Chapter 14 Briar
Briar
Any excuse to get out of the house, I guess. However, it did me little good in the end. It just so happened that Daisy was at the lodge, too, and just my luck, hey. I’d hoped to avoid her as much as possible.
She’d looked absolutely fantastic, her hair shining like spun gold as she walked amongst the flowers, and the regret and heartache have been gnawing at me ever since.
A part of me hopes that I may run into her on my way out of the lodge. Perhaps she parked her car close to my bike, who knows, but I take my time through the dark, wooded path, enjoying the sweet scent of spring flowers as they close their petals for the night.
As soon as I arrive at my parking space just outside the lobby, Shepard is waiting for me. He has a surreptitious grin on his bearded face.
“What is it?” I ask cautiously, placing my helmet on my head.
The Alpha kicks off the wall where he’d been leaning casually, vanishing into the night, “Just follow me. Thorn. You will soon find out.”
Confused, I peer back down at my bike. My baby is cold and silent as I brush her gently. “I won’t be long.”
Now I take off my helmet again, following the Alpha through the dark woods. I think of the time he and his brothers led me and my brothers into the woods at the back of Uncle Joel’s house; we had told Noelle it was a boy’s scouting party only, and she had been furious, telling our mom on us.
And then we all got grounded. We had been out in those woods with the Wynter brothers for hours in the end. We even had a clubhouse, like the Lost Boys from Peter Pan.
Perhaps that’s what this is again. Maybe Shepard and his brothers have another secret clubhouse.
I turn back to the lobby, wondering if his brothers will join us. However, when I find the faces of Noelle and Frost in the window watching us with creepy smiles, I finally pause.
What the hell is going on?
This is weird. They’re a strange pack, that’s for sure.
“What’s with those two?” I ask Shepard now as we walk further into the woods.
Shepard scowls at his brother and Omega before he glances back at me. “We got a call at reception. One of the guests is having lightbulb troubles, and… we want to give you the honor of fixing it for them.”
He hands me a brand-new lightbulb. I raise a brow. “Are you offering me a new job, boss?”
Shepard guides me further away from my parked bike. “Let’s just say I’m doing you a favor. You’ll thank me later. Trust me.”
In the end, I decide to go along with him, and we soon arrive at a private cabin.
When he skips up the steps that lead to the small, wooden building, I have an unsettled feeling.
Fuck. This is how the characters are always butchered in horror movies. Led to a lone cabin in the woods.
The Alpha stops at the door, hiking up a brow when he still finds me at the bottom of the steps. That’s when I pick up on the scent.
May-blossom.
I start backing away. “What—?”
However, the door of the cabin opens, and lo and behold—the last face I expected to see gazes right at me.
Her eyes widen, and then she covers up her big, fluffy pink night gown. “Briar…”
My heart thumps, and then I glare at Shepard. Now I understand the smirks. They had all planned this.
The evil masterminds.
Shepard smirks at me, and then he leans his head down to talk with Daisy. “Hey… Daisy, is it? We’re maintenance, and we’re here to fix your lightbulb.”
Daisy doesn’t look so convinced, though. She just keeps staring at me. “Well, what are the chances? Ash is the tree surgeon, and Rowan is finance director… So, it only makes sense that you’re the janitor, hey Briar?”
I have no response to give. I could say that I just work at the bar, but I don’t want to look stupid. In the end, I was tricked by the Wynter Pack, and screw Shepard and his meddling.
“Oh, so you two know each other?” Shepard remarks, grinning.
I scowl at him. He can quite the act now. Neither me nor Daisy are convinced. The Omega has her hands on her hips. “Did Noelle and Frost put you up to this?”
Shepard chokes back a laugh. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, miss... May we come in?”
Daisy bites her lip, and then she looks at me suspiciously. I hold up my hands. “I had no idea. They roped me into this.”
The Omega rolls her beautiful green eyes. Then she sighs, stepping aside. “The bulb went out half an hour ago in the bedroom.”
Shepard makes his way into the cabin, and I rush up the steps next, joining him inside. I haven’t actually had a chance to check one of these bad boys out, so wow…
It’s cozy. There’s a giant stone hearth in the living room—unlit, of course. Instead, the small Omega wears a tightly wrapped pink nightgown, and the sight doesn’t bode well for my Alpha.
He just wants to warm her up and get that fire roaring.
We make our way to the bedroom, and the last thing I want to see is the place where Daisy will be sleeping. But I persist. It’s too dark to see the bed, anyway, but I can imagine that the view in the daytime is breathtaking.
I don’t blame Daisy for picking this place.
Shepard unscrews the old lightbulb, reaching his hand out for the one in my hand as I pass it to him. Then he grins at me, taking his sweet, sweet time.
“It’s all right, Briar. I’ve got this.”
He looks at Daisy, wiggling his brows.
Fuck, he really is aggravating. Now Daisy and I wait in the living room while Shepard fixes one lightbulb.
It’s not like there’s much to discuss. I broke her heart once.
What else is there between us?
Daisy offers me a complimentary drink from the mini fridge, and now we wait in the kitchen as the Alpha takes his time fixing the lightbulb.
Seriously.
“So… you’re still writing?”
I think back to the laptop I saw on the desk in her bedroom. It was covered in bookish stickers.
Daisy peers to the left, hiding her blush. “You could say something like that.”
We don’t speak anymore as it’s a rather touchy subject. Once again, I see her reciting her poem back at school. I recall how I wanted to race up to the stage and hide her from the crowd. They were all laughing at her, and those bastards.
My fist curls at the memory, and that’s when I decide to cut straight to the chase. “Look, Daisy… about what happened back then…”
She raises a hand up to stop me, swigging her cola. “It’s fine. All water under the bridge... Besides, I’ve already talked it out with Ash. While I don’t exactly forgive either of you, I am happy to at least try to be friends. That’s if you want to be friends…”
She blushes again, turning as pink as her nightgown, and I just stare at her, stunned, for a while. I didn’t expect her to be so straight with me.
This is all so wrong. She should not be the one explaining herself. I should be groveling for her affection, not the other way around.
It’s time to make the first step.
“How about we go on a date sometime? See how it works out?”
What a stupid thing to say. Of course it will work out. We’re scent matches. But it’s a step in the right direction.
Her eyes sparkle. “I… would like that.”
I can’t help it, now. A smile takes over my face.
“You and Ash can both take me out,” she adds next.
Ash? Oh, right. Those two already cleared things up. I won’t lie; I was looking forward to it just being the two of us, but perhaps spending time as a pack may help.
Well, at least two out of the three of us.
Rowan is not interested in pursuing things with Daisy. However, this will never truly work without him.
As much as he irks me, we need to get him on board, too. Because I refuse to lose Daisy a second time.
“Then it’s a date,” I reply, sipping my own cola.
Lord, she really is cute; now I can’t tell where her skin begins and ends as she becomes one with her nightgown.
“All done,” Shepard announces, coming out of the bedroom.
I look back at Daisy. I won’t push her boundaries any further tonight.
We will take this slowly, for now. And then perhaps it can blossom into something later.
I back away as I can’t take my gaze off her. Shepard is right; I’m thanking him already in my head. “We’ll see you soon, Daisy.”
Daisy smiles shyly. “See you soon.”
Finally, we exit the cabin, yet just before the door shuts, I get one last glimpse of her.
She’s troubled, yet hopeful.
But I promise I won’t hurt her again this time. I’d sooner rip off my own arm and throw it at Rowan than break her heart.
Shepard still has that shit-eating grin, and I roll my eyes. “All right. Thank you, I guess.”
The Alpha grins the whole way back to the lobby. As I get on my bike, putting on my helmet, I find that I’m smiling, too.
Things are finally looking up. That’s when my gaze lands on the moon, and wherever she is, I hope Mom is proud.
A step in the right direction.