with my other dads by the fireplace, and I cringe as the memory returns.
He ended up sleeping on Nana’s couch last night. There was nowhere else for him. Mom was going to suggest that he stay with me in my room, but I almost snapped her finger off.
Duke doesn’t show it on his face, but I can tell he slept rough. Yet, he came all this way to be with me…Why? I never realized he cared so much about me. I’m not even his girlfriend. We are… were just seeing each other.
We’d hardly kissed. And when we did, it lacked chemistry.
The Alpha laughs with my father, Richard, and I still can’t put my finger on why he is here. His arrival really does complicate things.
Just when I am going through it with the pack.
Nana follows my gaze, smiling sadly. “Noelle…”
I suck in a breath, meeting her wise eyes. “Yes?”
She sighs, dropping her sewing needles. “Just tell him you don’t feel the same way.”
I close my eyes. Maybe tomorrow. Let’s get Christmas over with at least—it’s a little harsh to break up with someone on Christmas day.
“Just do it soon… all right?” she advises me again.
I regard her pointedly. “Why? You lost all interest in him when you found out he wasn’t a real duke.”
She snorts. “Forgive my old ears, sweetheart, but my advice is for your benefit. Not his. Honestly, I think you could do better… You have done better…”
She waggles her brows at me, and I groan. Nana wasn’t born yesterday. She knows what I got up to with the guys.
Duke steps away from my dads now, approaching me and Nana where we sit by the tree. I shush her. “Quiet, he’s coming over.”
Nana just rolls her eyes, returning to her crocheting.
“How’s my favorite Omega?” Duke chimes.
“Just splendid. Thank you,” Nana replies before I get a chance. I groan.
He was talking about me.
Duke laughs good-naturedly, leaning down to peck Nana on the cheek. When he’s not looking, Nana wipes her cheek, and I cover my eyes.
Could she be any more obvious in her disdain of him? Luckily for her, Duke is too much of a narcissist to notice.
He honestly thinks he’s God’s gift to all women and Omegas.
“So, have you opened my present yet?” Duke asks as he sits down on my right, throwing his arm on the back of the couch behind me.
My whole body tenses at his proximity, and I feel my Nana’s hawk-like eyes the whole time.
None of the Alphas of Pack Wynter has ever made me flinch. Yet, Duke makes me want to curl up into a ball like a pangolin.
“You… got me a gift?” I say through clenched teeth.
Duke smiles, pointing his hand beneath the tree. “I placed it down by the tree last night.”
“Oh,” I reply, not knowing what else to say. “I never got you anything.”
Duke chuckles. “That’s okay. Just seeing your face on Christmas is a gift, Noelle.”
My Nana pretends to throw up, and I throw her a pointed look. Once again, Duke doesn’t notice.
Maybe he’s not as big a ladies’ man as he thought after all.
“Well, go on. Open it, Noelle.”
“Yes, Noelle. Open your gift. The suspense is killing me…” Nana mocks.
I roll my eyes, leaning down beneath the tree to bring out his present. It’s a little blue bag, and there’s no mistaking what it’ll be.
And lo and behold—it’s a diamond necklace with a silver chain. One that costs more than your average American’s monthly wage.
As a matter of fact, it's the exact same necklace I’ve seen around the pretty, slender neck of one of his socialite friends at his latest soirée—Francesca, I think her name was. She always looked at me as if I were beneath her.
That’s why she’s the Other Woman in my latest novel. A tall, beautiful blonde New York socialite with a taste for the finer things.
I have a pretty good idea who got her the necklace; I bet Duke likes to give all his female companions the same necklace.
I smile through clenched teeth. “You shouldn’t have.”
I suppose I’m one to talk. Duke and I were never official, and I did spend my heat with three other Alphas.
But I guess I was just a part of Duke’s collection. Or his harem.
When I was still dating the pack years ago, their eyes never wandered. It was like all other women were invisible.
Because I was the only woman they needed.
“I’m glad you like it, Noelle. Here, let me put it on you.”
Now I freeze up like a deer in the headlights as the Alpha brushes the back of my neck. His hands feel so wrong—hands that are too soft and have never done an honest day’s work in their life.
“See? Beautiful, just like you,” Duke winks at me.
Again, I offer a tight smile. I can feel my Nana shaking her head across from me.
Mom comes into the living room next, wearing an apron. Her eyes expand when she sees the diamond around my neck. “Ooh, new necklace?”
“Yes. Duke got it for her,” Nana teases, eyeing me suspiciously.
She knows I hate it. And she is stopping at nothing to make me feel bad about it. She knows I am lying to myself.
Mom comes over to admire the necklace. “How lovely… Oh! Did you get the gift from the pack?”
My heart pounds.
Duke peers back and forth between Mom and me. “What pack?”
I glare at Mom. She stumbles, eyes widening in horror once she realizes her mistake. “The… the turkey’s burning!”
It's not. Dad has it all under control. She was just looking for an excuse to exit the room. Nana laughs, and I throw the older Omega a warning scowl.
I decide to be real with Duke. So, I meet his brown eyes. “My old pack, Duke… Before I left for New York.”
The Alpha freezes, and I think I hear a slight growl from his chest. But then he shakes his head, giving me that debonair smile again.
“Well, don’t keep us waiting,” he replies. “What did they get you?”
Confused, I peer at Nana. She shrugs, fiddling with her sewing needles. Well, this is awkward, and I would rather not do this with Duke present.
“I will open it later,” I say.
“No. Open it now, Noelle.” Duke’s eyes have lost all their shine, and he’s tense.
Is he threatened? He has never once addressed the text message that Frost sent, and it still strikes me as odd.
Nana looks as if she wants to stab Duke with one of her sewing needles. He was definitely trying to use an Alpha bark on me with that command just now.
You know what? I will open it. Maybe he can tell Francesa all about it when he goes back to New York.
Finally, I unwrap the gift, gasping when I spy the four Christmas tree ornaments.
It's me and the pack. But we’re older now. I’m wearing my pink coat, purple hat, and scarf, and Robin is in his suit and glasses. Shepard has his flannel shirt, and Frost has his tattoos and guitar.
It's us. As we are now. It’s symbolic of what we could be…
“What the devil is that?” Duke asks, horrified, when he sees the little ornaments.
I roll my eyes. He’s such an insufferable snob.
“That, young man, is the real way to win a woman’s heart. Unless you mined that diamond around my granddaughter’s neck yourself, shut up.”
Nana has that stabby look in her eyes again as she clutches her sewing needles. Duke loses all bravado now, and he appears genuinely terrified.
His face pales next, and the tan he got from his recent trip to Hawaii has long gone now.
I can’t stop staring at the ornaments as tears build up in my eyes. They made these just for me…
Just like the ones we made in kindergarten.
“Dinner’s finally ready,” Mom announces, popping her head through the door.
Oh, thank God. A distraction at last.
We haven’t even discussed seating arrangements, but one thing I know for certain. I will be sitting with Nana.
Duke doesn’t even offer to help me with Nana as I guide her to her feet. I mostly think it’s because he’s afraid of her as he gets up from the couch, joining my fathers in the kitchen.
The door knocks next, and Mom looks around at me. I get a sense of Déjà vu, and then my stomach drops.
No... Not now.
“Who on earth could that be at a time like this?” Mom says, answering the door.
I brace for the worst as I guide Nana down into her seat at the table. Just as I place a handkerchief around her neck, Mom steps into the living room. “You’ll never guess who has arrived,” she says.
I sigh as I take my seat next to Nana. “Santa?”
Mom squeezes her fists with glee, and she’s so goddamn clueless, it's adorable. “Even better!”
Finally, she steps out of the way, and my eyes land on the real versions of my new Christmas ornaments.
Duke tenses, and I hear my dad, Richard, offering him apologies. After all, he still likes Duke.
Honestly, I’m not even surprised anymore. It wouldn’t be Christmas without at least some drama.
Well, let the festivities begin.