Chapter 31 Rowan
Rowan
Istep out of my car. My arms crossed over my chest. My heart pounds so hard I'm sure they can hear it, even from twenty feet away.
They look terrible. All three of them. Jasper's hair stands on end like he's been running his hands through it repeatedly.
Wells's usually immaculate shirt is wrinkled and half-untucked.
Even Theo, normally the most composed, has dark circles under his eyes and a desperate expression I've never seen before.
They're here. They came for me. But why?
"What are you doing here?" I ask, not moving closer, not daring to hope despite the way my omega instincts are screaming to run to them, to bury my face in their scents, to let them surround me with warmth and security.
"We came for you," Theo says, taking a tentative step forward.
His voice is gentle but certain, the way it always is when he's saying something he believes with his whole heart.
"Because we couldn't let you leave thinking that what happened between us was a mistake.
Because the thought of you gone makes everything. .. wrong. Because we—"
He glances at Jasper and Wells, some silent communication passing between them before he continues.
"Because we love you. All of us. And we want you to stay."
The words hit me like a physical blow. Love. They love me. All of them. The declaration is so unexpected, so contrary to everything I convinced myself was true, that for a moment I can't process it.
But caution—hard-earned and deeply ingrained—reasserts itself quickly.
"I heard what Wells said," I remind them, the hurt still fresh. "That it was a mistake."
Wells steps forward, his usually controlled expression raw with emotion.
"That's not what I meant," he says, his voice rougher than I've ever heard it.
"I wasn't talking about you, or us, or what happened during your heat.
I was talking about how we handled it afterward—pulling away, pretending nothing had changed, hurting you. That was the mistake."
I want to believe him. God, how I want to believe him. But I've spent my life learning that people leave, that vulnerability leads to pain, that it's safer to run than to risk your heart.
"We've been idiots," Jasper adds, the blunt admission so typical of him that it almost makes me smile despite everything.
"All of us. Me especially. I got scared.
After what happened with Julia, I swore I'd never let myself be vulnerable like that again.
But then you came along with your stubborn independence and the way you don't take any of my crap, and suddenly all my carefully built walls meant nothing. "
Something warm unfurls in my chest at his words, but I still can't quite bring myself to move closer, to bridge the gap between us.
"So what are you saying, exactly?" I ask, needing clarity, needing certainty before I can even think about letting myself believe in this. "What do you want from me?"
"Everything," Theo says without hesitation. "Anything you're willing to give us. We want you to stay, Rowan. Not just for another month, not just temporarily. We want you with us, part of us, however that looks."
"Pack," Jasper says simply.
"Family," Wells adds.
"Home," Theo finishes softly.
Home. The word reverberates through me, touching places I've kept carefully guarded for years.
Home isn't something I've ever really had—not in the deepest sense.
I had a house growing up, had parents who loved me, but I always felt slightly out of place, slightly wrong, never quite fitting in.
Even my own body was a mystery, a source of confusion rather than certainty.
But with these three...
"And if I say no?" I test them, needing to be sure. "If I decide this is too complicated, too messy, too much?"
"Then we let you go," Theo says, though the pain in his eyes at the very thought is evident.
"Because we love you enough to want you to be happy, even if it's not with us."
I take a single step forward, drawn by the sincerity in his words, by the emotion I can see in all their faces. But I still hesitate, years of self-protection warring with the desperate need to believe them.
"I never trusted omegas," Jasper says suddenly, his voice raw with honesty.
"Not after my mother left. Not after Julia used me and walked away.
I told myself they were all the same—driven by biology, by need, by whatever was convenient at the moment.
But you—" His voice catches, and he swallows hard before continuing.
"You're different. You made me different.
Better. You made me want to trust again. "
The naked vulnerability in his admission steals my breath. Jasper, who guards his emotions more fiercely than anyone I've ever met, is laying his heart bare. For me.
Theo steps closer, close enough that I can smell his sandalwood scent, can see the gold flecks in his eyes that appear only in certain light.
"I don't want a life where you're not in it," he says, his voice breaking slightly on the words.
"I don't want to wake up and not see you at the breakfast table, grumpy until your coffee kicks in.
I don't want to come home and not find you on the porch with Gerald, talking to him like he understands every word.
I don't want to be without you, Rowan. None of us do. "
My eyes burn with unshed tears, my resolve weakening with every word. But it's Wells who finally shatters my last defenses.
He steps forward, stopping just short of touching me. His expression, always so carefully controlled, is completely open now—hope and fear and determination all written plainly on his face.
"I was scared," he admits quietly. "Terrified, actually.
My father lost himself when my mother left, and became a shell of a person.
I swore I'd never let myself be that vulnerable, never need anyone that much.
But I need you, Rowan. We all do. And I don't beg—" A ghost of a smile touches his lips. "But I'll beg for you."
The tears I've been fighting finally spill over, tracking hot down my cheeks. I want to believe them so badly. Want to trust this, trust them, trust myself. But fear still holds me back—the fear of being hurt, of being left, of loving and losing all over again.
"I'm scared," I whisper, finally giving voice to the emotion that's been driving me all along.
"I'm scared of how much I want this. Of how much I need you. All of you. I've spent my entire life telling myself I don't need anyone, that I'm fine on my own. And then you three just... broke through everything. And it terrifies me."
"It terrifies us too," Theo assures me, reaching out slowly, giving me time to pull away if I want to. When I don't, his fingers gently brush the tears from my cheek. "Love is scary. Especially when it's something this... unexpected. We're making this up as we go, Rowan. All of us."
"But we want to make it up with you," Wells adds. "Together."
"Pack," Jasper says again, the single word carrying the weight of everything he can't quite articulate.
I look between them—Theo with his gentle compassion, Wells with his careful attention to detail, Jasper with his gruff protectiveness. Three alphas who somehow balance each other perfectly. Three men who, against all odds, have carved out a space in my heart that I never intended to give anyone.
I think of Gerald, currently meowing indignantly from his carrier in my car.
I think of the house, our house, with its creaky stairs and half-finished renovations and the way the light hits the kitchen in the morning.
I think of mornings with Theo's pancakes, afternoons helping Jasper with repairs, evenings watching Wells work through festival logistics with meticulous care.
I think of five days of heat, of vulnerability and connection and belonging like I've never felt before.
I think of all the reasons to run, all the ways this could go wrong, all the risks of trusting not just one person but three with my heart, my future, my whole self.
And then I take another step forward. And another. Until I'm standing directly in front of Jasper, close enough to see the flicker of hope and uncertainty in his eyes.
"If I stay," I say, my voice steadier than I feel, "there has to be honesty. No more retreating behind walls when things get difficult. No more pretending feelings don't exist. No more running—from any of us."
"Agreed," Theo says immediately.
"Absolutely," Wells adds.
Jasper just nods, his eyes never leaving mine.
"And I need time," I continue. "To figure out how to be... this. An omega. Part of a pack. Yours."
"You have all the time you need," Theo assures me. "We're not going anywhere."
"Neither am I," I say, making the decision even as the words leave my mouth. "I'm staying."
The relief that washes over all three of their faces is almost comical in its intensity. Theo looks like he might actually cry. Wells's shoulders slump as tension visibly drains from him.
And Jasper...
Jasper reaches for me with a small, questioning movement, giving me the chance to back away if I want to.
When I don't, his arms wrap around me, pulling me against his chest with careful strength.
His scent—pine and sawdust and home—envelops me, familiar and right in a way that makes my omega want to purr with contentment.
"Welcome home, Rowan," he murmurs against my hair, his voice rough with emotion.
I feel Theo join the embrace from behind, his arms encircling both Jasper and me, his cheek pressing against my temple. "We've got you," he whispers, the words a promise and a comfort.
Wells hesitates only a moment before his arms complete the circle, the four of us locked together in an embrace that feels like commitment, like belonging, like everything I never knew I was looking for.
The sun sets over the vineyard, painting the world in hues of gold and rose.
Behind us, Gerald yowls impatiently from the car, clearly ready to be part of this reunion.
And somewhere in the distance, the town of Vineyard Groves prepares for whatever festival comes next, blissfully unaware that my entire world has just shifted on its axis.
I still have questions. I still have doubts and fears and so many things to figure out. I need to talk to my parents, maybe even meet James someday. I need to establish boundaries and expectations and figure out what this unconventional pack actually looks like in practice.
But right now, surrounded by three alphas who somehow love me exactly as I am—stubborn and complicated and finally, finally where I belong—I know one thing with absolute certainty:
I'm home.