Chapter 37 Noelle
Noelle
After that disastrous dinner, I went straight upstairs to stew alone in my bedroom for a while.
In the end, I told Duke that he should leave, too, as I just wanted to be alone.
So, the Alpha is now back on his way to New York. Will he call again? Who knows. But I have a feeling that this will be the last time I'll ever hear from him.
Nana was not at all upset to see the back of that Alpha.
Ugh. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Nana was supposed to have a Christmas to remember… but it just ended up turning into a goddamn soap opera.
However, she says she enjoyed every moment and that she will take that joy with her to the grave. She even joked that she would be telling my grandparents about that disastrous dinner for the rest of eternity when she finally reunites with them in heaven.
Honestly, I haven’t heard her laugh so much in a long time, and I’m glad my misery can at least bring her some happiness.
Now I can’t stop the smile that takes over my own face. I suppose maybe I will be able to look back on that dinner one day and laugh.
And I know exactly which Alphas I will be laughing with as I gaze down at the ornaments that they made for me.
A knock comes at my bedroom door, and I clear my throat, “Yes?"
Someone opens the door. It's my father, Richard. He wears a taut expression on his face, but what else is new?
“Hello, Noelle.”
Oh, no. Here it comes… the talk.
Someone whispers behind him, and I recognize my mother’s voice. I roll my eyes. “Come in, Dad.”
The stalwart Alpha freezes. Then he sighs, stepping into the room. He pulls out the chair from beneath my desk, the one where I used to do my homework, and takes his seat.
“How are you holding up?” he asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know. It wasn’t exactly the perfect Christmas I envisioned for my Nana.”
My father falls silent, running a hand through his beard.
Then he sighs. “While I don’t condone the pack’s behavior, and that Frost…
” he stops, shaking his head, “I don’t think Duke is the one for you.
Noelle. I saw it in his eyes when Frost asked him who your favorite author was.
It’s Emily Bronte. We all know that. Yet, he had no clue. He… doesn’t care about you.”
Now his words take me by surprise. I honestly thought he was going to push me toward Duke since he has never liked the Pack.
“Dad…” I whisper.
He meets my eyes, and for the first time since he returned home to Silverpine, my dad smiles.
He was the reason why we all moved to New York in the first place.
My other dads were more than happy to relocate when he got the job.
My dad, Joel, even has a successful chain of bakeries, and my dad, Bernard, is a well-established accountant.
“And between you and me,” Dad whispers next. “I can’t stand Duke’s father. A brown noser if I ever saw one.”
Well, now I’m shocked. A laugh bursts from my lips. “What are you saying?”
Dad really looks me in the eyes now, and I know he’s remembering the nights I spent crying in my bedroom when we first got to New York.
“Go after them, Noelle. Don’t live with regrets.”
My eyes pop.
Then the tears drip down my face. My dad gets up from the chair and wraps his arms around me.
The door to my bedroom opens, and my other dads come in next. Now all three of them hold me.
My mom waits at the door, a tear dripping down her own cheek as she links arms with Nana. I think she’s still a little drunk from dinner.
“So, I have all three of your blessings?” I ask.
Richard, Joel, and Bernard Hale share a glance, and I can sense their thoughts through the bond.
After all, I am their child. I was always a part of the pack bond they shared with Mom. They were just always careful to block my connection whenever they spent time with her, and I’m grateful.
There are some things a kid should not be privy to where her parents are concerned.
Maybe my Alphas will do the same thing with our children one day in the future, too.
“Yes,” my father, Richard, replies.
My eyes blur with tears. Once I accept the Wynter Pack as my Alphas, our family will only grow stronger.
My own pack will just become an extension of theirs.
“Well, what the hell are you waiting for. Go after them, Noelle.”
I meet Nana’s eyes after she addresses me. Then Mom’s.
Well, it looks like my decision is final.
It's time to reunite with my pack.