CHAPTER THREE – Kodiak
“Fuck! Can’t you make this thing go any faster?” I slammed my hands against the railing. The boat was moving too slow. “You’re like a fucking old lady behind the wheel, Silas.”
It was dark, but I could still see him scowl at me. “The water’s still choppy. If you’re so impatient, you can get out and swim.”
I cursed at him under my breath, stalking back and forth across the deck. It was a small vessel meant to carry us back and forth over the strait to the various sites in the Tongass National Forest we worked. It wasn’t built for speed, and since it was pretty old as well, we’d been stuck in our tent on Kupreanot Island when the storm hit with its chilling winds.
Stuck with our guest waiting at home for us.
I was such an ass. It should have been me to pick up Nicolette at the airport. But no, I thought we could fell that tree before the afternoon was out. Yet the massive Sitka Spruce proved to be a stubborn bastard.
“There’s Petersburg ahead.” Ezekiel motioned to the lights of the town, swirling with the morning fog and the light snow still falling. “Don’t worry, man. The dogs were with the girl all night. Plus, Sav probably came over to welcome her.”
I snorted and folded my arms. Dad wouldn’t have bothered. I was pretty sure he regretted selling that bit of land to Lancaster in exchange for seeing if his Omega daughter was compatible with me. For a little while, it was all about carrying on the Volkov family line, but I hadn’t heard about that in a few weeks. Thank God. But my dad’s silent brooding wasn’t good either.
“A girl like that isn’t going to want to cuddle your stinky dogs, Eze.” Silas slowly turned us toward the piers. “She’s one of those spoiled Omegas terrified of getting dirty. Ain’t no way she’s going to handle living with us even for a week.”
“Hey, we cleaned.” It was the first real big clean I’d done at the cabin since we moved in last year. Between logging and working on our house itself, we didn’t have much time for anything else, especially how much we wanted to get done before the winter truly hit.
Did Nicolette like the cabin? Did she settle into her room? I didn’t even know her, and I was in knots over how she felt about all of it. I’d never actively looked for an Omega to start a family, and I hadn’t liked it when my father told me the deal he made. I’d been really pissed off for weeks, but something in me had turned at some point. Maybe, just maybe, we’d match, and I would have something in my life that made me look forward to… well, life.
“You don’t know what Nicolette is like.” Ezekiel was always the reasonable one. Much more even keeled than Silas and I. “We saw on her social media that she does a lot of charity work. She’ll have patience for our wild ways.”
Silas slowed the boat down further as he steered us toward our spot in the harbor. “We also saw that she spends a damn lot of time partying on beaches. Not that I’m complaining about all those bikini pics. She’s hot shit.”
Hot shitwas an understatement. Nicolette was absolutely gorgeous. Deep red hair, long legs, curvy hips, and eyes bright green as new ferns. Her dazzling smile… so full of life.
Just to have one taste of that.
As soon as the boat was close enough to the dock, I hopped off and looped the mooring line around the pillar. Silas cut the power and grumbled at me to have some fucking patience. We grabbed our stuff and headed to the truck.
“I’m driving.” I didn’t even wait to hear what either of them said. If they were in by the time I put the truck in gear, too bad.
“You’ll run us off the road. Your driving skills are shit normally, but now you’re rushing us.” Silas bitched but he didn’t try to fight me to get into the driver’s seat. He chucked his bag into the back and climbed in with Ezekiel right behind, sliding into the backseat.
“Whatever.” I might have wrecked one or two trucks over the years, and Silas, the bastard who could drive or fly anything, liked to remind me of that fact.
“We should pick up some food on the way back. The dogs need more treats too.” Ezekiel unzipped his coat before he rested back against the bench seat with his arms stretched across it.
I didn’t want to stop anywhere. I wanted to get up to the cabin, but he was right. “Let’s get some danishes from the bakery, and then we can stop at the grocery store. Maybe get some moose steaks for a welcome dinner tonight.”
“Bet you she’s a vegan. Might want to grab some cabbage too,” Silas snarked.
“Not in the mood for your shitty attitude today.” Everything in me was too tense. Would I even get along with Nicolette? What would it even be like to live with a woman around? I’d never known my mom. And the only woman regularly in my life was Shae, and she was as much a beast of the woods as we were.
“We’ll get what we can. Sav says he’s been putting some work into the greenhouse, if we need more fresh veggies.” I envied Ezekiel’s easy-going nature, and the fact that he believed my father would do anything other than build up the greenhouse. No way the old man had a green thumb.
We picked up pastries and coffee, and enough groceries to feed a small army. I had no idea what Nicolette would like. It was best to get a bit of everything.
It was nearly ten by the time we made it up to the cabin. I could see footprints and paw prints in the snow. It seemed Nicolette was up and had taken the dogs out. There was no sign of my dad’s snow machine or any evidence he’d been there. Of course. He wanted me to carry on the family line, but the miserable old coot barely took care of us when we were young. The fact we’d survived our childhood in the Tongass was due to luck and nothing else.
I grabbed my bag and an armful of groceries and all but charged up to the front door. Opening it, I was nearly bulled over by Ezekiel’s dogs. They gave me a brief greeting before they ran over to him, who lavished them with hugs and treats.
“Hello?” I hurried inside, finding no one. The faint scent of eggs and coffee sat in the air. She’d had breakfast, and she wasn’t a vegan if she ate eggs. Where was she?
“Seems like she took off already. Good thing before she saw your ugly face.” Silas pushed past me and brought his groceries to the kitchen.
The urge to bash in his head surged through me, but that’s when I heard the shower. I grinned widely. “Fuck you. She’s still here. I’m going to let her know so we don’t scare her.”
Ezekiel came in with the dogs, shutting the door behind him. “You’re being extra pissy today, Si. Try to at least be somewhat congenial. You know how much this means to Kodiak and Sav.”
I was glad he had my back. Walking down the hall, steam rolled out from the closed bedroom door. No piney or musky men’s soap smell. This was light and feminine with some tropical notes. The smell matched her pictures, which made my cock twitch in my pants.
I didn’t think twice as I opened the door. The Omega was in the shower after all.
But the second I did, the water stopped. I was staring straight through the open bathroom door as Nicolette pushed back the shower curtain.
Oh fuck. Her creamy skin gleamed with wetness and every perfect curve was touched by the light. Her deep red hair hung around her shoulders and a few adorable freckles dotted her body. I couldn’t stop myself. My eyes went to that tiny trim red patch between her legs. My dick was hard as granite.
Nicolette saw me as she reached for a towel and yelped, yanking the curtain back in front of her.
Dammit. She was going to think I was some pervert. “Sorry! Just wanted to let you know we were home and brought some food. I’ll give you your privacy to dress and stuff.”
Lame, lame, fucking lame.
I slammed the door shut. “Shit.”
All I could hope was that she believed me when I said it was an accident. That wasn’t how I imagined meeting her, but damn. She was smoking. How the hell do I land an Omega that hot?
My heart still pounded as I tried to push away my embarrassment. The guys would laugh at me. I was never going to live this down.
I sniffed myself as I walked away from the bedroom. When was the last time I showered? A few days ago. We’d been working hard to get the last few trees down before the first snow. Not that the snow ever kept us from being out there, but since these trees were on the side of a rocky cliff, we knew better than to take the risk with logs of that size.
I could take a quick rinse off in the other guys’ shower, but I didn’t want to miss Nicolette when she finally came out. I needed to apologize properly.
Marching back to the kitchen, I patted Atka as the husky came bounding over to me before starting to swiftly put everything we bought away.
“So,” Silas smirked from where he was sitting reclined in an armchair. “You scared her off already.”
“Fuck you.” I clenched my jaw. It was an accident. I didn’t mean to see her in all her naked glory. My erection throbbed at the memory burned into my mind forever.
“Told you it was a bad idea bringing an Omega here. All women are trouble. We don’t need that sort of chaos ruining our peace.” Silas wouldn’t shut up about it. He had his gripe with females, and for good reason. One of them fucked him over royally a few years ago. But this was different. Nicolette was different. I didn’t know her, but I knew it to be true.
“She might fit right in. You never know.” Ezekiel had been fully supportive. He never seemed interested in finding an Omega of his own, always saying he was in his happy place here with us, his dogs, and the forest.
I stashed the last of the groceries in the fridge and paced the kitchen. It had been five or ten minutes. How long did it take a female to get dried and dressed?
After twenty minutes, I couldn’t take it anymore. “I’m going to see if she’s okay.”
“Chill, man.” Ezekiel came over to the kitchen island and put his empty coffee mug down. “Women take a while to get ready. Plus, no doubt she’s nervous. She knows we’re out here waiting for her.”
I expected Silas to make a smart ass comment, but he just stared at the hockey game on the TV. Ezekiel was right. I had given her a fright, and now she had to walk out to meet the stranger who had seen her naked in the bathroom. Her beautiful nude body. What would she feel like under me as I filled her sweet pussy? Would she moan my name or yowl like a cat?
The bedroom door clicked open. She was coming. I gripped the edge of the kitchen counter, my breath caught in my throat.
Nicolette rounded the corner of the hall. Her red hair was piled up in a twist and bouncy curls framed her heart shaped face. She wore a thick yellow sweater and a flowing blue skirt with tropical flowers on it. Her steps were graceful and her expression timid and tentative.
She was so incredibly vibrant. So different from any female in Alaska. Different from anyone I had ever met. She was like a ray of sunshine in a dark world and I wanted to bask in her warmth.
With an excited bark, Atka darted away from Ezekiel and barreled toward Nicolette. Both Ezekiel and I called the dog’s name, but nothing was stopping the monster. She let out a squeal as Atka knocked her over.
I was going to kill that damn dog.
Nicolette made another squeaking noise. Was she crying? Fucking hell.
Kavik trotted at a leisurely pace, wagging her tail as she approached Nicolette.
I hurried around the island, ready to throw both huskies outside. With my jaw clenched, I gritted my teeth and clutched my hands into fists.
Ezekiel beat me to Nicolette’s side as he corralled the dogs. “I’m so sorry. You’re not hurt, are you? Atka gets rowdy sometimes, but he’s a sweetheart.”
Nicolette tipped her head back out of the way of Atka’s kisses and laughed. Thank God. She wasn’t hurt or crying. The tension in me eased a little with her laughter, and I stopped my charge. “It’s okay. He’s just enthusiastic about life.”
Pulling Atka back, Ezekiel motioned to the dogs. “Sit.” Both of them plopped down on their bottoms, but their tails still whooshed back and forth. He flashed a smile at Nicolette and offered her a hand. “Hi, I’m Ezekiel. Let me help you up.”
“Thanks.” She took his hand and her eyes widened as she stood. Her lips parted as she sucked in a breath and a flush rose up her neck to her lovely face.
The two of them stared at one another for several seconds, hands clasped. Ezekiel made a low growling noise like I’d only heard from the dogs when they hunted after a rabbit or squirrel. His eyes dilated and his jaw twitched. Nicolette quickly let go of his hand and stepped back, her gaze still locked on him.
That’s when the alluring scent of her perfume hit me.
Fuck my life.The Omega meant for me was just triggered by my best friend.