Chapter 15 Walker
Walker
Iknew it.
I knew it was too good to be true.
Another Omega, tearing into my life with a scent I can’t wash off my clothing only to leave me for the excitement of the big city.
The moment the words Hollow Mill Junction leave Lia’s mouth, something old and ugly rears up in my chest. The memory of my prior Omega, choosing to leave instead of stay.
Choosing a life in the city over a quiet life on the vineyard.
A familiar ache rings deep in my gut.
Hollow Mill Junction is about an hour and a half away from Honeysuckle Grove. It’s far enough to matter. Far enough to make excuses why someone can’t come see the other for a weekend. Far enough to create another life.
I don’t let anyone see my thoughts. I never have, but especially not now. The words still hang in between us. Neither Eli nor Knox have spoken since Lia dropped that bomb on us: that her perfect life exists an hour and a half away from this place.
Away from us.
Knox’s words are still tumbling around in my head.
You’d be a good pack leader. Is that how Knox sees all of us?
As a pack? The entire town knows what that other Omega, Rachel, did to me.
How hard I worked to woo her. The presents I bought her.
The dates we went on. The vacations we took together.
The arguments we had, where I told her that life was here with me, whether she realized it yet or not.
I remember how much it shattered me when Rachel moved, anyway. Middle of the night. No goodbye.
All because I tried to control her.
I keep my face neutral as I take another bite of my food. It takes all of my energy to keep my posture relaxed. I stuff my Alpha down, just as I’ve done for so many years, because the last thing I want is to be a controlling Alpha.
Lia’s medical condition tells me she’s had enough of those in her life.
I want to be supportive of her. I’ve always wanted to be supportive. I learned the hard way that anything else drives people away, and the last thing I want is to drive her away.
I feel torn between a life I can’t figure out how to create and a life only half-lived.
Lia’s voice is small when she speaks, breaking the silence between the four of us. “I mean, it’s just a thought. Nothing’s set in stone or anything.”
My attention goes right to her, only to find that Knox and Eli are staring at me.
No doubt, thinking about Rachel in the same way I am.
Fuck them. Rachel’s in the past, and I’ve got another Omega right here in front of me that is so lost for direction that it makes me ache.
I give my attention fully to her, ignoring their looks.
Her scent is turning sour, and I don’t like that.
She deserves better than that.
And if there’s one thing I know, it’s business.
“Hollow Mill Junction is a good spot,” I say.
“It is?” Eli and Knox ask at the same time.
I just nod and spear another potato. “The river runs through there. If you got yourself a little place next to the water, I could see a lot of people dipping in on their river walks to get themselves a treat.”
“It isn’t exactly close, though,” Eli says as he pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “About an hour and a half from here.”
“Yeah,” Lia says as she shrinks in on herself. “But it’s not as big of a city as some of the other cities I have to travel to for freelancing. It’s still small enough to feel manageable. Like I’d be part of the community instead of just one in the crowd.”
I hate that she shrinks, that she defends herself when the situation doesn’t require it. I shoot looks at both Eli and Knox, silently telling them to back off. This is her dream we’re talking about. That gets to take form in any way she pleases. Even if it guts me.
Us.
I’m starting to wonder if Knox is right about all of this.
“Not a fan of the big city?” Knox asks with a chuckle that sounds a bit forced.
Lia just shakes her head. “Not long-term, no. Too many people. And cities smell a bit. A city in general is just really overwhelming for me. It works when all I have to do is deliver into one, but I’m not sure I could set up shop permanently in one of them.”
“You know, Honeysuckle Grove’s only got one other bakery,” Eli says.
“Tansy would secretly love the competition,” Knox says. “She might even let you do features in her shop in exchange for features in yours.”
“I don’t know,” Lia says as she takes a sip of her water. “I haven’t done a lot of research into this place. I only found myself at the Blossom Festival because it was a last-ditch effort to do something with those pies I’d already made.”
Knox’s eyebrows raise. “You were the one that made the pies for the eating contest? My god, that was the best fucking pie I’ve ever scarfed down.”
She smiles a bit, and the sourness of her scent lightens. “You really liked it?”
Knox leans into her. “I would’ve downed two had there been an option.”
She giggles. “Good to know.”
I’m glad they’re trying to be a bit more supportive of Lia, but I can also tell neither of them are happy about being supportive of her moving an hour and a half away.
If that were to ever happen.
“Look, guys,” she says as she picks up her fork and takes another bite of food, “it’s just something I research in the evening.
Would I love to do it? Sure. Can I do it?
Not right now. Like I was telling Knox earlier, I don’t even have money set back for it yet.
I don’t make that kind of money with my baking right now. ”
I pause my bite. “You don’t have any money saved yet?”
Lia looks at the table instead of me. “It’s just something I game-plan in my head when I need motivation. You know, on my hard days.”
Hard days.
I want to make all of her hard days go away.
I let the three of them talk around me. Knox asks questions about how she’d decorate and theme her bakery, while Eli sticks with head nods and words of encouragement.
While they gently probe about her financial situation and how far away she is from actually achieving her dream, I let my mind wander.
Because inside, the memory of Rachel is loud.
Her scent was peppermint and lilies, like a posh Christmas morning. Her laughter, too sharp for Honeysuckle Grove. She clicked around in heels and pencil skirts, doing her best to get her little gossip column up and running in the town’s newspaper.
She had drive. Ambition. She told me she loved me the first night we spent together, and I started making plans the next day.
Until she told me this place was too small for her dreams.
Silence falls over the table again and it gets my attention before Lia clears her throat.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things weird.”
I shake my head. “Never apologize for your dreams.”
“He’s right, Alley Cat,” Eli says as he finishes his food.
Knox downs the rest of his water. “Nothing to be sorry for, Sunshine.”
Her eyes are wide and uncertain as they pan to me. I point my fork at her a bit. “You have business dreams. That’s something to be proud of. Ambition isn’t a flaw, Lia. I admire it.”
Seeing her relax a bit soothes the hurt Alpha inside of me.
At least I can do one thing right.
“Plus,” I add before I take my last bite of food and swallow.
“If you win the bowling competition this weekend, working with my head chef will be good practice. It’ll give you insight into real-world logistics.
Volume. Timing. How to move in a bakery with fresh orders plus stocking a shelf for visuals.
” Her shoulders loosen and I grin. “Too bad you’re going to lose, though. ”
Knox barks with a laugh. “There he is.”
Eli claps me on the back. “Thought you were getting sick there for a second.”
Lia’s lips curve into a smile, though her eyes are still searching mine. “You’re not upset or anything?”
I meet her gaze and don’t look away. “I could never be upset with you wanting more for yourself.”
And that’s the truth.
At least, part of the truth.
Because beneath the calm, beneath the support, beneath the carefully measured Alpha restraint, a decision locks into place in my mind with absolute clarity.
I’m not letting this happen again.
I don’t know how I’m going to do it. I don’t know how I’m going to convince her that her life is here. That her life is with us, her pack—something I’m still wrapping my head around.
I won’t force her. I won’t pressure her. I won’t clip her wings and call it love. But somehow, someway, I will show her that her future is here. That she can have her dream bakery and a pack that respects her, all without having to uproot her life.
I won’t go down without a fight.
And it starts with me winning on Friday night.