Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
ASTER
A week after Kol's date, I found myself walking into Thornwood with a lightness in my step that still surprised me.
The town had become familiar in a way I hadn't expected — the brick storefronts, the little diner where Rosie always had coffee waiting, the hardware store where the old Beta behind the counter had finally stopped eyeing me with suspicion.
I knew the streets now, knew the shortcuts, knew which cracks in the sidewalk to avoid.
It felt like belonging. Like home.
Marley's shop was my destination, the same as it had been every week since she'd started teaching me to sew. The bell over the door chimed as I pushed inside, and the familiar smell of fabric and thread wrapped around me like a hug.
"You're late." Marley's voice came from somewhere behind a rack of half-finished dresses, gruff but not unkind, her sharp brown eyes appearing a moment later as she peered around the fabric, her gray-streaked hair escaping from its practical bun. "I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me."
"Never." I smiled, setting down my bag and moving toward the back room where she kept her sewing machines, warmth spreading through my chest at her familiar gruffness. "I got distracted helping Nolan with one of the horses. She threw a shoe and was not happy about having it replaced."
"Mmm." Marley emerged fully, wiping her hands on the apron she always wore, her weathered face creasing as she studied me, her nostrils flaring slightly as she took in my scent.
"You smell happy. Settled." She paused, a wry smile tugging at her thin lips, something knowing crossing her sharp features.
"You smell like four different Alphas, too.
Things progressing well with those boys of yours? "
I felt the heat rise to my cheeks, but I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face, my hands fidgeting with the strap of my bag. "Yeah. Things are... things are good, Marley. Really good."
"Good." She nodded once, decisive, her lips twitching into something that might have been a smile on anyone else, approval warming her sharp brown eyes. "You deserve good. Now come on — I've got some new fabric I want to show you, and that quilt you're working on isn't going to finish itself."
We spent the next two hours in comfortable companionship, Marley guiding my hands as I worked on the quilt I'd started weeks ago — a patchwork of fabrics in blues and greens and soft browns, colors that reminded me of each of my Alphas.
She corrected my stitching with sharp words and gentle touches, praised my progress in her gruff, roundabout way, and shared stories about her own bonding with Trent that made me laugh until my sides ached.
"You're getting better." Marley stepped back to examine my work, her arms crossed over her chest, her head tilted critically, her reading glasses perched on the end of her nose as she ran her fingers along the seams. "Still a bit uneven on the corners, but better.
You might actually be a passable seamstress someday. "
"High praise coming from you." I grinned, stretching my back and rolling out the stiffness in my shoulders, warmth blooming in my chest at her grudging approval.
"Don't let it go to your head." But there was warmth underneath her gruffness, a fondness she tried to hide and failed, her brown eyes softening for just a moment before she turned away. "Same time next week?"
"Same time next week." I packed up my things, tucking the quilt carefully into my bag, already looking forward to showing the others my progress. "Thanks, Marley. For everything."
"Get out of here." She waved a hand dismissively, but I caught the softness in her eyes before she turned away, her voice going gruff to hide the affection underneath. "Go home to those Alphas of yours. Tell them I said to feed you more — you're still too skinny."
I laughed as I pushed through the door, the bell chiming behind me, the afternoon sun warm on my face.
The street was quiet — it usually was this time of day, most people either at work or taking advantage of the afternoon lull to rest. I turned toward the road that led back to Longhorn, my mind already drifting to what might be waiting for me there.
That's when I felt it. A prickle at the back of my neck. A wrongness that made my Omega instincts snap to attention, my whole body going tense before my conscious mind caught up.
Someone was watching me.
I turned, and there he was.
He was leaning against the wall of the building across the street, arms crossed over his chest, watching me with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
He was handsome — objectively, almost aggressively handsome — with dark hair perfectly styled, a jaw that could cut glass, and clothes that probably cost more than everything I owned combined.
His posture was casual, relaxed, but there was something predatory in the way his gaze tracked my movement.
An Alpha. I could smell it from here — something sharp and metallic underneath expensive cologne, something that made every instinct I had scream danger.
His scent was wrong. Off. Like milk just starting to turn, like fruit beginning to rot.
It was Alpha, unmistakably, but there was an instability to it, a raggedness that spoke of something broken underneath the polished exterior.
Lone Alpha, my hindbrain whispered. Unstable. Run.
He was already pushing off the wall, already crossing the street toward me, his smile widening into something that might have looked charming if his eyes weren't so cold.
"Well, well." His voice was smooth, cultured, with an accent I couldn't quite place — somewhere else, somewhere with money — his tone dripping with false pleasantness as he stopped a few feet away, close enough that his wrong scent hit me full force, making my stomach turn.
"You must be the new girl everyone's been talking about.
" He raked his gaze over me from head to toe, slow and deliberate, his dark eyes lingering in places that made my skin crawl. "Reid's new... acquisition."
The word made my stomach turn, made something feral and protective rear up inside me, my hands curling into fists at my sides.
"I don't know what you're talking about." My voice came out steadier than I felt, every muscle in my body coiled to run, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat. "And I don't know who you are."
"How rude of me." He pressed a hand to his chest in mock apology, his smile never wavering, his eyes never warming, his scent washing over me in waves that made my hindbrain whimper with the urge to flee.
"Easton Branston. I own the ranch that borders Longhorn to the east." He extended his hand toward me, palm up, an invitation that felt more like a trap, his manicured fingers steady and sure. "And you are?"
I didn't take his hand. Didn't move. Didn't breathe.
"Not interested." The words came out flat, hard, my Omega screaming at me to submit and my survivor's instincts screaming louder to fight, my jaw clenching with the effort of holding my ground.
Something flickered in his expression — surprise, maybe, or irritation — before the smooth mask slid back into place, his hand dropping to his side, his smile sharpening at the edges.
"Feisty." His voice dropped lower, something almost admiring in his tone, but there was an edge to it that made my skin prickle, his head tilting as he studied me like I was something fascinating he'd found under a rock.
"I can see why Reid's so taken with you.
He always did like a challenge." He took a step closer, and I forced myself not to retreat, forced myself to hold my ground even as his scent made bile rise in my throat, even as every instinct screamed at me to run.
"Though I have to say, I'm surprised he's willing to share.
Reid's never been good at playing with others. "
"What do you want?" My voice came out as a growl, low and threatening, surprising even me with its ferocity, my feral instincts rising to the surface.
Something flickered in his eyes — interest, maybe, or hunger — before his smile widened again, his pupils dilating in a way that made my stomach turn.
"Just being neighborly." He spread his hands, all innocence, but his scent spiked with something darker, something hungry, his voice going silky and false.
"Thought I'd introduce myself to the newest member of the Longhorn family.
See what all the fuss is about." His gaze raked over me again, slow and deliberate, possessive in a way that made me want to vomit, his tongue darting out to wet his lips.
"I have to say, I understand the appeal now.
You're quite pretty, for a feral little thing. "
"Leave her alone, Easton." Marley's voice cracked through the air like a whip, and I'd never been so grateful to hear anyone in my life.
She was standing in the doorway of her shop, arms crossed, her expression thunderous, her entire posture radiating barely contained fury despite her smaller Beta frame, her brown eyes blazing with protective rage.
Easton's smile didn't waver, but something in his eyes went cold and flat as he turned to face her, his whole demeanor shifting into something more guarded, his shoulders tensing almost imperceptibly.
"Marley." His voice was silk over steel, pleasant and poisonous, his smile turning sharp and brittle. "Always a pleasure."
"I doubt that." Marley stepped out onto the sidewalk, putting herself between me and Easton with a deliberateness that made my chest ache with gratitude, her weathered hands curling into fists at her sides, her chin lifting in defiance.
"You know you're not welcome in this part of town. I think it's time you moved along."