Chapter 13
Hestia
It’s our first day on leave, and the guys convinced me they wanted to take me into town and show me around. For some reason I agreed, even though I really should have protested that they ought to go spend time with their omega.
It’s too late now, we’re almost to the coffee shop, but maybe after our drinks I can convince them I don’t need supervision off the clock.
I’ve never had this much downtime before. Even when we had breaks at the academy, I was studying or training.
Except for a few hobbies, it’s shocking to realize I don’t have much of a life outside of work. I was so focused on my goal of becoming a rescuer for so long, and now that I’m almost there, I don’t know what else to do.
It’s about time I figure that out. If I pass my training period, this will be my schedule going forward, several weeks on and several weeks off.
Charm looks over at my sigh, and I quickly paste a smile on my face. His smile grows in response.
“Quickie Coffee is my favorite coffee shop. They have several chocolate flavors that you’ll like,” he says.
I look away to hide my blush, pleased he remembered how much I love chocolate with my caffeine. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, they’ve seen how I take my coffee plenty of times now. Henri or one of the others make me one every morning.
Still, it gets me all tingly that Charm paid attention to things I like. I ride that high for the rest of the walk, not even feeling the icy wind on my face or hair whipping around me.
Orion opens the door to the café, and the warm, coffee-scented air flows out.
I follow the scent to the counter and gaze in awe at the menu.
I sense my teammates join me while I’m engrossed in deciding what to order. Charm was right, they have many chocolate options—chocolate sauce, chocolate shavings, cocoa powder, spiced hot chocolate, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate cream, basically chocolate in every state of matter imaginable.
When I go to new restaurants, I like to try something on the menu before requesting a custom drink, which is why it’s taking me so long to decide instead of simply ordering the most chocolatey coffee they can make.
There are a lot of seasonal drinks to look through. They have the classics along with some I’ve never heard of, a sugar plum iced latte, spiced coconut coffee, a toasted marshmallow latte with marshmallow fluff rimming the cup, and a spiced molasses cappuccino.
“Do you need help deciding?” The blonde omega behind the counter asks.
“Everything sounds so good. Are there any seasonal coffees that are a must-try?” I say.
That was the right question apparently, because the barista launches into a thorough explanation of their menu. She tells me about the tasting notes for each drink, and I listen carefully so I can make a fully informed decision.
I go back and forth with her, narrowing down my choices until I decide on one.
She happily rings it up along with my teammates' orders, and Orion pays.
“Where do you want to sit?” Magnus asks me.
I scan the café, seeing it for the first time. I didn’t notice anything apart from the menu before.
“Over there,” I say, nodding at a table with window seats.
There’s a couch and a mishmash of chairs pulled up around it. I sit on the couch, sinking into the plush cushions.
With the scents of coffee and sweetness in the air, the warmth from the vents, and the subtle buzz of people, I could spend the whole day here relaxing and melding with the couch.
Henri and Cato bring the drinks over when they’re ready, and Cato joins me on the couch even though there’s still one open chair.
He takes up more space than he needs, filling the other two cushions.
I’ve noticed he loves to sprawl out wherever he is, and usually ends up sitting close to me.
He doesn’t seem to have much sense of personal space.
I ignore his rich chocolate scent, pretending it’s the smell of my coffee that’s making my mouth water.
I ordered a drink from the menu but couldn’t help adding a little extra chocolate to my peppermint bark latte.
The whipped cream on top is even peppermint flavored, with red and green peppermint candy chunks and small curls of chocolate shavings.
My customization was adding thick slices of chocolate that they cut off a huge chocolate bar and stuck in the side of the drink.
I angle the cup to sip some coffee along with the whipped cream, and it tastes even better than I imagined. Both flavors are strong, sharp peppermint and dark chocolate, but they blend well together.
I savor it for a few minutes before selecting a mini poached pear tart and a cranberry hand pie from the pile of pastries Orion ordered.
The guys talk about the town’s holiday decorations while I’m lost in the food, only half-listening.
“I can never tell if the decorations are the same, but every year I think Starsfalls outdoes itself,” Charm says.
“They reuse the lights and garlands but change up where they put them. The town council rarely repeats designs even when they use themes from prior years,” Henri says.
“What’s the theme this year? There were a lot of stripes,” Charm says.
“I heard it’s candy land, so candy cane stripes, and I saw gumdrops, licorice, and lollipop decorations,” Henri says.
“Do you enjoy sucking on candy canes?” Cato whispers in my ear.
I choke on my coffee, the chocolate flavor sticking in my throat.
“Cato!” Orion snaps, so harsh it sounds like a bark.
But Cato is unaffected, so it must not have been.
“Yes?” he says lazily.
His thigh is hot pressed against mine, Cato’s arm draped over the back of my seat.
“You’re not allowed to say things like that just because we’re off the clock,” Orion grits out.
“It’s a simple question. Not everyone likes peppermint,” Cato says.
Charm rubs my back after checking that I’m not actually choking. I take a swig of water to wash down the cream.
“She got a peppermint drink, she obviously likes it. And there’s no reason to ask about it like that,” Magnus says.
“Like what?” Cato blinks at him.
“Like—” Magnus’s mouth snaps shut, apparently unwilling to spell out the innuendo.
“It’s fine,” I say, finally clearing my throat.
“It’s not fine. Don’t ask our trainee inappropriate things like that,” Orion says.
“What do you mean?” Cato repeats, tilting his head like he honestly doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
Orion’s eye twitches.
“Let’s just forget about it. I do like peppermint,” I tell Cato primly.
If I don’t act flustered about it, I’m sure he’ll give up on the joke. And if he’s actually serious, then there’s his answer.
Since the others are still glaring at him, I’m guessing Cato isn’t as innocent as he’s playing.
“Silly jokes are fine, they don’t bother me. I just wasn’t expecting it,” I say.
Their standoff continues, so, hoping to distract them, I ask, “What kind of holiday activities are going on around here?”
I have several weeks off with nothing to do except for a bit of studying to keep up with the latest field research and reports. I should plan a list of Fun Winter Things To Do So Life Doesn’t Pass Me By and I’m Dead Before I Know It.
The title might need some work, or at least an acronym.
Fun Winter Things To Do Before I’m Dead?
FWTTDBID.
That’s better.
I should make a list for every season.
I’m so focused on list logistics I almost miss their response.
“Most shops have winter collections, so if you want sweaters or blankets or evergreen-scented soap, this is the time to get it. That is, if you can handle all the holiday music they play,” Charm says.
I laugh. “Is it that bad? I kind of like it, as long as they don’t repeat the same ‘All I Want for Yule is Your Pack’ song over and over.”
The coffee shop has festive music playing low enough that it’s pleasant background noise.
“I like it too. But someone worked at a lodge where they played the same CD all winter. Now he complains whenever we spend too long in a store with loud holiday music,” he says with a grin.
“No! Who?” I say.
Charm nods at the other end of the table, and I whip around. Magnus hangs his head and sighs.
I try to stifle my laughter.
I can just picture a younger Magnus standing behind the desk at a cozy lodge, greeting guests with a grimace while cheery music plays.
“How awful. I’m glad you survived those harsh winters,” I say.
I couldn’t stand listening to the same twelve songs eight hours a day for months on end either.
“I’m okay with holiday music these days. I can even listen to some of those same songs without getting flashbacks,” Magnus says.
I attempt to turn my laugh into a cough, and Charm pats my back, playing along with my charade.
“But wait, we’ve been playing music at the station. Is that irritating?” I ask, suddenly remembering the backdrop to many of our evenings.
“No, it doesn’t bother me at home. I think it’s the combination of too many people and repetitive noise that irritates me,” Magnus says.
“That makes sense, I don’t like crowds either,” I say. “Besides shopping, are there any other seasonal things to do?”
I already added shopping and listen to holiday songs to my mental FWTTDBID list.
“Starsfalls is ramping up for the Winterfalls Festival,” Orion says.
“The main event is the street fair in a few weeks, but some things are already open. The town square has food trucks, a skating rink, and the giant Yule tree. If you go outside of town, there are horse-drawn sleigh rides, holiday light displays, and skiing or tubing on the hills.”
“There’s ice skating?” I ask excitedly.
Orion smiles. “There’s ice skating. We could go once we’re done here.”
“Yes!” I say without thinking.
I hurry through the last of my food, but after a few minutes of vigorous eating, I remember what I meant to tell them.
“Um, I can find the skating rink by myself. You don’t have to come with me,” I say.
“I’d like to go too. I haven’t done much skating this year,” Charm says, and the others agree.
I don’t understand. I thought they’d go see their omega. If I had a pack and hadn’t seen them for weeks, they better be running off that mountain to get to me.
I shake my head to banish that image. I’m not sure where it came from. I’ve never really thought about what it would be like to have my own pack, and I don’t know why I’m considering it now.
“Isn’t there something else you need to do? Someone you need to see?” I hint.
“No, nothing pressing. We’ll restock a few things while we’re in town, but we don’t have to do that today,” Orion says.
I frown before I can stop myself.
“If you want some time to yourself though, we can let you go. I know you’ve been stuck with us for the past few weeks. I’ll leave you the keys for the truck, and you’re free to do whatever you want as long as you’re back before our next shift,” he says.
Orion gathers his coat like he’s making to leave, and the others follow suit after a moment (all except for Cato, but I know how much he hates to wear layers. He won’t put his coat on until just before he steps outside).
“No, it’s not that! I just thought…” I trail off.
They pause, gloves and scarves in hand.
“Ithoughtyou’dbespendingtimewithyouromega,” I blurt out.
“You—what?” Orion says.
I huff. I don’t know why he’s making me repeat myself.
“I enjoy hanging out with you, but…I thought you’d spend the break with—with your omega,” I say.
No one says anything for a long minute, and I worry I overstepped a boundary. Orion did just get onto Cato for that.
Finally, Orion says, “We don’t have an omega. Our pack is just the five of us.”
I glance at the others, and they look just as confused as I feel.
“Oh. But. Oh.”
My stomach drops. I thought—their files said they were a Pack, in italics. That denotes a pack is closed to new members, which usually happens after they find their mate(s) and consider their pack complete.
I’m stupid.
I shouldn’t have jumped right to that conclusion. Not all packs feel the need for a mate, omega or not. There are any number of reasons they could have chosen to close their pack, and regardless, it’s none of my businesses.
Of course they wouldn’t ignore their mate if they had one. I never heard them talking on the phone with them, or talking about them, or, fuck, rescuers’ partners are allowed to live at the station. Those should have been glaring signs that I am, in fact, an idiot.
I assumed they had an omega because of that one little word. I’m no better than the people who assume things about me based on my designation.
“I’m sorry, I thought—because your pack is closed—sorry. I didn’t mean to pry,” I say.
“It’s okay. That’s a common assumption,” Charm says, kind and sweet as always.
“Many packs close after finding a mate, it’s not surprising you would think that.
We should have mentioned it earlier. We closed our pack because it comes up occasionally with lone alphas looking to join our group, and we’re satisfied with our current arrangement,” Orion says.
“Regardless, it’s understandable if you don’t want to spend your break with your coworkers.
We’ll let you unwind without your bosses hanging around. ”
“No, I’m having fun! I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t keeping you from anything. I’m happy to go skating together. I’m ready, let’s go,” I say, jumping up from my seat.
Cato laughs at my flustered attempt to cover up my awkwardness. I glare at him before remembering I’m supposed to be contrite after being so rude and presumptuous.
I replace the glare with a polite smile, and Cato’s smirk grows.
Thankfully they accept my suggestion without further prodding, and we head out.
Whyyyy did I think they had an omega just because of one italicized word when all the evidence pointed to the contrary?
I never caught even a whiff of an omega in their lives, literally or figuratively.
Wait, does this mean Cato is hitting on me?