CHAPTER FOUR - Jasper
I stuffed my hands deeper into my coat pockets and nodded with a grin to one of our employees as she went into the tree barn. My smile dropped once she was out of view. What the fuck did Balthazar think he was doing bringing an Omega here?
We didn’t mix work with pleasure, and no Omega should be on our pack’s land unless we knew she was one for us. The bastard was hurting for one though. How many had he dated in the past five years? Every single one of them was either boring or a gold digger. No thanks.
Lucian came out of the shop and walked toward me. He hummed along with the Christmas music and took up a position by the corner of the barn beside me. “Gorgeous day.”
It was, but we weren’t here to enjoy the mild afternoon.
“Are you not going to say anything about it?” Lucian swiped a hand through his pale blond hair. If he didn’t get as much sun as he did, he’d look like a ghost. “You have to be a little curious.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” I snapped and then huffed.
It wasn’t his fault. “Sorry. Why is Bal springing this on us? If he was dating someone, I’d like some time to prepare before meeting her.
God, she better not be like Danica. The first time she went into the barn and saw the bats snoozing on the rafters, she freaked out.
When she demanded we kill them all and we refused, she never came back. ”
“Or Rebecca? She never said no to anything we asked of her and agreed with everything we said. She was sweet, but all she wanted was access to our bank accounts.” Lucian chuckled.
“We need to get in contact with the DNR about them finding someone to help with the bat colony. It’s grown too big for me to keep an eye on now. ”
“I’ll get on it after the new year.” I dismissed the bat talk and swallowed the sour taste in my mouth about Omegas.
We’d only get burned. Every fucking Omega had an agenda, and I wanted no part in their games.
“ Does our pack really need an Omega? We have Liz, and my brother and his family live in Fond du Lac. They’re here all the time. ”
Our pack lived in the farmhouse Balthazar had grown up in, and his mom, wanting a place of her own on the farm, transformed the carriage house into a country cottage.
My older brother Hudson married Balthazar’s sister Justine, and they had two boys.
Justine worked at the farm and always brought the kids. That meant I saw Hudson a lot too.
Lucian raised his brows and leaned against the corner post. “You know how badly Bal wants an Omega. If she’s the right one, she’ll be good for all of us.”
“Do you know how impossible it would be to find an Omega perfect for us all?” Such a person didn’t exist. I was happy with my pack. I didn’t want anyone coming in and fucking everything up.
“Less than a one percent chance.” Lucian motioned to the far road and the sudden appearance of a snow machine. “There’s Bal now.”
“I thought I was supposed to be the numbers guy.” I gave him a teasing narrow-eyed look and he chuckled.
Hudson and I were close, but the bond I felt to Lucian and Balthazar was infinitely stronger.
I knew them inside and out, and they knew me.
For Balthazar to be bringing an Omega here, it meant something big, even if I bitched about it.
We walked around to the side of the lot where Balthazar pulled up on his snow machine. Alone. No Omega.
Shutting off the engine, he stood and brushed the snow off the front of him. He was the tallest of the three of us, but we all towered above the customers who walked back and forth through the lot. “Did you see her?”
There was a gleam in his eyes. Something hungry.
“You never told us who we were meeting.” Lucian had perked up, feeling Balthazar’s excitement.
“Mariska.” As if that answered the question.
Balthazar pointed to a red van with a Fraser Fir on top of it parked near the lot’s corner.
“That’s their ride.” He walked forward to be able to get the right angle to see through the shop’s open doors.
“And there’s Eloise talking to Mom. Mariska has to be around here somewhere. Look for a white beanie.”
Big van meant the girl was probably here with her family. I wasn’t ready to meet any Omega, never mind meet her whole damn family. “There are like fifty women wearing white hats.”
“You’ll know her if you see her.”
This was fucking ridiculous. Balthazar was letting his dick lead the way. Lucian exchanged a look with me and gave the faintest of shrugs.
“That’s her!” Balthazar pointed and marched across the lot toward the shop.
Three young women exited the building, giggling as they blew the steam from their cups of hot cocoa.
There was a pretty blonde in a reindeer sweater, a redhead with a Christmas tree scarf, and the third, squished between the two taller girls, was the most exquisite woman I’d ever seen.
Eyes sparkling like liquid gold, succulent full lips, and that smile. She lit up the whole world.
Balthazar was right.
No. Fuck. I shook my head as I followed him. She was just a hot girl. I had a thing for short women. It was just my dick thinking for me now.
“Hi girls.” Balthazar grinned as he stopped about five feet in front of them.
They came to a halt as one unit, pressing closer together.
“Thought you might like to meet the other two owners of Silver Tree Farm. These are my packmates, Jasper Norwood and Lucian Snow. Guys, this is Lyla,” he gestured to the blonde and then the redhead.
“Emberlee.” Then with a lingering gaze, he nodded to the one in the middle. “And Mariska.”
Omegas. All of them.
Where was their escort? Why weren’t they being protected? My Alpha instincts demanded I get them out of this crowd. There were other men eyeing the girls. Whether they be Alphas or not, my fight mode was being triggered.
I hated it. Last time I fought for an Omega who I thought was the one, she left me for the Alpha I beat the shit out of, saying I was too cold and violent. I never wanted to feel that way again, and yet here Balthazar goes introducing us to these Omegas.
Lyla is the first to smile and Emberlee gazes at us shyly from behind her hair. Mariska’s cheeks flushed and her breathing came in quicker pants. She stepped back and tugged the other two girls more in front of her.
“Nice to meet all of you.” Lucian’s gaze fixed on Mariska too. He didn’t offer his hand. We all knew the rules.
“Yeah, same. It’s a beautiful place you have.” Lyla lifted her cup in a gesture of cheers.
“It’s so pretty. I can imagine it will be gorgeous any season. Too bad you aren’t open all year round.” Emberlee’s voice is soft and musical, but it’s Mariska’s I want to hear.
“But we are.” Balthazar nodded. “We grow for landscaping companies and offer educational programs for both primary and college students.”
“Plus we offer tours any time of the year to various groups,” Lucian added. “Any time you girls would like a tour, we can arrange it.”
The two of them were sounding too eager. I gritted my teeth. “We’re very busy this time of the year though.”
Balthazar shot me a hard look that said to shut up. He turned a softer expression back to the girls. “We would make time for you.” The guy couldn’t be more obvious, staring at Mariska as he said it. Fucking hell. “Just let us know.”
Lyla glanced at her friends. “It might be fun to do that before you leave to go home on Friday, Em. We could all ride in the sled like Mari did.”
“Ringing jingle bells all the way.” Emberlee laughed.
Mariska’s rosy cheeks paled before giving the other girls an apologetic look. “Sorry, but I have to work all week. Don’t let me ruin any fun you two want to have though.”
I wanted to be relieved, but I wasn’t feeling it.
Damn this, she was just a pretty Omega. And to assure myself of this, I breathed in deeply.
It was hard to tell scents in this crowd.
Betas rarely had any, and I didn’t smell anything from Emberlee, as she was the nearest to me, except a slight feminine scent that usually always accompanied Omegas.
Lyla had a citrusy perfume, but it was too sweet.
A pair of kids ran by hooting with laughter and kicked up a breeze in their wake. That’s when it hit me.
Balthazar and Lucian both tensed beside me.
Creamy vanilla, light and feminine, and a hint of something more. Something with more spice. I drank in Mariska’s scent further. Fuck, that was cinnamon. I wanted to eat her up.
My cock twitched, pushing at my pants. Never had an Omega’s scent captured me like this. Even in a crowded lot with a million aromas whirling in the air, she was all I could smell. One look at my packmates and I could see they were affected the same way.
A scent match. Not just for me, but it seemed for all of us.
Here was that less than one percent chance.
“Aw, it won’t be the same without you.” Lyla gave Mariska a one-armed hug. “Our Mari is leaving us right after Christmas. She’s got a big important job waiting for her in California.”
It was said with pride and happiness for her friend, but the statement punched me in the gut. The Omega who could be right for our pack would be gone at the end of the month. No way was Mariska looking for a pack then, and it was pointless for us to waste our time here any longer.
“Congratulations to you, Mariska, but you ladies will have to excuse me. I have work I need to get back to. Happy holidays.” I gave them a tight smile and a nod before turning on my heel and marching back toward the house, letting their polite goodbyes fade behind me.
The Alpha in me snarled and raged, wanting me to go back for Mariska, but he could fuck right off.
Lucian caught up to me a minute later. His pale eyes shone bright with yearning. “I think she might be the one.”
“She’s a match for you?” My throat was tight as I asked.
“Yeah. Holy shit, yeah.” He gave me a hopeful look. “You too?”
If I said I smelled nothing, we could be done with the idea of Mariska as our Omega, but I’d never lied to my pack. With an unhappy huff, I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Bal is totally taken with her, so I’m going to say he’s compatible with her too. He was right. Fucking hell, he was right.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. Anger made my voice sharper than intended.
“He was wrong. You heard the blonde. Mariska is going to be in California at the end of the month. How’s that going to work for us?
” I shook my head. I wasn’t so mad at Balthazar as I was at myself for the one little moment of wanting her.
Fuck. “It’s best if we just forget about her and get through the season. ”
“I don’t think I can.” Lucian sighed and glanced back. “Bal is still with the girls. He won’t let her go.”
“He’s not going to have a choice.” We rounded a bend and walked out of sight of the Christmas rush.
I patted Lucian’s shoulder. Of the three of us, Lucian had the least experience with women.
He spent more time with trees than he did with people.
Every time Balthazar thought he found an Omega for our pack, Lucian gave her a chance, but none ever seemed to connect to him.
“Bal isn’t going to give up trying to find an Omega.
Mariska will be gone, but he’ll bring us another one in the new year. ”
“I suggested to him the other week that maybe we try a matchmaker.” Lucian kicked at a block of ice and sent it skidding off the drive. “He said he wasn’t that desperate yet.”
It was a sound idea. I wasn’t so eager to have an Omega in our lives, but my packmates wanted a mate.
I wouldn’t deny them that. “That could work for us. I’ll stand with you to help you convince him in the new year.
It could save us a lot of trouble. A matchmaker would be able to help us find an Omega who wants to live our outdoors lifestyle and will be willing to have the twenty babies that Bal wants. ”
Lucian laughed. “He doesn’t want that many.”
“He wants half that many, and fuck, that’s still a lot.
” I joked, but Balthazar would make a fantastic father.
His giant heart got him into a lot of trouble, and Lucian was a sensitive soul too.
I had to be the realistic one. So what if I got called a bastard by half the Omegas we met.
I wasn’t going to let any of my packmates get hurt.
It didn’t matter that Mariska had stirred up the Alpha in me like no other Omega ever had.
She was leaving the state, and that left no room on her agenda for a new pack.
I didn’t hate her for it. Let her have a good life on the west coast. In the end, it didn’t matter if I still felt the urge to run back to the lot and snatch her up to claim as ours. She wasn’t for us.
End of story.