Chapter 12 Cole
Cole
My entire life had been turned upside down in a matter of days. It seemed like everything was now categorized into two eras: before Aspen and after.
Everything before seemed dull. Even when she walked out of the room to go talk to Jack, I felt like she’d taken a piece of me with her.
It went beyond how fucking good she felt earlier and how sexy she was.
There was so much to this woman. She was complex, chaotic, and perfect.
She was honest to a fault and didn’t bother to hide how she felt.
Then there are those little moments she soaked in that filled her with so much joy, she radiated it.
She had lit up at the mention of antique stores and thrift stores. Found joy in road trips and snacks. Loved singing along to the songs in the car and took in this town like it was something truly special.
Her zest for life was contagious and giving my own life a new and much needed perspective.
I was desperate to know everything about her. To find out all about her past and what shaped her to be the person she is now.
Aspen was perfect and so strong, and all I wanted to do was make her happy.
“I know that look,” my mother said knowingly.
I cast her a dry glare, which only made her chuckle.
“You knew I was engaged to her, of course you recognize the look,” I muttered.
“It’s just nice to know you made a good choice. And remember, just because it got complicated doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.”
“You would know all about complicated,” I said.
She all but rolled her eyes.
“You know, that’s the funny thing about being in a pack.
No one has to understand your relationship but you.
Yes, my pack is gone a lot, but I am a fiercely independent omega.
They would have driven me insane being here all year round.
And just because they’re gone doesn’t mean I don’t talk to them constantly.
” She shuddered at the mere thought of my fathers hovering.
“You’re right,” I conceded, ducking my head. It wasn’t the first time we’ve had this conversation. I’d never truly understood her relationship with my fathers, and, apparently, there was some resentment there of my own.
North came back and sat down just as my mother dabbed her mouth with her napkin and stood.
“I think I’m going to retire for the night while you boys work this whole pack ordeal out.
” She looked from one of us to the next.
“And I’ll give the same speech to Jack, but you do right by that girl.
She is very sweet, and I like her. Figure out whatever this is between you quickly.
You don’t want to lose an opportunity because you were too stubborn to open your mouths and talk to each other. ”
She cut her eyes at me. “You and your brother have needed this conversation for many years.”
I didn’t respond, but she was right. The relationship I had with my brother had turned sour around the time I started this company. Hell… before. He’d always hated any achievement I had like it was a personal insult.
North and I didn’t say anything as she left. He finished his meal in silence before setting his fork aside.
He was trying to seem unbothered, but his eyes kept flicking toward the doorway.
“So, I guess we’re a pack now,” I said. Not the most subtle and smooth transitioning, but it worked. North’s head snapped up, eyes wide. “How do you feel about that?”
“I’m happy. She seems great. I’m excited to get to know her, and I want to court her properly. If you have any ideas of what worked for you, feel free to share them.”
“I’ll think on it.”
In reality, another big issue hit me. Now that they were her matches, too, we couldn’t exactly lie to them. Especially if we were putting work into fixing the issues already in our pack.
“Where were they?” I asked.
“The theater room.”
“My brother and his movies,” I muttered, tapping the table before standing. “I’m going to go check in on them. You coming?”
“No,” he said. “This feels like something you guys need to work out on your own. I have to get up early, so I’m going to head into town. Please tell them both goodnight for me.”
“I will.”
I watched him walk out. The way he and Jack constantly orbited around each other, stealing glances, but never quite giving in, drove me nuts. Everyone in the world, and probably this town, knew these two belonged together.
Everyone except them.
Maybe it was time my brother and I had a chat about that, too. We could air out all of our grievances and make peace in the aftermath.
I expected a movie to be playing or the two of them talking. Instead, I found Jack alone, his head in his hands, looking as small as he could make himself.
What the hell had gone down in here?
As I walked closer, I caught a mix of their scents. It must not have been long ago that Aspen had walked away.
“Hey, brother,” I said as I sat in the seat she must have vacated.
“Did you come to laugh about how your clown of a younger brother fucked things up?” Jack asked bitterly.
The pain in his voice made my chest ache. Fuck, how had I let it get this bad?
“I don’t understand. What did I do to fuck up our relationship?” I asked.
He sat up and looked at me, shaking his head.
“What relationship? You left.”
“And you knew I would leave,” I said, trying to follow and failing. “I was never quiet about my plans. After high school and college, all I wanted to do was this magazine. I never expected it to become as successful as it did, but I never would’ve achieved that here. I had to leave.”
“Yeah, and you left without a word. You didn’t even say goodbye to me.”
“I tried,” I protested, frustrated now and trying my best to keep it out of my voice. “You shut me out the moment you heard I was leaving. You didn’t give me the chance. You and North ran off.”
He rolled his eyes and tried to stand, but I blocked him in and wasn’t about to move. Not when I needed answers.
“Mom never needed you to stay. I know that’s why you never left, but I offered for you to follow me.”
“You know I couldn’t. Somebody had to be responsible and stay behind. Mom gave us everything.”
“She did. But we have to trust that she chose this life with her pack, and not try to fix it for her or replace them.”
He glared at me. “I think I know more about her than you do at this point. It’s been the two of us for a long fucking time.”
“You’re always so stubborn. You assume you know everything and don’t stick around long enough to find out if it’s real or not.
Hell, you and your best friend have been in love with each other for years and neither one of you has been brave enough to do anything.
He’s probably waiting for his alpha to step up, and you haven’t even considered it, have you?
Now that you have her are you going to keep ignoring that?
Put all of your energy into competing with me? ”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, throwing up his hands like I was the crazy one.
“Oh please,” I growled. “North would get on his knees and beg for you to give him a chance if you wanted him to. He’s loved you since we were teenagers.
And you can lie to me and say you don’t love him, but I’m not stupid.
I saw the way you were together. You were never like that with me or any other friend. You two were always different.”
“No,” he started, but I shook my head.
“If I walked up to hug North, he’d freeze. If any other person did, he’d freak the fuck out. But you never had that issue.”
“Only because I’m not the ‘hold myself back’ type and he knows that and accepts it,” he tried to protest but I snorted.
“Oh, and you don’t find him attractive?”
“What?” he whispered, face going pale.
“He stares at you like you’ve hung the moon. That man orbits you, and you’ve kept your distance. Do you not feel the same?”
Jack blinked, scrubbing a hand over his face. He was fidgeting now, like he could barely stop himself from moving. He didn’t answer, but he also didn’t protest.
“You got up the moment she and North shared a moment. Was it jealousy?”
Jack growled, glaring harder now.
“Are you going to let her steal him away? How does that make you feel?”
From the way his face and neck flushed and fists clenched, he hated it. I didn’t know how else to broach this subject.
“Come on,” I said after giving him a chance to talk and he let it pass. “Let’s go to the gym. We can work this out there.”
“What is there to work out?” he demanded. “What did she tell you?”
“I’m not letting you get in your own way anymore. Our omega deserves a cohesive pack and that starts with us and you working your shit out with North.”
“I’m not sure why you’re acting like you give a fuck now,” Jack snapped.
I’d let all his bullshit comments roll off until now, but that one hit hard.
“Of course, it matters to me,” I yelled back.
“You and North were my best friends for most of our lives. And yeah, things were different between you two because you had feelings getting in the way. But I thought you felt the same about me. I reached out more than once when I left. Just because I had dreams bigger than Pine Ridge doesn’t mean I didn’t care.
But, apparently, no one cared enough to keep in contact with me, either. ”
“What, a text now and then?” Jack challenged.
“Try again,” I bit out. “It was more than that. I called for weeks on end. I tried to arrange trips home, and you didn’t want to make time for me. Why do you think I stopped trying? When things get one-sided, it hurts. I’m not going to beg you to want to be around me.”
I exhaled a breath, trying to push all my anger out. This wasn’t going in the direction I intended but I, apparently, had my own buried feelings.
“We always talked about being a pack someday. And then you both cut me out the moment I had to leave.”
“Because I’m not going to be in a pack with someone like our dads,” Jack growled. “You and Mom can say what you want, but I’m going to doubt Aspen wants a pack that only sees her a few times a year.”
“You’re right, she wouldn’t want that. Aspen and I work in the same company, though. I will see her.”
“And how does that factor us in?” he demanded. “You’ll just go back to your job in the city and North and I are expected to follow? We have lives here, too. North owns a bakery and I work for the town.”
“Those aren’t decisions we make this early in a relationship. We’ll figure it out when the time comes. I hear you and I’m not dismissing it, but we aren’t exactly at the point of asking where she wants to live yet.”
“So, it’s just going to hang over us the whole time?” he demanded.
“What did Aspen tell you when she came in here?” I asked instead of answering.
“That she wasn’t going to let us turn this into a competition.”
“Then why are you?” I demanded. “You’re already assuming I ‘won’ because she and I live in the same city. You’re not even giving us the opportunity to say otherwise.”
He was breathing hard now, like a cornered animal. Anger wasn’t going to get us anywhere.
Compassion might.
“I miss my brother, Jack,” I said softly. “I miss the guy who made everyone laugh. I always wished I was more like that, more personable. I assumed you’d have a pack without me one day because no one would want to deal with my grumpy ass.”
He froze.
“You… wished you were like me?” he asked. The genuine shock there told me he’d made me the villain in all this.
“Of course, I did. You carried yourself in a way that drew people in. You didn’t scare them off like I did. You had tons of friends and never said the wrong thing. I had you and North. If it weren’t for you two, I’d have been alone.”
He stared at me like he was trying to see if I was telling the truth. I kept my face open so he could see what I did.
“This whole time,” he said slowly, “I thought you were a dick who couldn’t stick around for his family. Someone who was too good for us the moment you found success. Someone who left us behind without looking back.”
“I looked back,” I said gently. “You just weren’t there anymore.”
“Fuck… I’m sorry.” He dragged a hand over his face. “I guess I didn’t realize how much I hated feeling stuck while you got to go out and do this amazing thing. You were wildly successful, and here I was working in the town treasury, barely making my own living.”
“That’s an amazing job,” I said. “And I’m proud of you for it. You’ve always been good with numbers and it’s something everyone looks up to you for. Not to sound like a dick, but money was never an issue for us. You work there because you love it, and that passion shows.”
“Thanks,” Jack said, letting out a breath. “I really like my work. It makes me feel like I’m doing some good in the world.”
“So, where do we go from here?”
He sighed. “To start, I’m going to have to make this up to her.”
“What about North?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“What about him?” He was feigning innocence. Stubborn alpha.
“Oh, I don’t know,” I drawled. “Maybe the fact that you’ve both been in love with each other for years?”
He ignored it again.
“That’s something you owe him, Jack. Figure it out before you start a relationship with someone new,” I said. “Maybe give it some thought. That or cut him loose for his own good.”
Jack looked away, jaw tight. “Maybe you’re right. I’ve always wondered if he felt the same but our friendship is solid. I didn’t want to be the one to ruin it. I need him more than I care to admit.”
“Oh? What was that? Did you say that I’m right?” I asked innocently.
My brother punched me in the bicep, shoving me aside. “Move. I have to find North.”
“You do,” I said, smirking. “I have an omega to take care of. And maybe if you play your cards right, it won’t be long before you do, too.”
He nodded once, like he finally understood.
I truly hoped he did.
There was no way I was letting anyone get in the way of Aspen’s happiness.