18. Cohen
Cohen
Avery: I’m on my way to you!
T hat was all it took for me to go into a nervous cleaning frenzy—as if I hadn’t already been doing this since the moment she first texted.
It wasn’t necessarily nerves about her seeing my place or being alone with my omega, it was the fact that something was up. She’d been silent all day, then suddenly texted me to come over. Something happened, and my mind was being a dick, conjuring up all the worst possibilities.
When her tires finally crunched on the gravel of the long driveway, I stepped out onto the porch, forcing myself to stay calm. I stood back long enough for her to park before I hurried forward and opened her door for her.
She looked exhausted, but her smile was bright as she greeted me.
“Hey you,” she offered. It felt like that gentle smile was just for me, and that chased away every insecurity I had. This wasn’t a girl who was ready to break some bad news.
“Thanks for letting me stop by,” she said. Now that she was standing in front of me the nerves amped up, but I wasn’t about to let anything get in my head again, especially not when she slipped her hand into mine for reassurance. Instead, I focused on the warmth of her palm and gave her a little squeeze to promise I was here for her.
“Let’s go inside first,” I encouraged her, closing the truck door and leading her inside.
We paused on the porch, and I turned to her, realizing I hadn’t told her about Lola or Molly yet.
“Are you a dog person, Avery?”
Her eyes lit up at my words and she peeked past me to see. “Are you telling me you have a puppy?”
“Not exactly a puppy anymore, and there are two of them. Come in. Meet my girls, and then we can talk.”
She practically pushed past me to open the door. Of course, that was all it took to set off the beagles. They rushed forward, howling at her at first until she crouched down to their level, holding out her hands.
They both sniffed her, their tails wagging like crazy, before they started covering her in kisses. They were so excited, howling and carrying on.
If she wasn’t having so much fun, I’d have been worried it was too much.
“Oh my god, they’re so cute! What are their names?”
“They were actually my uncle’s dogs.” I squatted down next to her, reaching out for the closest beagle. “This sweet girl is Molly, and her sister here is Lola. Lola is the sassy one.”
Avery gasped dramatically before scratching Lola’s ears and talking to her in a cutesy voice that Lola ate up. “Did you hear what he said about you, Lola? I bet you’re the sweetest girl.”
I burst out laughing when Lola cast me a look. I swear, if a beagle could look smug, she did just then.
“Don’t worry, she’ll be on my side when I feed her dinner,” I joked. That was the magic word. Both girls let out an excited bark and took off toward the kitchen, slamming right into their stainless steel bowls with a clatter.
“Now that you’re covered in slobber, can I help you up?” I joked, holding out a hand for her. She put her hand back in mine and let me pull her up.
She was inches from my face now, her cheeks flushed, which seemed to be her normal reaction to me. If only she knew that my body reacted the same way, my cheeks flushing, body heating, heart pounding.
I tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear and leaned in, moving slowly and giving her plenty of time to pull away.
When she didn’t, I pressed my lips against hers. She melted into the touch instantly, my hand curling around the nape of her neck, holding her in place as I deepened the kiss.
One kiss and I knew she had ruined me for anyone else. The seconds stretched into blissful eternity as her scent overwhelmed me in the best way. Sweet, tart, and all Avery. I wished I could bottle it and keep it with me always.
Someday, she’d be waking up in our pack bed and I wouldn’t have to miss her when she was gone. For now I’d savor these moments.
Avery let out a happy sigh as I pulled away. It went straight to my cock, conjuring images of her making those sounds in a much sexier scenario, but now wasn’t the time for any of that.
I let go of her long enough to let the dogs outside before leading her to the kitchen.
“Can I get you something to drink? I have wine, water, soda...” I continued rattling off options until she put a hand on my arm to stop me.
“Water would be great,” she admitted, fanning herself a little.
I gestured for her to sit before I pulled out the charcuterie board I’d made earlier. I poured two glasses of cold water, sliding one her way as I took the seat next to her.
“It sounded like you had something you needed to talk to me about,” I said, diving straight into the conversation. If it was unpleasant, I’d rather get it out of the way now.
She glanced down, her eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks as she took a few deep breaths, like she was trying to calm herself. It was funny—she hadn’t seemed nervous at all until now. She shifted in her seat and chewed on her lip, hands curling into tight balls. Whatever it was, she was majorly freaking out.
“So, I went to talk to someone about building a house on my land,” she started, not meeting my eyes. “I won’t get into the details now—I think I’ve rehashed it like three times for different people—but he tried to scam me. Two of his workers stood up and told me he was playing me for an insane amount of money, and they just so happened to be my mates. Then, if that wasn’t enough, after I started to have a panic attack about it, Mason jumped in the lake with me.”
I made a choking noise, and she stopped speaking, looking at me alarmed, but I waved her off, taking a sip of my water.
“Sorry, the whole jumping-in-the-lake thing got me.”
She let out a laugh. I could tell from that small, carefree sound that she loved every second of that interaction. Checking in with myself, I tried to gauge my own feelings, wondering if I would be jealous about her finding more pack members.
When we met, it was just me and her, and I felt like I’d never really gotten her to myself.
Yet, as I thought it over, I realized I didn’t care, as long as my omega was happy. She deserved to smile like she was doing now and I knew this would be coming one way or another.
“It actually did snap me out of that panic, so I get why he did it,” she admitted. “But then my doctor from the clinic showed up. I guess not mine, specifically, he was just the lead for intake. He shuffled me off to a different doctor for my exam. I thought it was just for my benefit, but apparently, he’s also a mate. They have to wear scent blockers, so he knew who I was, but I didn’t know. He was trying to be professional.”
“Honestly, that speaks volumes about his character. He could have said it right then and there,” I added. That meant he was someone I could trust with my omega.
“It was a really vulnerable meeting, and I really appreciate that he didn’t,” she agreed. “It didn’t make anything less weird when it came out, though. But now I apparently have four mates, three of whom have already started a group chat. I was going to add you, but I’m not going to just throw you to the wolves. I wanted to speak to you in person since I met you first.”
I reached out for her hand again. It felt like I was always leaning toward her, touching her, reaching for her, without realizing I was doing it. Our interactions were instinctual under the surface, just another sign that fate was involved.
“Look, Avery, I had no delusions that I would have you to myself forever. I wouldn’t have complained if I did have you for a little longer,” I teased, giving her a wink, “but I’m happy that you’re happy. I’m sure we’re going to get along great. Add me to the chat. We’ll get to know each other. It will work out, Avery.”
Her smile widened, and she leaned in, pressing her lips to mine in a chaste kiss.
“I knew you’d say that. I had a feeling you were going to take this really well. I just... I knew you deserved to hear it from me.”
She wanted to make sure my feelings were considered as well. My mate had a big heart.
“I’m still a little hung up on the fact that he jumped with you into a lake, but hey, if you’re not angry, I can’t be. Other than spontaneous, what are they like?”
I knew this would be my true test—to see how she reacted thinking about them, how she talked about them, and how I felt about it all.
She grabbed a cracker and cheese, nibbling as she thought over how to answer.
“Mason was kind of intense. He seems a bit more protective. He was a bit blunt, but not in an overbearing, suffocating way.”
She peeked up at me and I kept my smile even, not wanting to deter her. So far, I was still just curious, not worried.
“Ford is sweet. He seems really funny, a little mischievous maybe, but I don’t really know him that well yet.”
“And the doctor?”
“I think Dr. Clark… well, I guess I shouldn’t call him that. Arden is the hardest to read. My first impression was that he takes his job seriously. He was indignant on my behalf when I explained why I was at the Network clinic, and what happened that led up to it.”
My stomach was in knots hearing those words. I didn’t know the details of why she’d come home. I knew she had exes, but that was about the extent of it.
Did they hurt her?
She noticed my reaction and reached out to squeeze my arm. Her eyes were shadowed, but she didn’t look away.
“I’ll explain that in a little bit. I just don’t want to ruin the moment yet,” she said gently. “This is kind of nice. It feels normal.”
There was so much more to Avery’s story than I knew. She’d let me in when she was ready, and it seemed like she was getting closer to that every time we spent time together. For now, I was content to keep her in this moment for as long as I could.
“Did you have dinner before you went to work tonight? It sounds like you had a really eventful day.”
“Before the freakout with Ford and Mason, I had a late lunch.”
She barely got the words out before her stomach growled, and her entire face and neck flushed red with embarrassment.
“Oh my god,” she managed, hiding her face behind her hands. “I picked at it because of nerves. I promise I’m self-sufficient most days.”
“Don’t do that,” I said, pulling her hands away gently. “Can I cook for you? It would make me happy.”
“Really?” she questioned, nose wrinkling like she couldn’t wrap her mind around that sentiment. “Do you like to cook?”
“I do,” I admitted. “You remember how I said that my family was used to fancy things? Well, part of that was me not making food for myself. The moment I was at my uncle’s, he taught me to cook. I found it freeing in a way. Honestly, it was my first true taste of independence. I never got to do things for myself or work hard for what I had. My family would have much rather I just shut up and embraced everything they provided, but I obviously wanted a different life.”
“I’m glad you did, or I might never have met you,” she said. I could tell she meant it. Had anyone ever accepted me, all of me, so openly? The answer was no.
My uncle may have, but he was busy in his own ways and thought I needed to change just like I did. Avery simply accepted me as I was.
I gave her one last peck on the cheek before I moved away, opening my fridge and checking over the ingredients I had on hand.
“Any allergies? Dislikes?”
“I hate onions,” she admitted, “but no allergies.”
“Do you like pasta?” I asked since it was one of the easiest things I could make.
“Who doesn’t?” she teased.
Perfect. I started grabbing ingredients and setting them out.
Avery watched quietly as I formed the dough. Making fresh pasta was one of those things that was really intimidating the first few times I attempted it, but now it was something that was relaxing for me.
Eventually she started chatting about work and the videos she’d been making while I started sautéing spinach and chicken in the pan. Soon, the kitchen was filled with the sound of her soothing voice and the scent of pasta cooking. It was such a perfect moment. Just like she said earlier, this felt normal, and I loved that we could just exist like this together.
Partway through cooking, my dogs started barking, begging to come in because they knew damn well what I was doing in here. She didn’t hesitate to hop down and let them in, greeting them each by name and giving them a little extra love.
It was probably too soon, I’d just met Avery, but I think that was the very moment I fell in love with her.
Every moment with this omega felt right, like she was always meant to be at my side. Even if things were a little unusual right now, I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life getting to know her and falling in love with her more and more every day.
When did I turn into such a sap?
Just seeing her in my space with my dogs and being able to care for her, even in a small way like making her dinner, made me realize just how much I’d been missing.
Most of my life, I felt lonely in one way or another, surrounded by people who I truly didn’t fit in with.
When I moved to Rockwood Valley, I knew this was where I belonged. Maybe that was because fate was at work, and I was just biding my time until I met Avery.
If she had a pack now, then I had to believe that we would all fit together as well.
She deserved nothing less.