Chapter 10
Grace
T he mood was somber as we sat around the campfire, the flames casting a warmth over the otherwise dark beach. Clouds rolled in late in the afternoon, only adding to the feeling of the evening.
Not one of us was ready for the bubble to burst, for our week of hiding to start.
They had been extra protective after Bianca showed up earlier, fingers brushing over my skin as they passed, sitting close enough that we touched. My touch starved omega soaked in every single moment of it.
Hell, even Beck had me in his lap now, my back resting against his chest as we stared at the flickering fire and the dark lake beyond. My fingers ran over his arm as he held me, a gentle rumbling purr vibrating against my back in response.
“This is not the mood that I want to end our amazing weekend on,” Spencer said with a sigh.
“What do you have in mind to fix it?” Cade asked as he looked up. He had a sketchpad open on his lap, the charcoal pencil skimming lightly over the pages. Every once in a while, he’d look up at me and Beck before glancing back down.
“I don’t know,” Spencer groaned and laid back, staring up at the star-filled sky. “But I don’t like this.”
“What’s the plan when the wedding is over?” I asked, curiosity winning out when I had no solution for our current problem.
Spencer ran a hand over his face as he thought it over. “After having to keep my hands to myself for a week, I’d love nothing more than to spend at least a few days locked away in our bedroom,” he admitted.
“I wouldn’t be opposed,” I agreed. I couldn’t seem to bring myself to ask the questions that mattered, so I deflected. “Tell me about your life. Your work and your home. What do you do to unwind, what’s your house like? Everything.”
“Well, you already know we’re city boys,” Beck chuckled, the rumble rolling through his chest and making me shiver. I liked the deep tone of his voice. It was soothing and was helping keep me relaxed.
“We’ve got an amazing loft out there,” Cade said, his mood perking up. I could see how much they loved their life and that terrified me. “The corner of the loft that I claimed as my art space has an amazing view overlooking the city.”
My heart sank with each word.
“What is it, sweetheart?” Beck asked, his hand running soothingly down my arm. I guess I wasn’t doing a great job at keeping my feelings to myself.
“You guys live in this amazing loft and have this successful company. You have this glamorous life that is completely foreign to me. I don’t fit into that equation.”
“You’ll fit right in,” Spencer reassured me, completely missing the true fear hiding between the lines.
“That’s not what she’s worried about,” Cade said as he studied me. “You mentioned earlier how much you liked it here, how it’s peaceful. Then your sister said something about it being like Rockwood Valley. That’s where you live, right?”
I chewed on my lip but nodded, trying to keep myself from blurting out that I couldn’t do what they wanted me to. Moving to the city sounded like my own personal hell. I’d been there and done that. I wanted to stay where I belonged.
“Are you worried that we won’t like where you live?” Beck asked. “I’m sure we’ll love it as much as we love this place. It’s you that matters.”
“I don’t think you guys are getting it. I have no intention of ever living in the city,” I admitted.
The words were blunt, but they were my truth.
“The fast-paced life has always given me anxiety. When I went there for college, I hated every minute of it and spent almost every weekend back home in Rockwood. I don’t want to live anywhere else. ”
Shame washed over me because this was not a compromise, this was me giving them an ultimatum before we even had a chance to form a bond.
What kind of omega does that?
“Then we make it work,” Spencer said. His voice was unbothered by my words and I didn’t know how to process that.
I’d expected the worst. “You know, I did say we should open up a headquarters, one that gives us a little more privacy. We always have someone interrupting us and never get a chance to unwind. We’re far too accessible. ”
“That you did,” Beck agreed. “We could make an extension office over in Rockwood Valley.”
“You know they have an Artisan Fair twice a year,” I said, perking up a little at the idea.
“Imagine if PackSense did a booth. You’d sell out so fast. Especially if you did custom blends and just had a main scent list you could combine and tailor to each pack or customer.
Oh, and maybe a preorder on the website or something. ”
Beck squeezed me, his scent surrounding me even more. I was breathing in his campfire scent, which was only enhanced by the roaring flames in front of us. The added touch of smoky vanilla and warm amber rounded it out, and I let out an exhale that was full of all the stress I’d been holding onto.
I hadn’t realized how much I was holding onto the fact that this could never work, holding myself back because I didn’t want to be hurt when they decided they couldn’t give up their life for me. Honestly, asking them to was awful in itself.
“I can feel you overthinking, sweetheart. You not wanting to leave your home does not make you a bad omega. It would make us bad mates to pull you away and make you live somewhere you hated. The last thing I want is to wake up everyday to an omega that I snuffed out the spark in.”
Beck’s words had me blinking back tears. Spencer scooted closer, taking my hand in his.
“Most of our business can be remote. We may have to commute to the office from time to time, but we can make that work, too.”
I perked up at that. “Just because I don’t want to live in the city full time, doesn’t mean I’d never visit. I can pretty much work from anywhere. I could probably go to the office with you those days if you wanted me to, if you needed to spend more than just a day or an afternoon there, I mean.”
Now I sounded too eager.
“See? That’s the compromise that we need,” Spencer said, giving me a reassuring smile and squeezing my hand. “Honestly, freckles, we just need you close to us all the time at this point.”
“Can we just stay here in this moment and not have this week happen at all?” I asked with a groan. “How sad do you think Hailey would be if we all just casually went missing?”
We all knew my family obligations and my love for my sister would keep me here. That didn’t stop a girl from dreaming.
“It’s going to be fine,” Cade reassured me.
“The three of us will run crowd control when we need to. You can find your voice and use it, and we’ll back you up.
Because at the end of the day, it would be weird if we pretended we weren’t friends.
It’ll be okay to be seen with each other as long as we’re not flirting constantly or pulling you into our laps, and growling anytime another alpha or beta walks by you. ”
“That’s true,” I conceded. “I hadn’t considered the fact that we can still be near each other.”
“How early is everyone coming in the morning? Because I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be able to sleep if you’re not nearby,” Cade grumbled, standing up and snatching me from Beck’s arms, making me giggle as the alpha growled in protest.
“You have to share,” the beta leveled the alpha with a look, not the least bit repentant as he sat down on the sand with me.
My fingers ghosted over the cool sand, making me shiver. The warmth of the flames chased it away quickly. That, and the warm body pressed against my back.
“Hailey is not a morning person, but that doesn’t mean everybody else isn’t. I believe check-in doesn’t start until eleven here, so we are probably safe as long as we get up early and de-scent both our rooms and ourselves.”
Spencer let out a sigh. “I’m going to miss that scent of yours, freckles. It’s just about the only thing getting me through.”
“It’s temporary,” I reminded him before standing up. “Now let’s put out this fire and spend the last night we have in our bed.”
I’ve never seen a pack move so fast to put out flames and snatch me up, throwing me over my alpha’s shoulder.
Tonight would have to last us, so we were going to make it count.