Chapter 40
Oriana
A Week Later
W hen I opened the doors of my brand new shop, I hadn’t expected many people to be waiting.
I guess when the people of Rockwood Valley heard I was offering a fifteen percent discount today only, they didn’t hesitate to show up.
In fact, the line was halfway down the block.
I certainly wasn’t going to complain, and I was more grateful than ever that Tate, Hudson, and Lane had decided to open the shop with me. Though, Tate had a small workshop in the back for his book binding. I was hoping he’d embrace it more now that he had time. If he did, I had the perfect place for him to display those gorgeous treasures.
Of course, Cameron and Roman were here today as well to show their support and help out in case it got crazy.
And crazy it was. The morning was a blur of customers. We went through enough inventory I had to restock my shelves twice halfway through the day.
Just after lunchtime, Mama Whitaker and Avery showed up, Charlie and her pack walking in behind them. The triplets were contained to their father’s arms, though they didn’t look happy about it when there were so many shiny things to touch.
I, however, was very grateful that they weren’t giving into their protests.
A few minutes later, Sidney showed up with her pack, quickly followed by Hailey and Grace. I felt a bit bad that I hadn’t been able to dedicate more time to my friends, but now that my pack was in place, my heat was over, and I felt like a human again, I promised myself that I’d make them a priority.
“There she is,” Avery squealed, rushing forward and giving me a quick hug. “The place looks amazing, Ori! We stopped by earlier, but I knew the babies would never make it through that line, so sorry for being here a bit later than we planned.”
“I’m just glad you’re here. In fact, I wanted to talk to you. Can we organize a girls’ night? I’m sorry that I’ve been kind of flaky since I’ve been to town, but...”
She cut me off. “Girl, we all know how it is. When you get packed up, everything revolves around your pack until it’s settled, and then real life starts to trickle back in. And you guys did that with a bang—first the community center, now this.”
She gestured around at the shop that was still packed.
“It has been kind of crazy,” I agreed. “But things are settling, and I need some girl time.”
“That’s all you have to say,” she promised before flagging over Sidney, Grace, and Hailey.
“This is actually perfect timing because I am in dire need of a girls’ night. I need somebody to talk to about the craziness that I left behind,” Avery admitted with a sigh.
Cameron told me a bit about how Avery came back. It was more of an angry rant than gossip. It still stuck with him and who could blame him. That was… insane and vile.
If she needed a vent, I was happy to listen, especially if they could help me find a way to tell my pack that I was pregnant.
In fact, I had two pregnancy tests in my pocket, wrapped in a plastic bag, that both said positive, loud and clear. There were no doubts now.
“How about tonight? A celebratory dinner?” she asked, the hope in her voice had me turning around to find my pack. Tate was already there, waving me on.
“Go, you celebrate however you want. You know we’ll be home waiting for you when you’re ready.”
Avery didn’t give me a chance to respond, clapping her hands excitedly. “Perfect. My pack will say the same.”
One of her babies started crying, so we hastily made our plans to meet up at closing time. Sidney said The Landing would be perfect, so she called her mate Taylor to set up a reservation for us.
With the idea of a girls’ night and figuring out how to tell my pack, keeping me going, I dove right back into work.
The crowd definitely slowed down after lunch, but there was still a steady flow of customers. We ended up with not just Rockwood Valley citizens, but people from surrounding towns, too. They had grabbed flyers at the Fair and were eager to see the rest of my antiques.
Apparently, there was also a group dedicated to antiquing that had found out about the shop, promising they’d be stopping in regularly.
Finally, it was five o’clock. As we locked the door, I let out an exhausted breath.
“So, that went well,” I said, letting out a startled laugh.
“I’d say better than well, actually,” Tate said. “According to the numbers, you’ve already made up half of what you put into the shop. Another couple of days, and you’ll be breaking even. That never happens in small business.”
“I guess the extensive research we did on pricing helped out,” Hudson said. “Everyone seemed happy. I don’t think we had a single customer argue with us.”
Lane nodded in agreement. “And I know those old ladies are not afraid to bargain for good prices.”
“No, they’re not,” I agreed, letting out a chuckle. I’ve been to enough flea markets and antique stores to have heard an argument or two between staff and customers
“Why don’t you head out and join the girls? Roman can take you while we close up,” Hudson offered.
“Really?” I asked, chewing on my lip. I glanced at each of my mates, but all of them were trying to push me out the door. I’d been working late every night this week despite their protests and I guess they were at the end of their rope.
“Ori, you haven’t had a single day to yourself that wasn’t involved with work or us since you’ve been home. Go have your girls’ night. We’ll be waiting when you’re ready. Call us, and we’ll pick you up.”
“Okay,” I said, hurrying over and giving them each a quick hug and kiss before gathering my bag and meeting Roman at the door.
He drove me over to The Landing, where Avery and Sidney were already waiting outside. After saying goodbye to Roman, Hailey and Grace were pulling up, completing our little group.
I honestly expected it to be a little awkward. We had yet to spend time together in a group like this, and I was afraid that all the years since I’d been gone would have caused a rift between us.
Instead, Hailey dove right into her now long-term boyfriend and their fiasco moving into a new place, while Grace gave us some of her latest dating adventures.
Avery, Sidney, and I talked about some of the best and craziest moments of pack life.
It really did feel like old friends catching up, and I felt myself relaxing as time went on. When I left the city, I expected to come here, find my closure, and leave again.
Instead, I was reconnecting with my family, opening up a shop I’d always dreamed of, finding myself again in ways I didn’t know possible, and now finding a group of friends that would be just as loyal as my own pack.
When there was a lull in the conversation, I decided to spill my secret.
“So, I have some news, and I need you guys to help me figure out a way to break it to my pack.”
That had everyone’s attention. Sidney put down her drink and leaned in.
From the grin on her face, I knew she already guessed it.
“You’re pregnant,” she stated it like a fact.
“I am,” I agreed, explaining the fiasco with the kettle corn burning and taking the test. “I’ve always wanted to do this big moment of telling them. I didn’t want to just blurt it out or make them wait through the test with me, at least not for our first. This feels like a big deal.”
“First of all, congratulations!” Avery squealed. “Second, it is a big deal.”
Then it was a flurry of outlandish ideas, so many that I was cracking up.
“So, what if you wrap yourself like a present, then put the bow right over your stomach?” Sidney said. “Christmas is coming, you know.”
“There’s no way she’s waiting until Christmas to tell them,” Grace said, shaking her head. “I did see this super cute video where she bought her pack these super cheesy number one dad things and had them open them.”
“That is cute,” I agreed, but I wasn’t sure that was the right fit for the situation. I could not imagine… I cut myself off there, because I absolutely could imagine even Tate and Cameron rocking some dad gear.
“There’s always a classic bun in the oven,” Avery said with a shrug.
We continued like that through appetizers, dinner, and a couple of non-alcoholic drinks for most of us.
The more we talked, the more I realized that I didn’t want to do something elaborate, just something cute and simple.
“There’s a small baby boutique. Do you think one of you could give me a ride over there so I can get supplies, and then we can come back here so I can call Roman to pick me up and he won’t suspect a thing?”
“Count us all in!” Grace said with a grin.
Avery was the only one who didn’t chime in. She was frowning down on her phone. She almost jumped out of her skin when Sidney nudged her.
“Sorry,” she muttered, tucking her phone away and shaking it off. She tried to smile again and join back in, but I could tell something was off.
“No, tell us what it is,” I said. “This is girls’ night. I’m not overtaking it with just my news. Tell us what’s going on.”
She sighed, a big, heavy one that seemed to come from her soul.
“So, we all know by now what happened with my past pack,” she said, looking around to make sure we all agreed. I’d heard it from her and Cameron already, so I nodded in agreement. “Well, when I first walked into the apartment, it was to find them with my one of my city besties. I was too upset and hurt to really think about the fact that if they had no issues drugging me through heats and pheromone sprays, that the same thing could have happened to her.”
“No,” Sidney said, eyes widening on a gasp.
“Yeah. The trial just concluded, and my lawyer just sent me a rundown of what happened. I guess Wren was one of the biggest witness statements against them. They had no idea she had security cameras inside her house. She caught quite a bit of damning evidence. Including them using ‘planning something for me’ as an excuse, then conspiring boldly while she was out of the room, to test the drugs on her so they could keep me under their thumb.”
Her face paled as she spoke and I felt my own stomach churning as the words sunk in.
This pack was made of monsters.
“What the fuck?” Hailey managed to choke out. “So, she was their guinea pig?”
“Apparently. I guess they didn’t expect me home right away that night. They planned to conclude our anniversary with those same drugs. She… had no idea what was going on and was in pure instinct mode out of her mind. I feel so fucking guilty about it.”
Avery looked like she was about to puke. I reached over and took her hand in mine.
“Hey, don’t be hard on yourself. Don’t let that guilt take you over. You reacted how you could with what information was presented.”
She nodded, taking a shaky breath. “I know you’re right,” she promised. “It’s just going to take some time to wrap my head around, you know.” She tucked her dark hair behind her ear and looked so sad that I wanted to hug her.
Then, in true Avery fashion, she shook her head and stood up, putting down some money for a tip since we’d already paid.
“Let’s not do this. I don’t want to let it get to me. I will reach out to her soon and handle it on my own. For now, we have some celebrating to do and a secret baby mission.”
We all agreed, letting her deflect if she needed it. Though, I had a feeling we’d have several check in calls and recovery girls’ nights in our future.
Then we were heading across town, the mood lifting again.
How we thought it was a good idea to let loose five omegas in a baby store was beyond me. After melting over the cute baby things, I finally settled on a dog toy that said “Big Brother” and a “Big Brother” t-shirt that I fully intended to put on our dog.
Maybe it was silly and not as elaborate as some of the ideas we discussed, but the news was killing me, and I really needed to tell my pack. So, this was going to work.
I was a nervous wreck the entire way back to the restaurant, then waiting on Roman and heading back to our house.
Thankfully, Henry was outside when I got home, and no one questioned me as I rushed outside to greet him like I usually did. Though this time I had my purse on me.
Henry was a champ, letting me squeeze him into the shirt with little fight. He looked hilarious and gave me a look that said he was not a fan.
However, when I showed him the toy, he was more than happy to march himself inside and show it off.
I didn’t say a word as I came in after him, closing the door and dropping my bag on the table.
Then I waited.
Tate was the first one to notice him. The book he was reading fell to the ground as he whipped around to look at me. His eyes were asking the question, and I nodded, once, biting my lip as I waited for his reaction.
I’ve never seen my alpha move so fast. He was over the back of the couch and pulling me into a hug in seconds, cluing in the rest of them that something else was going on.
As if Henry knew what his job was, he trotted from one to the next, walking in circles around the room so he had everyone’s attention.
“Are you serious, Oriana?!” Cameron gasped, looking at me for a split second. I freaked out as he froze, thinking that he was about to panic. Instead, a wide smile took over his face, and he rushed at me almost as crazily as Tate had. He scaled the couch and came to a stop in front of me, pulling me into a tight hug.
“I can’t fucking believe it,” he said, his voice shaky as he held me. Then he dropped to his knees, his hands on my hips as he pressed his face close to my belly.
“Your dads can’t wait to meet you, little one.”