2. Avery
Avery
A pparently, I had more things than I realized. That’s what seven years away from home will do to you.
Cameron, Maverick, Nash, and Sidney were knocking on the door by midnight. They had an array of boxes, coffees, and pizzas in hand.
Mav moved toward me first, pulling me into a tight hug. He was never one for words and simply let out a grunt that I took to say, “I love you” before letting me go.
He was taller than the other two, standing a few inches over their 6’2 frames, but I assumed it was the dirty workboots he always wore that added the extra height. His smiles were few and far between yet if you knew him well enough, you could read him like a book.
Right now his neck was tense enough to show his anger, but his eyes were tracking over me and full of relief to see I was safe and in one piece.
“Have they come back?” Cameron demanded. His voice was harsh, even as he gave me a small smile and quick hug. He was so different from the guy he was before our dads died. When the accident happened, it took a piece of him, too.
He tucked his leather jacket tighter around him and glared around the living room before settling back on me, waiting for my answer. He may not have the same bulk and height as Maverick, but he was just as intimidating in an unpredictable way. My brother was impulsive, but he was loyal.
At least to family.
“No. Your guy was out there last I looked. I’ve been trying to sort through things,” I admitted, gesturing at the chaos of my apartment. Knowing that my brother had a friend outside watching over the door, even if I didn’t know him, allowed me to focus on myself.
Nash laughed as he picked up a broken frame and quirked an eyebrow at me. He always brought the levity to the moment, lightening the mood whenever he could. “Really, sis?”
He really wasn’t far off of our brothers in size, but the way he carried himself seemed less intimidating and smaller even, and he didn’t work out to keep the extra bulk they had. Though, I knew he could kick anyone's ass in a second if they pushed too far. Hell, he’d do it to my exes right now if he could.
“Fuck them, they don’t even get to have printed evidence of our time together. They fucked up, not me.”
Nash held his hands up and let out a warm chuckle. It was a sound that was so familiar I had to fight off tears.
Sidney clapped her hands, effectively chasing away the moment. She threw her chestnut hair into a ponytail, her green eyes locking onto me as she quirked an eyebrow. My best friend looked the same as she always did, despite the years. It was oddly comforting.
“Absolutely not. No sappy shit. Tell us what to do so we can get out of this fucking city. All these buildings so close gives me the heebie-jeebies,” she said, shuddering dramatically. Between that and her slight southern drawl, I had to stop myself from laughing. She was the same that she always was, a petite omega with a big personality.
Fuck, I'd missed them. The ache in my chest was replaced by another one I recognized as homesickness. Somehow I’d convinced myself I was happy to be away, but the truth was, there was nothing like home.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come home enough,” I managed, my eyes locked onto the faded rug instead of four of the people who would never leave my side.
“Why didn’t you come for Christmas this year?”
“Travis made this whole itinerary that kept us here,” I admitted, suddenly seeing the isolation red flag. “Same thing for the other big events.”
“Are you going to stay home this time?” Cameron asked. I looked up to see his hazel eyes that matched my own, boring into me, demanding an answer. He likely expected me to find somewhere else to run once I was on my feet.
“Yes,” I said, not even having to think about it too hard. “I miss Rockwood and Mom.”
“What about us?” Nash demanded, letting out a gasp as if I cut him to his core.
“Less now,” I teased.
“There’s that fire,” Maverick said, grabbing a box. “Let’s get out of here as quickly as possible.”
They all looked at me expectantly. Now that they were here I felt calm, like I could face the rest of this bullshit.
“My bedroom is packed up, everything needing to go into boxes is on my bed. Documents are somewhere in the office and I’m honestly not sure where. Brad was meticulous and kept me out of there most of the time. Otherwise, that’s all I want.”
“I’m taking the cookies on the counter,” Nash huffed. “Mav, Cam, and I will handle the office. You two tackle the room and we’ll help afterward. That way you can get all your embarrassing shit packed first.”
He snagged the fresh box of cookies, stepping over the remnants of the cake and takeout no one bothered to pick up. He popped it open and the guys descended on it.
Sidney shook her head and laughed before grabbing a few boxes and tugging us toward my room.
The nest door was still open as we walked down the hall and she let out a low whistle.
“Remind me never to fuck with you,” she laughed, grabbing her phone out and taking a picture. I looked at her like she was crazy but Sidney just shrugged, completely unapologetic. “What, sometimes we need reminders of why we hate people. This will be yours. Anytime you need it, I can send it along.”
She kind of had a point. Maybe my lonely heart would long for her former mates at some point. The thought made me want to revolt, but I was an omega, one who had been hurt, and that wouldn’t be easy to move past.
“Fair. Remind me to send you the pic of them balls deep, too,” I said with a shudder before I snatched a box and went into the room I’d shared with the guys.
Sidney snorted as she glanced around before looking back at me. She opened her mouth to say something but apparently decided against it and just started loading her box.
“What?”
“It just wasn’t what I expected. This whole apartment is like something out of a real estate listing. Too perfect, clean, spacious, no clutter… it’s everything you’re not.”
I glanced around the room, taking in the blue plaid comforter and the soft-blue walls. It had all been something the guys had outvoted me on. I wanted dark, emerald greens, things that reminded me of the forest… of home.
“I would have never picked this. They shot down a lot of my ideas. Even the nest was wrong,” I admitted. “It just never felt like I needed to put up a fight, I was happy to just have a place to call our own in a quiet building. Our lives were busy and I landed my new job, and it all seemed blissful at the time.”
“What happened to that job?” She was being conversational as she helped me pack, but there was an edge to her voice.
“Travis got a promotion,” I said, my voice barely over a whisper. Shame filled my chest, warming me in all the wrong ways. “They told me I didn’t need to work, that they’d take care of everything. They even put me on the joint account. It felt like the next step before marriage. When I had my heat, they apparently called my boss to tell them I was done.”
Sidney stopped packing and wrapped me in a hug. She smelled like citrus and sugar, like lemon cake. I breathed in the familiar scent, subtle as it was.
“How did I not see it?”
“Sometimes packs work slowly. They take away small things one at a time, spacing them out just enough so when you realize your life has shifted drastically, it’s too late to change it. This wasn’t your fault.”
“No, it wasn’t,” I agreed. Though, some small part of me disagreed. I had let all this happen, I’d embraced all of it and let them isolate me. I knew packs could be possessive and wanted to keep their omega to themselves, but I’d missed all the small red flags that were piling up into one, awful, red flag bouquet.
Sidney didn’t push me further as we both got back to clearing the bed, one box at a time. By the time I heard my brothers’ raised voices, we had finished.
“Shall we see what they found? God, I hope they aren’t destroying anything,” I groaned. “If we get in legal trouble then I’ll have to see them again to settle it.”
“I made them promise not to on the way here,” Sidney said, though she sounded just as nervous as I was as she pulled me down the hall now.
“Those mother fucking assholes. I’m going to track them down,” Cameron growled as we entered the room. Maverick stood at the front door blocking it, arms crossed.
Maverick was already huge but looked ten times scarier with his anger. The crossed arms had his biceps bulging, showcasing the muscles he worked hard to hone. His dark eyebrows were pulled down as he glared. His anger wasn’t directed at me, but it was intense nonetheless.
Even if my brothers could be intimidating, it never worked on me. They were big alphas and I was a fairly petite omega, but they were family. They were always on my side, even when I fucked up.
Though, this time, I knew it wasn’t me who fucked up.
“What happened, now?” I demanded.
Cam turned his eyes on me, anger boiling in the hazel depths. His usually styled hair was unruly, the black waves sticking up in weird ways like he’d gripped it in his hands the entire ride here. He was a big guy at 6’2, but looked even more broad in his bulky leather jacket.
“Your mates were garbage.”
His voice shook with how mad he was but there was more to this.
“Yes, I know. What happened?” I asked again. Nash clapped our brother on the shoulder and walked over, taking my hand and guiding me to the stool. Even if the triplets shared some facial features, their personalities and styles made them stand out. Nash was more casual, usually a henley and jeans and he was happy. He also smiled easier, small crinkles forming around his eyes when he laughed. To the outside world, he was the approachable one.
“Your guys,” he started but I cut him off.
“Not mine,” I growled. He nodded in agreement.
“ These assholes , were shady in more ways than one,” he admitted, far more gently than Cam could have managed. “We found pheromone cologne, I’m not sure they were your scent matches. They have also been gambling and funneling money from the company they work at as well. I have full intentions of getting their employers involved thanks to a few handy screenshots.”
My stomach churned. The money influxes, the new car they bought for themselves… it was not a promotion, it was illegal funds and gambling wins.
“Bastards,” Sidney bit out. “Did you find her documents?”
“Yes, they were at least good at keeping things organized. I found an entire folder with your name and took it all. They don’t need any of that shit. Birth certificate, doctors’ notes, the works were in here.”
That had my head snapping back up.
“Doctors’ notes?” What the actual fuck?
“Yeah, they apparently signed forms as your alphas allowing them to remove your birth control at your last exam.”
“Oh my god,” I gasped, horror and fresh waves of betrayal crashing over me. I’d never felt more violated in my life.
“Tell me your heat hasn’t hit?” Maverick begged. “I’ll kill them.”
“No, it’s a month away,” I reassured him. “I may kill them myself. Why would a doctor do that without me asking for it? Hell, even discussing it with me.”
My mind flickered back to Brad filling out the paperwork because I was feeling off that day. He was asking questions out loud and writing down answers.
I fucking signed it at the bottom. Had trusted him completely. What an idiot.
“I’m going to be sick,” I managed to choke out before rushing down the hallway to the bathroom. I barely managed to open the toilet before I emptied the meager contents of my stomach.
It seemed like every second that passed in this place the more secrets were being revealed. They’d chosen me, used me, and if not for my brothers would have likely broken me completely.
Thank the universe I wasn’t pregnant and tied to them forever.
After I brushed my teeth again I finally walked out, my hands shaking and nerves completely shot.
“I want to leave.”
“The guys took down the first batch of boxes, about two more loads and we’re gone,” Sidney promised. She handed me a cup of water and urged me to sit down.
“Even after being a shit friend, you’re being amazing.”
She smiled sadly. “I was hurt when you left, but I understood. Now, I get why we’ve been so in and out of touch.”
“Yeah,” I managed, swallowing down another sip to avoid thinking about the shitshow that had become my life. “I have no job, Sidney. Nothing to bring home but a few boxes and the cold, hard truth I couldn’t see until tonight.”
“You have yourself and your dignity. You’re going to reclaim your life and start building a new one. You have history with us and in Rockwood. A family who loves you and old friends who will be so fucking happy to see you again.”
Every word she spoke helped chase a bit of the worry away. She continued telling me about the changes back home, from small gossip to stores opening, to things shutting down due to hard times.
“What about the corner bookstore?” I asked. It was our favorite hangout and I think we single-handedly kept it in business.
“Closed,” she sighed, not quite meeting my gaze. The guys came in to take some boxes, giving us the side eye at our somber looks but heading right back out.
I couldn’t shake Sidney’s words… just how bad had things gone in Rockwood after I left? Guilt started to build as I let those words sink in. My dads had started an Artisan Fair, a gathering twice a year that let a bunch of artisans gather and share their work. It started small, but grew over the years until it brought in people from states away.
Hell, it brought in new business as the town became known for the small businesses and hand-crafted treasures they could find here. It had taken Rockwood Valley from a tiny town, to a quaint tourist attraction. The money it brought in during the fair was amazing, the tourists that stopped in year round kept it thriving.
Apparently, it was bad now. After tragedy took my dads, the fair didn’t continue. I guess slowly the town started to suffer when no one stepped up to continue on the tradition. I’d been so lost in my own grief I never considered the ramifications of that.
I had my own issues to worry about now, but somehow it felt a whole lot less shitty to focus on Rockwood Valley’s problems.
The guys came up for a third time, only two boxes remaining.
“It’s time. Anything else you need to do?” Cameron asked.
I glanced around the apartment that now felt more like a prison than a home. My gaze landed on the notebook Brad kept on the counter for grocery lists and opened it. I clicked the pen and wrote the last thing I ever intended to say to them.
Fuck you. I hope you have miserable lives now that you’ve lost the one omega who will ever truly be loyal to assholes like you.
With that I dropped the pen, grabbed my purse, put my key on top of the note, and walked out of my old life forever.