Sable #2
“Everything you need is here, my dear, and we even have a contact for a vendor when you’re ready to order more supplies,” she says, warmly. “Your Grams even got you set up with a few local businesses that may want to add your candles to their shops.”
“She always thought of everything.” It warms something in me, knowing Grams was planning ways to make sure I was okay after she passed.
“Indeed, she did. Now, be a dear and take these boxes out back. I tried, but they’re too heavy for these weak old knees,” she says, pointing to the stack of empty boxes by the door. Right to business as always. “Then I’ll get out of your hair!”
“Sure.” I nod, chuckling as I lift the small stack and head out the back door to the dumpster.
Several businesses in this area use it. We’re just lucky enough to have it on our lot.
Grams used to complain that she had to walk “for hours” to throw out the trash before her parents managed to get the dumpster installed.
I have to place everything on the ground before I can reach to open the tall wooden gate that keeps the dumpster hidden, but the second I do, the door swings open from the inside, scaring the hell out of me.
“What the–” I brace myself to go flying to the ground when strong arms wrap around me, pulling me into a firm chest. Oh my, that scent… I know that scent. Smoked oak, clove, and leather.
“Are you alright? Sorry, I was just throwing some stuff out for the café, and I didn’t see you there,” he rushes to explain, not even realizing who he’s talking to yet.
“Colter?” I yelp, pressing my hands to his chest, feeling the heat and muscle under his long-sleeved dark gray Henley. I’m sucked into him, drawn to the way he looks now. So unlike the boy I once knew.
Ash brown tousled hair, rough stubble, and intense steel gray eyes that hold me in place. Oh, hell. It’s really him. And I’m clinging to his shirt like a desperate groupie.
“Sable…” Colter whispers, staring at me for a long moment, not reacting, not even blinking…creepy. When he takes in a sharp breath, his entire body shivers against me, breaking him out of his shocked stupor.
“Hey. Been a while.” I try to be casual, but I’m pretty sure I’m just terribly awkward, wincing up at him.
“Why are you here?” he demands suddenly, clearly not excited to see me, his dominance making my heart race. The sound of his voice sends shivers across my skin. Oh, he's all man now.
“What?” is all I manage to ask, not sure why he’s being so grumbly. I haven’t seen him in years. Even when I came back to town to visit Grams, it was never for long. Or very often. I’m a shitty grandkid.
Maybe I was hiding from my past, but can you blame an omega when her past looks like a Greek god and sounds like sex? His rejection still burns under the skin.
My instincts don't care one bit how long it's been. My attraction to Colter kicks in like a hammer to the heart, and I have to force myself not to feel the man up. Why is he using the dumpster in this alleyway? The firehouse is a block away. Oh, wait, he mentioned something about the café, right? Jeez, he’s already scrambling my brains.
“Sorry, what?” I murmur again, when all he does is stare me down. He's still holding me close. So fucking close… This is no good.
“What are you doing here?” he demands again, this time less aggressively and more curious. Still too pushy for my tastes though. He finally realizes that we’re still pressed together and jerks away from me like I’m acid burning his skin, taking several steps to the side.
“Throwing away the boxes.” I gesture to the pile still on the ground. “You?” I ask because I’m not even sure what the hell else I should say or do, even though I know that’s not what he meant.
My first crush. My first kiss. First heartbreak, and first rejection… All wrapped up in one delicious alpha.
“No, in town, Sable. What are you doing in town?” he demands again, this time pissing me off. I cross my arms over my chest, standing off against him, annoyed with his tone. He might be a big, strong alpha with an incredible scent, but he has no right to speak to me this way.
“I live here now, Colter. I’m taking over Gram’s shop and living in the upstairs apartment. This town has been my home since I was a kid. Maybe I left for a little while, but–”
“Six years, Sable. You left for six years. Plenty long enough to find a new home. A mate. Or even an entire pack,” he grunts, and the words land like the slap he intended them to be. He knows how those words will wound me, and he said them anyway.
All I ever wanted was a pack, Colter. To be truly loved for who I am…
I shake off the memory and glare at the alpha.
“Still fucking grumpy, I see. Go sip on some sweet tea and eat some fucking candy so you can sweeten up, hmm?” I flip my long, dark green hair over my shoulder and stomp away from him, leaving the boxes where they lie.
Of course, all of my bravado dies when I yank the handle for the back door, but it doesn’t budge. Because it’s locked. Fuck.
“You know, if you weren’t such a pain in the ass, I’d offer to help you fix those steps,” Colter shouts at my back, and I glance down at the rotting wood. I'd better be careful on these.
“Bite me, Colter,” I huff. I’ve been here for like two hours, and he’s already managed to irritate me? What is it about him that makes me want to start a fight? Maybe the knowledge that he would never do anything to hurt me. He’s a firefighter. A good guy. The town's hero.
“Bend over, and I will.”
“Just go away!” I snap, spinning around and heading to the front of the shop, a massive alpha hot on my heels.
“Hey, wait, wait…” He wraps that meaty hand of his around my wrist and tugs me to a stop on the sidewalk.
“Colter, I have been back in town for less time than it takes you to grow that five o'clock shadow, and you are already on some bullshit. Why are you picking a fight with me?” I snap, trying to yank my hand free, but he refuses to let me go.
“I’m sorry. Sable, I’m sorry. Listen to me,” Colter pulls me in closer, and I can’t help but breathe in his scent as it spikes, trying to soothe me now.
Fuck, he’s intoxicating. If I leaned in right now and licked his neck, what would he do?
Shit, that's a crazy thought. Ugh! Alphas! He knows exactly what he’s doing to me.
“Well,” I grumble, gesturing for him to spit it out already.
“Seeing you sent me right back to being a dumbass teenager. I didn’t mean to be a shithead, I’m sorry. Let me help you with your porch. I’ll replace the back steps and fix the broken boards. As an official apology, okay?” he offers, looking so damn sincere.
I’m breathing heavily, watching him closely, really wishing he hadn’t reminded me of our past together. Not that I’ve ever forgotten, even for one moment.
“Fine, but if you keep pissing me off, then we’re going to fight,” I warn, making him smirk.
“Oh yeah? Sounds like fun.” Colter wiggles his brows at me, and I can’t help but snort. “You look good, Sable. It was nice to see you. I’ll be back soon for the repairs.”
“It was good to see you too, Hero,” I say, shaking my head as he jogs across the street, winking at me over his shoulder. The firehouse is just down the main street in this sweet little old town. Watching him evokes a sense of nostalgia.
Like everything I went out into the world searching for, might have been here all along.
My smile fades when I catch sight of the town's grouchiest gossip staring me down as she walks her pint-sized dog, and suddenly I remember why I left in the first place.
“Already getting cozy with Colter, I see,” Mrs. Baker harrumphs, shaking her head at me as she walks past. “Who’s next, I wonder,” I catch her whispering under her breath as she goes.
My scent sours, filling the air with the odor of rotting pumpkins. Sixteen-year-old Sable would have thrown eggs at her car. But I've matured. Probably.
“Eat shit, Mrs. Baker,” I grumble, flipping off her back. When she trips over the cobblestones under her feet, I drop my hand, snorting a laugh. She only stumbles a small step, but when she hastily glances around, checking if anyone saw, I send her a little wave and a sugary sweet smile.
I'm not surprised when she glares back at me.
She's a crotchety old thing, withered and aged like cheap leather. Back hunched with eyes that are narrow slits of hate. How does someone turn into that kind of person?
I tilt my head up to the sky, enjoying the way the clouds block out the sun, and take a deep breath.
I did not miss that vicious old hag or her small-town minions. I have no doubt that they will haunt every aspect of my life this holiday season.
Rhian
“She’s back,” my brother grumbles, not bothering to look at me over his shoulder as he washes the dishes. My lip quirks in a smirk. I knew it wouldn’t take him long to bring Sable up.
Nick’s an alpha and built like a brick house.
At just fifteen, he was already bigger than the rest of the family, and at thirty-three, not much has changed.
He’s massive, and it’s kind of entertaining watching him crouch over the sink like it was made for a hobbit.
He hisses something about the way the soap feels on his hands, and I snort.
That’s just Nick. Grumbly and grumpy.
He’s a good brother, but the only person I’ve ever seen him soft for, other than our baby sister, is our friend Plum. A simple fact that they will both vehemently deny, given the chance.
I’m six-two, and my brother towers over me at six-seven. It’s even more ridiculous how tiny my childhood friend, Plum, looks compared to him, and she’s tall for an omega, at five foot five inches.
I’ve been trying to get him to admit he’s in love with Plum for years, but every time I bring her up, he growls at me.
‘She’s too young, Rhian. Let the woman live her life before you try marrying her off. Besides, I got more than enough on my plate. I don’t need an omega to care for too.’
That particular conversation was two years ago. I think most of the hesitation comes from the fact that she’s only three years older than our little sister, Stella. But she’s nearly twenty-four now.
I just want my big brother to be happy. He sacrificed so much for my siblings and me over the years. Of all of us, he deserves happiness in his life.
Nick is ten years older than me, and much more to me than just a big brother. He’s my first hero, hell, he’s still my fucking hero even though that's not how he sees himself. He’s the best man I’ve ever known.
I know what my brother thinks of himself.
Worthless, useless, stupid… Words our father used to spew at him endlessly.
Especially since Nick refused to let our dad treat me, or our younger siblings, Benson and Stella, the same way.
He took the worst of it to spare us, and I’ve always known who he really is.
I only wish he saw himself the way we see him.
He’s more to me than our father ever was. He’s my big brother. My real-life superhero.
“Who, Sable?” I ask after letting the silence drag on too long, watching him as I stir my sugar cube into my black coffee and take a sip.
“No, Mary Poppins,” he deadpans, finally glancing at me over his shoulder.
“Fucking obviously Sable.” Nick shakes his head like I’m dense as he finishes washing the dishes from breakfast. His rich brown hair, so much like Mom’s, is in need of a cut.
He also has her green eyes. But he’s built like Dad was. Burly and sturdy. Brick fucking house.
“I know. She got back this morning. Plum called me yesterday. We had a good chat. They’re coming by tonight for the pumpkin patch,” I say, since he wants to bring up the past. He freezes, like saying her name conjures a ghost before his eyes.
“Fucking omegas,” he grunts, making me snort a chuckle.
If anyone else ever said something like that in front of my big brother, they’d lose their tongue.
Or at least a few teeth. I presented when I was just seventeen, eight months earlier than most do.
It derailed my fucking life. But Nick was there, ready to break the neck of anyone who tried to say a bad word about my designation. Especially Dad.
Nick is not a very forgiving man. Still holding grudges in my name, even when I’ve already forgotten the hurt.
Half the time, he’s still pissed about shit I literally can’t remember.
He’s the most loyal person I’ve ever known.
If he picks you, he’s on your side, period.
Even if you’re wrong, he’ll find a way to justify your actions.
‘That kid shouldn’t have called you dumb, then you wouldn’t have punched him…’
That sort of thing. So when he says, ‘Fucking omegas,’ I know he’s teasing me, but also cursing the women from our pasts.
More so Plum, since I’m the one who ruined things with Sable out of fear, which he knows all too well.
She and I were close once. Best friends, really.
But even before she presented, we all knew she’d be an omega, so when I perfumed…
Well, I was just a stupid kid. I thought she’d reject me because I wasn’t an alpha.
I didn’t even give her the chance to prove me wrong.
But I’m not a dumb ass teenager now.
“Her Grams wanted Sable’s candles sold in the shop, and I said I’d give her a spot,” I tell him, watching as he finally returns to his task.
“I’m aware. Who do you think told her to call you?” Nick harrumphs dramatically, and I can’t resist a chuckle. Everyone says omegas are dramatic and emotional, which we are, but have you ever met an alpha? Absolute. Drama. Queens.
“So I should be thanking you?” I ask, smirking as he turns to glare at me.
“You should be outside doing your chores, not in here harassing me, you little shit,” Nick huffs, tossing the damp dishcloth at me.
“Alright, alright, I’m going!” I chuckle as Benson walks in. He’s only one year younger than me, but is a good four inches taller. They’re both alphas, Mom, Stella, and I are omegas.
“Must you rile him up every morning? He works me like I’m a damn horse for hours after you two talk every time,” Benson complains, and I shrug.
“You need the extra work, or you get bored and annoy him. I don’t think I’m the problem here, little bro.” I chuckle, reaching up to pat his head as I pass him.
The truth is, I haven’t been able to think about anything else for weeks, once I found out Sable was coming back.
Imagining how I would win her back all these years later.
I never should have let her slip away. I won’t make that mistake ever again. I might not be an alpha, but I can be the man Sable needs.