Chapter 35
35
brIAR
Apartment 203.
A simple set of gold letters and numbers is more intimidating than ever despite the bright flowery wreath partially concealing them.
There’s still a shake to my hands when I raise one to knock on the door.
“I just knocked,” I whisper into the phone.
Landon’s voice is loud over the constant drone of the busy road he’s on.
He must have been moving at superhuman speed because before I could ask if he was on his way, doors were slamming closed, and I heard an engine turn over.
“Do you want me to stay on?”
“No. No, I’ll be okay.”
“I’ll be there before you know it.”
Footsteps on the other side of the door have me blurting, “Someone’s coming.”
“Ronan’s family are good people. Call me back immediately if you need me,” he demands.
“I will.”
“See you soon, Briar.”
I jump when the door opens.
Before I can say a proper goodbye to Landon, I’m panic hanging up the phone and letting it hang at my side.
The woman who appears in front of me is familiar, every feature on her face replicated in Ronan’s.
Deep brown eyes fix themselves on me as she pushes out a hip and leans against the door.
While I’ve never asked Ronan what designation his mother is, it’s easy to tell she isn’t an alpha.
Not only are female alphas uncommon, but as I breathe in, there’s no scent jumping at me.
Even with the chemicals in the air, I should be able to smell something .
My guess is she’s a beta.
“Hello. Who are you?” she asks, not unkindly but suspiciously.
“I’m Briar. Ronan is my—I’m his . . .” I roll my lips, frustration blooming in my chest when I can’t wrangle together the right words.
The woman I assume to be Ronan’s mother tries to hide her surprise in response to my jumbled mess of words, but the upward tweak of her brows is impossible to miss.
“You know my son?”
“I do.”
“Come in, then. You can tell me more about how you know each other inside.”
I puff out a breath of relief and step through the open doorway.
The de-scenter is strong in here too, but it’s not enough to hide the new hints of fresh bread and blueberry in the air.
The scents must belong to the sister Ronan mentioned was taking suppressants.
Ronan’s mother shuts the door while I linger in the entry, unable to keep from looking at the dozens of photo frames hung on both walls.
Some of them seem more recent, with more vibrant colours and a much older-looking Ronan in them, while others are faded.
The second frame is the largest of them and easily snags my attention.
Ronan has to be around ten years old in it.
He’s rocking a full mullet while the younger girl—his sister, I assume—is on his back, using his hair like horse reins.
“He hates that I have that photo up,” his mom says, moving to stand at my side.
There’s a peaceful aura about her, and I really, really needed that.
Maybe that’s why Landon sent me here in the first place.
As if simply having company while I waited wasn’t enough.
It’s easier to pretend everything is fine now that I’m here.
The lingering fear of what I’ll find once I start examining my destroyed home takes a back seat.
“I didn’t expect him to have ever had a mullet.”
“He hated it. The one and only time I tried to cut his hair, I butchered it.”
“Is that why he has it buzzed now?”
She huffs a laugh.
“There’s probably a direct correlation between those two things, yes.”
There’s a lull in conversation as I turn to her and attempt my best smile.
If she knows I’m putting on a brave face, she doesn’t let on.
“I know it’s sudden to show up here like this. Landon suggested I come up while I wait for him to get here.”
“This sounds like the beginning of an interesting story,” she says with a wave of her hand in front of us.
“Do you like tea? Are you hungry?”
“Thank you, but I don’t know if I’ll be here too long.”
I could be for only a handful of minutes or for hours, depending on whether Landon was being sincere in his worry.
My gut is telling me I’ll be gone soon.
“Well, alright. If you change your mind, just let me know.”
We walk out of the front hall and into the living room.
It’s warm in this room despite the windows being open, and I’m suddenly not all that upset about being stuck in the basement suite.
Hot air rises, and I’ll happily be cold from time to time if it means that I don’t have to sweat to death in the summer.
I hesitate to move further into the room once I reach the couch, another wave of unease approaching.
It’s not the same kind of feeling as before I noticed my front door had been opened by someone else, but like I’m .
. . trespassing if I go any further.
Without Ronan here, it feels like an invasion of privacy.
I want to be here with him, knowing that he wants me to meet his family.
His mom smiles at me and slowly sinks into the couch.
She’s dressed in a pair of white-washed jeans and a flowy yellow top that accentuates her dark brown hair.
I notice her mismatched polka-dotted socks—one yellow and blue and the other pink and green—and hide a smile.
Does Ronan share this quirky trait?
If I looked in his sock drawer, would I find a bunch of mismatched socks?
“I’m Kira, in case my son failed to share that information with you. Considering he kept his mate from me, I’d say that’s fairly plausible.”
My lips part on a silent gasp.
“You know who I am?”
Leaning back into the couch cushions, she crosses one leg over the other and cracks a soft smile.
“As I’m sure you’re aware, Landon doesn’t get involved with many omegas. Him simply instructing you to come up to see me, regardless of the reason behind it, tells me everything I need to know. Add in that I can smell my son on you, and I knew who you were the moment I opened the door.”
“I smell like him?”
God, I didn’t know it was so obvious.
Ever since the night I spent at the pack house, I’ve been going to work with a chunk of each of their shirts on me.
Either in my purse or my jeans pocket, I’ve needed to have them close.
It’s my nesting instincts, and I’ve been coming to terms with the fact that I’m going to be going into heat any day now.
“You smell like all of them. And by your surprise, I’m also assuming that everything is still fairly new.”
“You could say that,” I say before huffing a soft laugh.
“Landon may be here soon, but for now, sit beside me. Tell me about yourself, Briar.”
I don’t make her tell me twice.
The couch is one of those old ones with the thick, velvet cushions that they just don’t make the same anymore.
“Well, what do you want to know?”
“What kind of person are you? Do you have many similarities to my son?”
The questions surprise me.
They aren’t what I was expecting.
Usually, all anyone wants to know about you when you’re an omega is what you do for work and if you want kids.
I can’t say I’ve ever had a stranger ask me about who I am instead.
“Honestly,” I start, folding my hands in my lap, “I don’t think I’m anything like Ronan. You weren’t wrong about everything still being very new, but I think I have a pretty good sense of the man he is, and I’ve had twenty-five years to try and figure myself out.
“Ronan is gruff where I’m soft and brave when I want to cower.
He’s had my back every single time I’ve needed him to, and I like to think that I’ve been able to give him a safe space to be himself in return.
With him, I can feel my backbone becoming a bit stronger.
I know there are a million things we still have to learn about one another, but I’m having a really great time doing that so far.
”
Kira’s upturned lips settle some of my anxiety after blurting out so much about myself to her.
“I always had a feeling that he’d find someone a bit warmer than me and his sister, Ciara. Someone like his father. That man prefers to crack jokes over serious conversations any day of the week. Giving Ronan a hard time with just about everything is something his sister and I can’t help ourselves with, and he’s grown a thick skin because of it. I think you’ll help soften it up a bit. So long as you still promise to give him a hard time when he deserves it. Lord knows that boy has a habit of grunting a few too many times instead of making proper conversation. The best love is the kind where both people have the safety and support to learn and grow.”
I nod, absorbing her words.
“You don’t think we’re already too different?”
She lifts a brow.
“Is there such a thing as too different? I couldn’t be further from my husband in most things, but our key values are the same.”
“You’re right. I just—this whole situation has been, well, overwhelming,” I admit sheepishly.
“Please tell me if I’m overstepping here, but I also know how pack life works. Ours here is small, but again, the core values are the same. Will you be the pack omega? Or are you and Ronan . . .?” she asks, slightly wary.
My eyes blow wide. “Oh! No! I’d never make him leave the Montgomery pack. I’m—” I pause, my cheeks burning as I take in her expression, searching for any sign of discomfort or judgment.
There’s neither. “We’re scent-matched.”
She sips in a sharp breath, a hand lifting to cup her throat.
“Oh, that’s even better than I was expecting. I knew it was serious, but a scent match? That’s . . . that’s incredible.”
“I’m glad you think so. I do too,” I murmur.
“My boy has found his mate.”
A feeling of weightlessness comes over me at her support.
It’s like getting a passing grade on the test that will determine whether you get held back a year or not.
“Now I understand why you mentioned it being overwhelming. Just the thought of having four mates gives me a headache, so I can’t imagine how it feels to actually have to deal with such a change in your life,” she adds, softly touching my arm.
“I’ve been handling it okay. Trying to, at least.”
“Have they been good to you?”
The way she asks the question is like she’s already contemplating the fastest and most efficient way to deliver a scolding to four grown men.
“They have. Ronan and Jasper have welcomed me with open arms and haven’t stopped trying to make me feel like a part of the pack from the moment I met them.”
She frowns.
“And the other two?”
“Uh . . . it’s just been a little hard to handle for them, I think.”
“For them? What about you? An omega who’s been thrown into an already established pack of three very successful, larger-than-life alphas? If that’s an excuse they’re using for treating you poorly, Briar, don’t you allow it,” she says firmly.
The hand on my arm shifts to cover both of my hands.
“If Landon is the root of this, I need you to know that it isn’t because of anything you’ve done. That boy needs a smack upside the head.”
“How do you know it’s Landon?” I whisper, unable to be any louder as spikes spear my chest.
Somehow, hearing that someone who hasn’t even seen me and Landon together is able to pick up on the fact we aren’t as connected as the others .
. . it hurts. Is it really that obvious?
“I’ve known your mates for as long as Ronan has, and we’re well over a decade now. Ever since Landon’s mother was kicked out of his father’s pack, he’s been so grey, the vibrancy he had as a child dulled completely.”
My surprise must be obvious because she gives my hands a squeeze and tips her chin.
“He wasn’t always so closed off,” she confirms.
“Why was his mother kicked out? What happened?”
“She—”
The sound of the front door opening cuts her off.
There’s a slam before footsteps head in our direction, their pace frenzied.
My stomach flips, anticipation rolling through me as I slide to the edge of the couch cushion and stare at the opening in the wall.
Nothing else matters once I see him.
Breathing frantically, Landon strides my way.
He fixes a shuddering blue stare on me beneath knitted brows as I hold completely still.
If I move, he might disappear.
“Did you just slam my door shut, Landon Montgomery?” Kira asks.
She doesn’t get an answer.
Landon physically shakes when he gets close enough to smell me and, without hesitating, scoops me off the couch and into his arms. My eyes burn as I curl myself around his body and cling to him, the distraction from earlier disappearing and making way for the reality of why I’m here in the first place.
The de-scenter in the apartment tries to hide his vanilla, but that doesn’t stop me from searching for it and the slight edge of cinnamon that I just know will be there right now.
I take advantage of the low cut of his T-shirt and bring my nose right to his throat, breathing him in like I’m scared it’ll be my last chance to do so.
“Are you okay?”
His hands dig into my thighs as I tighten them around his waist. The low, husky sound of his voice is downright sinful.
I like it far too much.
Almost as much as I like the way he pulls back and inspects me, the eyes I’m so used to seeing closed off in my presence dimmed with worry.
Is there an answer to that question that won’t make him drop me right now?
“Yes.”
“Time to go, then.”
“You could stay,” Kira suggests, but something tells me she doesn’t really mean it.
“Or you could take your omega home.”
“Home,” he snaps, the facial hair he’s been growing out scratching at my neck when he lowers his chin to my shoulder.
“Thanks, Kira.”
“Mm. You’re always welcome here, Briar. Next time, bring my son so I can tell him exactly what I’m going to tell you, Landon.”
The alpha holding me grows still, fingers clenching around my thighs.
Ronan’s mother’s touch is gentler than Landon’s as she pats the back of my head affectionately.
“Life is too short, and scent matches are too rare to ignore. The past has no place in our futures. If you mess this up, you won’t get a second chance. It’s one in a billion.”
Landon doesn’t reply with words.
The dark rumble in his chest presses into mine, a silent vow.
One that I’m not sure he means to make but that has me gliding my mouth up his neck and to the shell of his ear.
“I knew you’d come.”