Chapter 12
Oriana
R oman was driving now, while I was sandwiched between Hudson and Lane. Lane was a touchy person, his hand holding mine and toying with one of my rings, or resting on my thigh.
At first, it was weird as hell, but after the first hour or so, I was desensitized a little, which was the goal.
Hudson was intense. He watched me, and when I spoke it was a bit intense the way he stared at me while he listened, but he was also comforting in a way. I knew what to expect now and met him head on. It honestly made me feel more confident and that was something I was thankful for as we neared Rockwood Valley.
“If you want to stop, we should at the next exit. After that we’re all small towns and country roads. Gas stations and food will be hard to find until we get into them,” I said as I recognized the latest exit.
Hudson climbed out first before turning around to help me down. I gave him a small smile before putting my hand in his. I expected him to let go but he tucked me into his side, placing a kiss on the top of my head as he held me close. It felt so intimate that my cheeks flared to life again.
“I have to stop blushing,” I groaned. “But I can’t help it. Until I met Roman, I avoided physical contact for years.”
“All the more reason to hold on tight. Plus, I hope you never lose that blush, it’s gorgeous,” Hudson said, his voice low and just for me. I bit my lip, a smile forming that I couldn’t stop if I wanted to.
Roman walked up on my other side, his hand wrapping around mine as the alpha held me. I think we both needed that lifeline among all this chaos.
Lane moved ahead of us to open the door, giving me a wink that had a fresh blush forming on my cheeks.
I was officially a mess.
Hudson and Roman let me go so I could walk in the store ahead of him. Lane took my hand and dragged me toward the candy aisle, ignoring Hudson’s small growl of protest. They were really playing up the part and I knew I made the right choice in hiring them. This all felt so easy.
“Okay, Princess, what’s your poison? Are you a chocolate kind of girl? Fruity? Gummies?”
“I hate sweets,” I said, keeping my face completely normal. The look of pure horror on his face and the fact his hand clutched at his chest as if he was gripping nonexistent pearls broke me though. A laugh broke free and soon I was wheeze laughing in the most unattractive way possible.
“She’s teasing. Don’t give her an asthma attack,” Roman joked, though his eyes were tight. He dug around in his pocket to pull out an inhaler, handing it my way. I took it, amusement still in my eyes before handing it back.
“Thanks,” I said, leaning up and brushing a kiss over his lips.
“Wait, you have asthma?” Hudson asked behind me. “I’m going to need to know more. Triggers, where you keep your meds, things like that.”
“I always have her inhaler and one’s in her purse,” Roman answered for me. “This is only the second time she’s needed it.”
“Usually it’s exercise like hiking or running that gets me, but during allergy season it can hit me like now,” I said with a shrug. “It’s not that serious.”
Hudson seemed to disagree but Lane didn’t let the moment get heavy, tugging me down the aisle further.
“Come on, we need road snacks and I need coffee,” he urged. We loaded up our arms with a variety of chips and sweets before grabbing a few cans of iced coffee from the cooler.
Things felt a little tense again after that and I moved to the front seat to drive, Roman taking the passenger seat again.
“You okay?” I asked Roman as Lane and Hudson talked about checking in on Tate. The mysterious pack member I’d be meeting in a week. I don’t know why I was so nervous about meeting him, but I’d need time like this to get used to him, too.
“I’m trying to be,” he said, taking the hand I offered him as I merged back on the highway. “It’s strange sharing you, and I know they aren’t really pack, so it’s getting to me. I’ll get used to it. If you’re comfortable, I’ll try to be.”
“You’re mine, Ro,” I said, my voice even and strong. He took a breath before letting it out.
“And you’re mine,” he agreed, kissing my knuckles and looking out the window.
The car was quieter now but it wasn’t as awkward as before. My words seemed to have calmed Roman a bit more.
Soon, the scenery was more familiar and the nerves started to kick into full gear. I honestly felt like I was going to throw up.
“Stormy. Pull over,” Roman said as I took the exit. I didn’t argue for once, pulling over to the side of the country road. My mind went numb as I realized the enormity of what I was doing.
“Hey, breathe, Princess,” Lane urged, his hand hitting my shoulder.
“We’ve got you,” Hudson reminded me as Roman opened the door and pulled me into his arms.
Insecurities swam in my head for a moment. I had learned to be strong and independent, but right then I felt so fucking small.
I hated it.
“You’re not small, you’re still strong,” Roman said. Apparently, I’d lost the ability to keep my thoughts to myself, too.
Cameron is going to laugh in your face and reject you again.
He never loved you.
“What if this blows up in my face and I have to start over again?” I whispered as my mind conjured worst case scenarios.
“Then we kill him,” Hudson said. I wasn’t sure if it was a joke or not but Roman snorted and held me tighter.
“You won’t be alone, no matter the outcome. You are allowed to take up space in this world. Don’t let any alpha keep you from your dreams, Stormy. If you want to be by your family and live here, then you can.”
I forced my eyes to meet his silver blues and breathed in his scent of tea and honey like it was a drug. The effect it had on me was immediate. My body relaxed and I let him carry me over to the passenger side, buckling me in like I was fragile and kissing me again. This time, I clung to him, soaking in his scent and presence until I was well and truly grounded.
When he pulled away he rested his forehead against mine. “We’ve got this, Stormy. You and me will always be fine.”
“We will,” I agreed.
He finally pulled away and closed the door before walking around to climb in the driver’s seat again.
“Sorry, guys, I don’t mean to be a hot mess,” I said, refusing to look back at them, afraid of what I might see.
“No apologies. You’re allowed to have human moments. This is a big deal and will be hard, but Roman is right. You’ve got us all to keep you sane.”
“For now,” I said, voice quiet. The three week deadline was suddenly looming over me, making me realize that we’d have to part ways in such a short time.
I shouldn’t care. They were strangers this morning. Yet for some reason my omega hated that plan.
“Wait, I just realized we have like, nothing in this SUV. Where is all your stuff?” Hudson asked. “A few bags can’t be it.”
“Oh, my dads are adorably protective and sent one of those shipping containers they drop off to collect our stuff. We both loaded it and they shipped it home already,” I explained.
My dad Brandon wasn’t about to let anything stress me out so I let him take care of the details. He wanted his little girl home.
“Speaking of, they know about me, but you guys are new to the pack,” Roman reminded me. “So, we have a little wiggle room for awkwardness at least.”
“You’ll win them over for simply coming here with me. They’ve been trying to get me home for years. Hell, since I left,” I admitted.
“Parents love me,” Lane said. “Unless I’m playing the role of ‘every parent’s nightmare.’ That’s different.”
“Tattoos and bad boy persona, who could resist?” I teased, giving him a grin over my shoulder.
“I am a bad boy, Princess,” he teased back.
“There’s the sign,” Roman said, pulling my attention back to the road where there was a huge wooden ‘Welcome to Rockwood Valley’ sign on the side of the road.
My stomach churned as I gave him directions through town. Thirteen years was a long time. There were new shops mixed with the old as we drove down the main drag. Yet, it still had the same Rockwood Valley feel that I adored.
When we pulled up outside the huge white house I grew up in, all of the nerves faded away.
My dad stepped outside and I was flinging the door open before I registered it, running across the lawn.
“Dad!” I yelled, both of us meeting halfway as he crushed me in a hug. He smelled like vanilla and spices, like he’d spent all day baking and a sob broke free as he held me tight.
“Oh, my girl is home,” he said, the same emotion filling his voice. “Finally.”
“I’m sorry,” I choked out but he wasn’t having it, shushing me from going down that road.
“You’re home, Little Bird, that’s all we care about. We’ve all missed you.”
“We have,” Mom said, her voice far more gentle than I remembered. I pulled away only to be tugged into her arms, the hug a lot less bone crushing but it felt sincere. She brushed the tears from my cheeks, her smile gentle and the soft wrinkles on her face hit me right in the feels. “I’m glad you’re home.”
It was strange but nice to know she’d softened even more.
“Me, too,” I said, the words cut off as Adam pulled me into a hug next. His scent was mint and pine, woodsy and masculine and another familiarity that hit me square in the chest.
“Hey, Little Bird,” Steve’s voice was next as he pulled me into his arms. My alpha dad was quiet and reserved, but even he looked emotional at our reunion.
“Hey, Dad,” I said, giving him a hug back and breathing in the scent of berries and cinnamon, like a fresh pie. We weren’t as close as I was with Adam and Brandon, but I always knew he loved me. He just never quite knew how to show it.
“I’d like you to meet my pack,” I said as I wiped my tears away.
I turned to find them standing shoulder to shoulder, soft smiles on their faces as they witnessed the reunion. When I held my hand out, Roman was the first to move, Hudson and Lane following until they were surrounding me.
“My betas, Roman and Lane, my alpha, Hudson,” I said, pointing each of them out. “You’ve heard of Roman, but Lane and Hudson and I are still new.”
“The fact they followed you home speaks of their character,” Adam said, holding out a hand to shake each of theirs. The only one who didn’t wince was Hudson, who only looked amused.
I glanced around, realizing our moving container wasn’t here.
“Where’s our stuff?” I asked, glancing around.
“Actually, it’s at your grandma’s house. Your house,” Brandon explained. “Not that I wouldn’t love having you, but I thought you’d want your own space and nest. We packed it with essentials but don’t feel like you can’t change literally everything. It’s yours now, Little Bird.”
Tears burned in my eyes as I threw myself in my dad’s arms again. “You’re too good to me.”
“We have thirteen years of missing you to make up for. We may have gone a little overboard. Even your mom came over and helped us,” he whispered.
“Really?” I asked, my chest aching at the realization of how much love I’d left behind. I’d clouded everything in my depression it seemed.
“You know she loves you,” he said gently. “She’s slowed way down on work and we’ve been spending lots of time as a pack. So, get ready for lots of family time.”
“I can’t wait,” I said, unsure what to do now. This threw me for a loop.
“Go, go. Unpack, see the place, then be back here at six sharp for dinner and my famous sweet potato pie.”
I groaned, already salivating at the thought of his cooking.
“I’ve survived on my own cooking for too long. You know I’ll be here.”
We said a quick goodbye before we were back in the Expedition and heading across town. She lived on the edge of town, the property huge and the backyard fading into the forest itself.
If you walked far enough, there was a creek back there I spent a lot of summers at. When the Whitakers didn’t take us all out to a cabin on the lake, that is.
“So, you have a whole house out here?” Hudson asked as I drove.
“Yeah. My grandma owned it and she passed while I was gone. I came home long enough for her funeral and fled again,” I admitted, a bit ashamed. “She left me the house and the dads took care of it for me until I was ready. I couldn’t bring myself to sell it. I think I always knew I’d come home one day.”
Whatever else was said, I missed as we passed Whitaker Brews. My throat was tight but I held my head high. Righteous anger hit me and I knew I wanted that confrontation sooner rather than later.
When I pulled into the long driveway, I was overwhelmed by a sense of nostalgia and belonging.
I was finally home.