Chapter 34 Aspen
Aspen
“What are you doing here?” I gasped, shoving at the hands gripping my forearm hard enough that I could already feel it bruising.
“Apparently, searching for you,” Luke said, his voice hard. Gavin and Trent were standing on either side, boxing me in now.
Three sets of eyes appraised me, taking in my festive outfit as their mouths twisted in sneers. Such a contrast to my pack’s reaction.
Assholes.
Their scents were a mix of thick herbs and spice that made my stomach turn. All I associated with it was lies.
“Get away from me,” I demanded.
“Now, why would we do that? We came all this way for our omega, and you’re going to shove us away like we mean nothing?” Trent asked as he moved closer, leaning in and trying to breathe me in. He froze as his eyes locked on the bite on my neck. “What the fuck is that?”
“My alpha told you on the phone that I was mated now. I don’t want anything to do with you.”
They were truly idiots if they thought for a second that my pack wasn’t going to hunt them down and make them pay for ever touching me.
“Get your fucking hands off of me,” I said again, enunciating each word to make sure there was no confusion.
“I don’t give a fuck who put their teeth into you, omega. You belong to us,” Luke growled.
I opened my mouth to tell him to fuck off when he suddenly went flying out of view. A sick thud sounded off, almost sluggish in my brain.
Then it was an eruption of yells, growls, and flying fists. I barely registered someone yanking me back.
I startled, trying to wrench away until I realized it was Karina holding me close. Ellis was right there with us, shielding us both from the fight that had broken out. It was no longer just my exes against my pack, Hayes and Julian had jumped in as well.
I could barely make sense of what I was seeing, more men joining the fray, many I didn’t even know. Not that it mattered. What mattered was that this town was here to support my mates.
“She was ours first!”
“She’s not your fucking possession!” Jack bit out, dragging Gavin up by the scruff of his shirt before slamming his fist into the asshole’s jaw.
Cole now had Luke pinned against the side of one of the food trucks, while Trent was grappling with Hayes. They were quickly thrown into the center of the crowd, boxed in by a show of force.
“What the fuck is this? Look at you, taming the whole town with that pussy. It’s the only redeeming quality you ever had,” Trent sneered.
To my shock, it was Julian who punched him this time. “Don’t talk about my daughter like that.”
My breath caught at his words. Even my own fathers would have never done that for me.
“You’re family now, Aspen,” Karina whispered in my ear, holding me close. “They don’t get to hurt you ever again.”
“Don’t ever let my mate’s name cross your dirty fucking lips. Do you hear me?” Cole thundered. He had Luke by the throat now, who was quickly turning a sickly shade of blue.
I was so angry they dared to show their faces here, that they ruined the excitement of Christmas.
Then I realized… they didn’t get to hold that kind of power.
Trent’s eyes were boring into mine, his lips twisted into a snarl. “You humiliated us. Left us at the altar all to come to this town—”
“Don’t you dare disrespect Pine Ridge. This is my home now.
These are my people,” I shouted back. “I left you behind because you were too busy screwing your little sister’s best friend on our wedding day to care about the marriage you were about to commit to.
I knew in that moment I couldn’t let myself be tied to you.
And every day after that has gotten even better.
These men treat me like I deserve. And frankly?
I hope she gave you something that makes your knot shrivel up and fall the fuck off.
Now get out of this town and never contact me again. ”
“Tell me that you got a restraining order against these men,” Ellis said on a growl,.
I hadn’t even considered that, but he was right. “Actually… yes. They do that automatically when you have to involve the Omega Network. I signed it before we went to their house to retrieve my things.”
“Perfect,” Ellis said, giving me a wink before calling out to the sheriff, who had been turning a blind eye to the beating these assholes were getting.
“Scott. She has a restraining order against them!”
Scott’s eyes lit up like someone handed him a Christmas present.
He said something into his radio before pulling out his handcuffs and walking closer. “Is this true, gentlemen? Does this omega have a restraining order against you?”
“She’s our omega, part of our pack!”
“I don’t give a fuck who you think is part of your pack. Does she have a restraining order?” he snapped.
“Yes,” I supplied for the cowards.
That was enough for the cop to react. “Well, gentlemen, in that case, I think we’re going to have a problem.”
A few more officers swooped in, my pack assisting them as they slapped cuffs on the assholes before escorting them away. Karina never left my side, her hand running up and down my arm as she hugged me to her.
The moment my exes were in cuffs, my pack found me.
“Are you all right, Aspen?” Cole asked. His voice was still deep and growly from the confrontation.
I swallowed hard and nodded, still too stunned to even put the words together.
“Maybe we should go,” Jack suggested, all of them looking at me as if waiting for me to break down.
His words finally broke me out of it. “No. Absolutely not,” I protested. “They don’t get to take this from us. I want to be here. I was having an amazing night.”
“Why don’t we slip into the diner for a little break?” Hayes suggested. “We’ll buy you dinner. I think some food could go a long way toward calming some nerves. Then you can get back to enjoying the festival.”
“That sounds perfect,” I admitted, grateful for his suggestion. He didn’t seem like the caretaking type, but I would take it.
For as busy as the festival was, the diner was nearly empty.
Cole quickly pulled two tables together, ensuring that all the omegas had seats before the alphas and beta filled in around us.
Once we were settled, it was like a collective deep breath was taken, everyone eyeing the others, waiting to see who would speak first. Finally, Karina was the one to break the silence. I expected small talk, but instead she dove right into the elephant in the room.
“Our last conversation didn’t go well. That’s on us. We’ve had a lot of talks since then,” she said. All three of her men looked properly chastised, and I couldn’t help wondering what that meant for all of us.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it, we’ve been awful,” Julian said, “I regret that. We should’ve been there for you more. Our dear omega had a long talk with us. A lot of hard conversations that have been a long time coming. We can’t go back in time and fix things, as much as we wish we could.”
Hayes cleared his throat as Julian finished talking.
He blew out a breath and leveled a look at each of his sons.
“I take the blame. I was so caught up in our world that I forgot we brought you into it, yet never truly let you in. I thought by not pressuring you to participate in the family business, I was giving you a chance to create your own destinies. Yet, we failed miserably at being the fathers you deserved. I failed you, and I failed my pack.”
His voice choked with emotion, and both Jack and Cole looked startled by it, like they couldn’t figure out how to handle this version of their father.
Karina’s hand clasped her alpha’s as they shared a look, and she took over again.
“We considered what you said, especially you, Aspen. You’re right.
It’s up to us to fix this. And what kind of parents are we if we simply abandon you?
What if you have babies? I want to be there for that.
I didn’t have support when my boys were little outside of staff, and frankly that’s not something I’m comfortable with.
I want to be there for my grandkids. I want to be part of your lives. ”
“We still want to travel,” Ellis said. “We’re going to go on a vacation and give you space to establish your lives here in Pine Ridge.”
“We’re taking a backseat in the company,” Hayes added in.
“Handing it over to a new era of leadership. We’re still on the board, but we have amassed enough wealth that there’s no need for us to be part of it anymore.
What’s the point of working our entire lives if we’re not going to enjoy those rewards?
Resignation takes place February first. We’re giving the company that long to make its changes, and then we’re out. ”
“Holy shit,” Jack said, his outburst making everyone laugh.
“What happens when you come back from your vacation?” Cole asked.
“The estate will still be yours,” Karina said. “I’ve seen enough of it. We never truly made it ours. We want to build our own place. The property lines extend through the entire forest, and there’s a parcel of land on the other side. I think that’s where we will build,” Ellis said.
“Wow,” Cole said as he ran a hand over his jaw.
As we all fell silent, Julian waved over the waitress. I hadn’t even considered that she hadn’t taken any of our orders yet. She must have realized we needed a moment.
I barely paid attention as I put in my order, my attention was fully on Jack and Cole, who were still processing.
I didn’t think they realized how much they needed to hear that their dads were willing to stay and work on their relationship.
I think, despite Karina convincing herself she was fine, she would thrive with them closer.
Cole cleared his throat, his hand squeezing mine as he spoke. “We’re happy to have you home.”
His fathers nodded, Ellis smiling, and Karina was fighting tears. They needed to hear that just as much.
“So, where are you going on vacation?” North interjected, changing the subject and giving everyone some breathing room.
“I think I’ve had enough of the snow,” Karina said. “So, we’re heading to California for a little vacation on the beach.”
“That sounds amazing,” I said as she regaled us with the finer details they’d worked out.
When the conversation lulled again, Hayes spoke up. His voice was stronger now, but he lacked that coldness from our first dinner together.
“I hear you’re opening a location down here, son,” Hayes asked.
The waitress interrupted as she dropped off a round of hot chocolates and everyone’s food. As she swept away, Cole finally answered.
“Yes. My goal is to open an extension office where corporate meetings can take place, and I’ll have my permanent office there as well. It’ll get me out of the house and give me the space I need to conduct business properly.”
“I’m proud of you, son.” Hayes then turned his attention on Jack. “Your mother told me all you did to help make this festival a reality. The mayor speaks very highly of you as well. I’m proud of you, too, Jack.”
Then, just like that, Hayes was back to focusing on his food while his sons processed yet another emotional whiplash.
Thankfully, small talk took back over as we all finished our meals.
“We’re going to go enjoy a little bit more of the festival,” Hayes said definitively. “It’s been a while since we’ve been in Pine Ridge. I think I’d like to enjoy it.”
They stood up, Karina giving each of her sons a kiss on the cheek and then hugging North and me.
Then they were gone, leaving us alone.
Jack took a shaky breath. “I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone.”
“But this is a good thing, right?” North said gently.
“It really is,” Jack agreed.
“Well, now that the excitement is dying down,” I said. “We still have more tickets to burn.”
“Have you guys gone on the ferris wheel? It’s my favorite,” Jack said, his eyes lighting up.
“You know what?” North said instead of answering. “I think the ferris wheel sounds wonderful.”
The line was much longer this time, but thankfully Jack didn’t question us again. My nerves were fucked at this point, but the longer we stood, moving inch by inch, the more I felt like something was off.
It started with a creeping feeling low in my gut then swirled through me. Even though it was icy outside, my skin was practically on fire. Sweat broke out on my lower back and brow and a wave of nausea hit me.
North leaned into my side, not realizing he was keeping me on my feet. Jack moved closer, putting his arm around us, but it just made it worse.
“I think all the stress is getting to me. I shouldn’t be this hot and sweaty.”
“Is it a heat spike?” Cole asked, concerned now. This was not the place to go into heat. I tried to shake my head, then stopped as a cramp hit me.
“Fuck,” I cursed. “It shouldn’t be. I’m on suppressors.”
“Maybe my change triggered yours?” North worried his lip as he leaned in, gently wiping my brow with his sleeve.
“Or mating,” Jack worried, stepping in closer, which did nothing to help. Now I could smell all three of them, the warmth amping up in response.
Cole gently shifted us out of line to check in with me. His eyes studied my face, dark and imploring as they raked over me. My body responded to the alpha’s attention, my scent perfuming around us. His eyes widened, breath catching for a moment.
“You’re in heat, chaos,” He said definitively. “We have to get out of here.”