37. Avery
Avery
E very time I woke up from a heat, I felt so beat down that I knew I would suffer for days. This time, though, I was a little sore but felt oddly energized.
The guys were all passed out around me, taking up every possible inch of the bed. I had to crawl over their bodies to get out, but I hurried up the stairs as quietly as I could.
Who knew that taking a shower all by yourself could be such a luxury? I enjoyed every second of that heat, but now I just wanted a moment to process it all.
Despite my fears, I didn’t just survive it, I loved it.
As the warm water sprayed around me and the steam filled the room, I could feel my body relaxing further. The warmth chased away some of the lingering soreness.
I took my time washing myself, shaving, and letting the conditioner soften my hair. The guys had taken good care of me, and I had been able to shower a few times, but it was always with help.
I must have looked like a mess for most of that. Not that they seemed to care.
The smell of bacon filled the air, and I forced myself to end the shower as the hot water was starting to run out. I took my time drying my hair and putting it into a side braid before pulling on Mason’s shirt and a pair of Cohen’s boxers, rolling them down so they’d stay up.
Ford and Cohen were in the kitchen making breakfast together. Soft music was playing, and they were talking softly. When they saw me walk in, both of their faces lit up. I could feel their excitement through the bond, all from just seeing me.
That was a feeling still new to me, but I loved it. Knowing that there were no lies between us and having confirmation that they truly felt how I did helped settle my soul.
Despite everything happening with the creepy voicemails I’d received before the heat, I was oddly content. They weren’t going to get to me again, no matter how mad they were. I was still safe, and it wasn’t just a pack behind me, but my brothers, my mom, my friends—hell, this whole town would probably back me up before they’d allow any harm to come to me.
It was good to be home. I had no desire to leave, only the need to settle down here with my pack and make a life for ourselves.
“Guess who landed a new job?” Ford announced, a grin on his face.
“Really?” I asked, rushing over and giving him a hug. “Where?”
“Mason had met with an up-and-coming contractor who was moving to town. They hit it off, and he told him about me. We gave him our resume and talked about our joint experience, and the contractor said he’d love to have us on board. Someone apparently warned him that this town was on the rise again, and he wanted to get in before the jobs started rolling in, especially in light of Kent’s place closing down.”
I snorted. “Kent’s officially out of town? Good.”
“Oh yeah, nobody would work with him after they heard what happened. I think it’s safe to say this town loves you,” Cohen said, giving me a good morning kiss. “Are you feeling better now?”
“God, yes. I took the longest shower. Now, I feel refreshed. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so invigorated after a heat.”
“This is how heats are supposed to be,” Arden said as he came in, placing a kiss on top of my head before wrapping his arms around me.
“Morning,” I said, sending a wave of happiness through the bond with him. He gave me a little squeeze before letting me go.
“I hear we’re celebrating some new jobs around here,” Arden said. “Speaking of this crazy town, here’s your phone. It’s been blowing up for the last thirty minutes.”
I took it, knowing damn well that Arden wouldn’t hand it to me if he thought it was somebody calling that shouldn’t have.
Honestly, I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Sidney’s name with no less than ten calls. There were a couple of voicemails, but I ignored them and called her back instead.
She answered on the first ring. “Oh my god, finally! Are you out of heat now?”
“Yes,” I answered in a rush. “What’s wrong? Is everybody okay?”
“Girl, more than okay! Look, I’m going to send you a link, and I need you to open it. Are the guys around?”
“Of course,” I said, holding the phone out.
“Hey, Sidney,” they all said in unison. She didn’t even laugh or comment on the creepiness of the synchronized talking. Whatever this was, it was big.
“Yeah, yeah, just open the link,” she encouraged me, before ending the call.
A second later, the link came through, leading me to a news site. My jaw dropped as I opened it, the headline telling me everything I needed to know:
Several Arrests Made in Pheromone Scam
“Holy shit!” I exclaimed, clicking on the video instead of reading through the whole article.
The newscaster addressed the camera seriously, his face set in a grim mask.
“The new toll is up to eighteen arrests in the nationwide pheromone scam. We have alphas from several packs and up to three doctors who have now lost their licenses and are facing extreme charges.”
A line of text scrolled across the bottom, calling out all the major pack names and the doctors involved. My eyes scanned over them quickly, hope lighting up in my chest, and then I saw it.
“Pack Barns is on here. They’ve been arrested,” I said, letting that thought sink in. No more calls, no harassment, only punishment for them.
I’d been striving to get closure this whole time, ready to let that part of me officially go. But I felt no different now knowing that they were about to face trials and punishment. I was too happy in my life to care as much anymore, and that was the exact thing I needed.
They were insignificant now. A distant, painful, memory. Nothing more.
I closed the video, refusing to listen to any more. “I don’t need to know the rest,” I told the others. “It’s over. I’m free, and we’ve got our whole lives here. We don’t need anything more than that. Lance will give me updates if needed.”
“I’m so fucking proud of you,” Mason said as he pulled me close, kissing me soundly. “We have the strongest omega.”
“We do,” Cohen agreed. “How do you want to celebrate, omega?”
“Honestly, I miss my family. Can we see about a family cookout?”
“I’ll call them and arrange it,” Ford promised as he plated the pancakes. “Everybody go sit. We’ll deal with it after breakfast.”
The conversation was pretty superficial during the meal. I ate more than I think I’ve ever eaten in my life, catching up for the lost calories of heat.
I couldn’t keep my mind off the future now. My job was settled and growing. It kept me busy and content. If my brothers decided to go through with re-opening the Artisan Fair, I’d help them organize it.
Mama was dating again. My brothers were finally going to get time to themselves, and I was happy with my pack. Life was genuinely good.
“You know what? I’m going to call my mama myself,” I said to Ford, standing up and grabbing my phone.
The phone rang twice before she answered. “There she is! How are you feeling?”
“Hey, Mama,” I said. “I’m good. My heat’s over finally. It wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be.”
“I’m glad, sweetheart. You deserve that. Heats are meant to be something amazing. Now, tell me why you’re calling your mama post-heat?”
“Because I’m feeling better, everything’s back to normal, and I want to see my family. Can we have a cookout tonight? We’ll bring the food.”
She paused for a moment and I almost thought she’d tell me no.
“I think that’s a great idea. Do you think I could bring a date?”
Laughter bubbled out of me at the thought. “I think the better question is, can your date handle coming to our cookout?”
“No better way to find out than throwing him in the deep end,” she hummed. “I think he’ll be able to handle it.”
“Then bring it on, Mama.”
“Okay, bye, I’ve got a house to clean and your brothers to call. Love you,” she said in a rush before ending the call.
Shaking my head, I grabbed the notebook that Cohen kept in the kitchen drawer and started a list. The nice thing to do would be to call my brothers and let them know what was coming their way, but I thought it would be more fun to watch it unfold.
There were already several cars in front of the house when we pulled up. I stepped out of the car and voices drifted in from the backyard.
The sight of my brothers sitting with surly looks on their faces and arms crossed nearly sent me into a fit of laughter. They were definitely playing up the ‘protective sons’ role, and Mama was just ignoring them.
There was an older alpha at her side. He had silver hair combed back and styled to perfection. Even though he was dressed casually, he looked well-dressed—his jeans perfectly pressed, his button-down shirt folded up to the elbows, and the top few buttons unbuttoned.
He had a nice smile and a slight dimple, and the way he looked at my mama made me feel a whole lot better about the situation, especially when she gave him the same smile back.
“Avery,” my mama said the moment I walked in. She rushed over and pulled me into a hug. Her new beau walked up behind her, giving us space to greet each other.
“Hey, Mama. I’m so happy to see you,” I said, giving her a squeeze. “And who is this behind you?”
“This is Charlie. Isn’t he adorable?” she said. I’d never seen a grown man blush quite so furiously, but he did. His smile was smug and happy. They were definitely already taken with each other.
“Nice to meet you, Charlie. I’m Avery.”
“This is a much warmer greeting than I got from your siblings,” he joked. “Do you think they’ll ever come around?”
“If we give them time,” I reassured him, “treat my mama well and you’ll never have to worry about any of us.”
He gave a self-satisfied smile. “I really plan to, Avery. Your mom is fantastic.”
“She is,” I agreed, but I wasn’t going to let him get off that easily. “Tell me about yourself.”
“Well, I just retired recently. I was working in a law firm in the city and needed some fresh air, so I moved this way. I lost my pack pretty early in my thirties and stayed married to my job instead. Now that I have the freedom, I thought it was time to get on the apps. Oddly enough, we created our profiles the same day and matched right away.”
“We deleted them the same day, too,” my mama joked. “I really didn’t expect my first date to be so compatible, but here we are.”
“That’s amazing,” I gushed, giving her another hug. “I’m so happy for you. You deserve this, Mama.”
“I do, don’t I?” she said with a contented smile. “You know, you deserve them, too.” She nodded towards my pack, who were never far from me.
“You’re right,” I agreed. She stepped away with her date, and my pack took their place next to me. Though, Sidney rushed right in to steal me away.
“You’re not going to give me any details on this heat, are you?” she accused with a dramatic sigh.
I snorted. “Absolutely not, especially not at a family barbecue.”
“I’ll leave,” Maverick warned. She rolled her eyes and gave him her middle finger. His glare had us both chuckling.
“Ignore him,” she said. “But aren’t Charlie and your mama adorable?”
“They are,” I agreed. They had found a spot to sit, legs touching and full focus on each other. It made this day even better to know that she’d found some happiness of her own.
“Thanks for telling me about the breaking news,” I said, changing the subject.
“Girl, I’ve never been so happy to see anyone go to jail in my life. I’ve been following the story. I’ll give you the cliff notes if you want. I know it had to be hard to watch.”
“Thanks. My lawyer is doing the same. I’m avoiding anything and everything on that. I’m too happy to let them ruin any of it. They’ve done that enough.”
“Speaking of that pack… are those claiming bites I see?” she teased, gripping the collar of my shirt and pulling it aside to reveal my matching mate bites.
“I’m a happily claimed omega,” I said proudly, not bothering to shy away from it. I wanted the world to know.
“It looks good on you, Avery,” Sidney said. “Now, we have to save this party. It needs music.”
And just like that, she was off. She was too social to sit in one place for long, or maybe that was just a little bit of ADHD.
I was happy to sit down and catch up with everyone. Glenn gave us an update on Molly and Lola. He’d kept them during my heat and was recounting stories on settling in. He loved Rockwood Valley as much as I did.
Cohen reassured me that his lawyer had contacted Clara, and they were threatening a lawsuit for what she’d done. Her lawyer was now desperately trying to save her reputation and settle outside of court. I had a feeling that Glenn was going to drop it, and if that’s what he needed, then good for him.
I was all about closure these days, and I thought he deserved it just as much. Especially now that he had a new house, access to his own money, and seemed like a whole different man than the one we found in that rehab center.
His smile was brighter, there were no dark circles under his eyes, and he was wearing fresh clothes.
I’d always thought that Rockwood Valley was a town that held a little magic. Seeing it heal people, and feeling that healing power myself, I was even more convinced.