Chapter Five
Idefinitely shouldn’t be here. Not uninvited. Not unannounced.
What was Jasper thinking? What was I thinking?
I’m in Adley Pepper’s driveway, my sedan parked behind a brand new SUV that sparkles in the setting sun. There are lights on inside the house, the glow escaping through the blinds and mismatched curtains on the main and second floors.
I should leave. This was a mistake.
But my fingers won’t press the ignition button. I’m like a statue sitting in the seat, staring at this one, rotting shingle just beyond the SUV.
My destiny is in that house. The woman I’ve waited for my entire life. The one who’s undoubtedly going to smell right to me when no one else ever has. Years of yearning, hope and despair, all coming to an end.
If I could just get my ass out of this car and walk up to that porch.
Move, dammit.
Two raps on my driver-side window have me leaping out of my skin, grasping at my racing heart.
I think I might have screamed.
I turn and find the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen hunched over outside my driver’s side window. Her brown hair falls in waves beyond her shoulders, her big dark eyes are wide, full lips in an O of surprise before turning into a cringe.
“Sorry!” she says, her voice muffled through the window and door.
I’m speechless as I shake my head and reach for the door handle. When I open the door, she steps back to let me out.
“I heard a car pull up and—”
Her voice cuts off abruptly as I stand to my full height and look down at her, watch her throat bob on a swallow. Our nostrils flare in unison, and when the scent of orange blossoms invades my lungs, my brain, I nearly cry with relief.
It’s her. This is my mate. My Omega.
I fall back against my car, my shoulder jamming hard against the frame. It’s like an enormous weight has been lifted from my soul, and my body never knew it was there all these years. Now, I need to re-learn how to stand, how to move. How to live.
“...I thought you were asleep.”
Her words are airy, distant, those chocolate eyes still wide and zeroed in on me.
“Huh?”
Oh, right. She heard me pull up and came out to find me just sitting in my car.
I shake my head, blink at her. “I-I’m Adam. I’m… Jasper’s…”
“Pack brother,” she breathes.
I nod wordlessly.
My heart constricts when she takes a couple of tentative steps forward, the skin around her eyes tightening. “I’m Adley.”
I nod again, like an idiot, then say, “I know. Jasper told me, but I also knew Aaron when I was working in Silicon Valley.”
Something flashes across her face at the mention of her brother. Something I don’t like.
I’d been a new hire, right out of Stanford with my master's, and Aaron was one of the only people who was actually nice to me when I arrived. I wasn’t at that company very long, though. I missed the quiet tranquility of my childhood home. I missed my brother and his family.
Striking out on my own was the best decision I ever made. BeyondBinary is still a growing app developer, but I make a good living. What’s more, I’m happier here.
And I’m about to be happier still with my Omega by my side. Soon.
“Jasper said you’ve taken over Jim’s sanctuary.” I do my best to change the subject, to steer her mind away from whatever thoughts brought dark storm clouds across her face.
A smile, at last, as she nods. “Did you know my Uncle Jim?”
“I did, in passing. I was born and raised here. Everyone knows everyone in some capacity.”
“I used to spend every summer here when I was a kid.” She squints at me then. “You look familiar.”
My brows jump in surprise. “I’d remember meeting you, Adley.”
Her cheeks grow pink in the orange light of the sunset. “Yeah, I’d remember you for certain, too.”
A thought occurs to me then. “My older brother and I look a lot alike. Maybe you met him. I was in boarding school a lot growing up, and then went straight to university. I didn’t always come back home during breaks.”
I leave out the part where I really couldn’t. How our parents were gone, and only just before I went to university did Ben move out of his tiny studio apartment so I'd have a place to come home to and stay a while.
“Maybe it was him, then. But… I wish I’d met you back then.”
My eyes grow hot, my vision begins to swim. I swallow hard against the emotions building in my chest. “Me, too.” She has no idea how much.
Adley holds her hand out to me with a smile. “Come inside with me.”
I take her hand without a second thought, close my car door, and let her lead me up the creaking wooden steps to the front porch. When her hand rests on the doorknob, she shoots me a quizzical look. “You’re not allergic to furry animals, are you?”
I can’t stop my chuckle. “I am not.”
And I’m thankful for that. I can feel the energy rolling off Adley in waves, the love and care, as she leads me through the house to a barking chorus of furry friends with waggly butts, some jumping with excitement.
One giant black lab approaches me, sniffs my slacks, then looks up at me with eyes that melt my heart.
I slowly put my hand down close to his snout, let him sniff and give me a quick lick, then gently run my hand over his head, feeling the soft fur along his big, floppy ears.
“That’s Crooze,” Adley tells me. “He’s a big boy, but he’s been very gentle, if a bit mischievous. Never leave any food you care about within his reach.”
I laugh as I crouch down, scratching his neck. Another black dog approaches, looking inquisitive. The shape of a German Shepard, only smaller and all black. Pointy ears high on her head.
“That girl’s Fruitbat. I’ve been calling her Bat since this morning.” Adley lets out a giggle that warms me from the inside. “She apparently understands that’s her name, too.”
“Bat,” I say, smooth and gentle, as I hold out my hand and let her sniff me. Her cold, wet nose dips under my hand to my palm, guiding my fingers to her snout for a pet, making me laugh. “I’ve got you covered, girl.”
“Let’s go sit in the living room. The whole pack will follow us.”
Pack. That makes me grin.
As she leads the way, she asks over her shoulder, “Can I get you something to drink?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
The living room is way more run-down than I expected.
Maybe I shouldn’t have concluded everyone with the Pepper name was made of money.
Jim obviously wasn’t. But Adley, with her new car and her designer clothes…
she definitely comes from affluence. Whether it’s family money or her own, I don’t know yet. And it doesn’t matter, really.
I sit, somewhat gingerly, on the old, cloth couch. A sea of fuzzy friends jumps up to join me as Adley sits on the other end, laughing again.
“Please, excuse the mess. As I said, I only arrived yesterday. This whole place needs so much work.” A sigh. “I don’t have any idea how Uncle Jim managed for this long.”
There’s a red flag in that statement. “What do you mean?”
Adley appears to weigh how to respond, so I follow up fast. “You can tell me, Adley. We’re going to be partners. You know that.”
Her dark eyes are glassy when she nods at me. “We are. I may need you to remind me of that now and again. I’ve been alone for a long time, always working, never really knowing why I was doing it. It definitely wasn’t because I loved my job.”
I reach for her over the furry heads between us and take her hand. “If there’s one thing I’m great at, it’s problem-solving. Talk to me.”
“This place is broke,” she blurts. “Something Jim and I had in common is pride. He never wanted to ask for help, including donations. As best I can tell, as far back as his financial records go, he used any of his family inheritance to keep this place afloat for years. Took some odd jobs to supplement.” Her head shakes sadly.
“I need to come up with a plan to generate buzz around the sanctuary, get people to donate. But I need to renovate this house and the rest of the property, too.” Adley gnaws on her bottom lip, her gaze falling to the wall across from us.
My brain is running a mile a minute, maybe faster. Non-profit, public interaction, revenue generation…
I’m in Plan Mode as I retrieve my hand and pull my phone from my pocket, open the note app. “What do you do for a living, Adley?”
She lets out a bitter laugh. “Believe it or not, I was a marketing specialist for a financial firm.”
I’m nodding as I tap away on my phone. “Well, I’m an app developer with a design background. Got my master's in Computer and Network Security. I’m self-employed now. But I think we can help each other. Jasper, too.”
Adley shakes her head in my peripheral. “Oh, no, no. I wasn’t trying to rope you guys into my mess.”
My fingers stop tapping, and I immediately look up at her. “Don’t say things like that.” I am deadly serious.
She looks confused.
“We’re going to be a pack, Adley. We may have just met, but fate decided we would be a family. Family helps one another because it makes the entire unit closer and succeed together.”
Her lips are parted, shellshocked. And I want to know why, but it’s not the time to ask.
When she speaks, her voice is little more than air. “Is that what family does?”
It’s like a lance to my chest. There’s a lot to unpack here, and we will. In time. But we need to take baby steps right now, tackle the more important and immediate threats.
I hold her gaze, steady and serious. “It’s what our family is going to do.”