Chapter 3
S urely, last night was a bad dream. A nightmare induced by this awful storm. There aren’t two alphas and a beta downstairs that were most definitely my scent matches and absolutely unwelcome.
I glanced at my phone, sitting up when I saw it was after eight. Tapping on my mom’s contact, I called her.
Straight to voicemail.
Dad. My sisters. Everyone was, apparently, just ignoring me today. Or my mother had them all block me for the weekend in another one of her schemes.
Fucking hell my family was the worst.
It was way too early to call Bea if I wanted any kind of real support. Instead, I needed to head downstairs and figure out my fucking car situation.
Thank fuck I’d carried in all my stuff already or I’d be fucked. From what I saw in the lightning flashes last night, my entire roof was squished down over my backseat.
With that lovely picture in my head I threw on a hoodie and yoga pants, tossed my hair in a messy bun, and tucked my phone in my pocket.
The house was quiet as I silently stepped out of my room. I could see one of the guys passed out on the couch, the beta, curled in on himself so only a little blond hair poked out.
Mathias.
He didn’t stir as I snagged my keys from the counter and headed outside to assess the damage. If there was anything wrong with the house I’d have to tell my parents.
If they even bothered picking up. My mother was as petty as I was.
A thick branch was blocking the sidewalk so I bent down to pick it up. Just as I was standing to toss it aside a deep voice rumbled out, startling me.
I screeched, the branch flying toward the person, hitting him in the chest with a thud. My jaw dropped open in horror as Holt gaped at me, that ever-present frown stronger than ever.
“What the hell?” he asked, brushing off his shirt to clear the debris my attack left behind.
“Sorry,” I muttered. “You scared me. I thought I was alone out here. Maybe alphas shouldn’t sneak up on omegas.”
“Clearly,” he said with a grunt. “I was making sure everything out here was secure and taking pictures for insurance.”
At the reminder of my car I turned to see the damage. My chest tightened at the sight of my car in a crumbled mess.
I wasn’t lying last night. It was barely paid off and I was so fucking proud. I worked my ass off to manage it and now I was going to either have to pay out for fixes or buy a new one, depending on what insurance said.
“Insurance will take care of it,” Holt said in a sad attempt at reassurance. Clearly, he didn’t have any soft edges to offer me.
“Maybe yours. I doubt mine will cover much,” I muttered. “Not all of us grew up with silver spoons and trust funds.”
His eyebrows rose in disbelief.
“We went to the same private college,” he pointed out, like that explained everything.
“Yeah, and I worked my ass off to maintain that scholarship . The same one that your fucking group nearly cost me with your bullshit lies and bullying. So, forgive me if I don’t take false reassurance from someone who never had to fucking work and scrape by to pay for things.”
By the time I finished my rant, my chest was heaving. He was stunned into silence, staring at me like I had lost my mind. I didn’t care how sexy he was or how good he smelled, I wasn’t about to fight with him here where anyone might see.
My omega loved the fight with her alpha and was urging me to keep going.
Instead I ran inside, grabbed my wallet, and started toward town.
All I knew was that I needed coffee and I never went to the store. My car was busted, so it looked like I was walking back to town. Even if it took me thirty minutes on foot.
That was just more time to get my head on straight and hopefully, kick their asses out of town.
I barely made it down the driveway before I saw just how much water was out there. We weren’t getting out by road and there was no way we’d get the tow trucks or insurance out here, either.
Changing directions, I cut through the woods instead. Thankfully, the tree-covered hill was higher than the road so the water didn’t affect it.
This was also a path I knew well.
“Wait up. Where the hell are you going?”
“Fuck you, Holt. I don’t need an alpha escort or your attitude,” I shouted back, picking up my pace until I was power walking.
“Mathias would be better at this,” he muttered to himself as he fell into stride next to me, glaring down at me. “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re a dick,” I growled. “I stopped caring what others thought of me a long fucking time ago. Mostly thanks to you and your friends.”
“You always did have a chip on your shoulder, didn’t you?” he shot back, not letting it go.
The snide tone had me stunned. I stopped walking and turned toward him. The movement was slow and felt a little unhinged, but so was this entire fucking situation.
“A chip on my shoulder? Are you kidding me right now?” The fucking audacity of this alpha. Apparently, things had not changed at all.
“Look, clearly we got off on the wrong foot. College was a long time ago. We can work past it until we figure this out.”
“There’s no we ,” I said with a humorless laugh. It took everything in me not to stare into those brown eyes. They reminded me of fresh-tilled earth, shifting from darker to light in the best way.
He also smelled so fucking good out here with no wind to snatch the scent away. Blackberry cobbler. It was tart and sweet, and had a hint of spice. The alpha musk only enhanced it.
Damn him and his scent.
“Whatever fate was thinking with this whole thing, she was wrong. I’d rather die alone than be with someone as terrible as your pack,” I finally choked out, the emotions spilling out of me in the form of angry tears as I turned and bolted.
I felt twelve, not thirty, as I ran toward town. Running wasn’t something I did often… or for fun. I was winded before I made it far but it did the trick. My omega side was in turmoil. This was a betrayal, even if they didn’t realize it yet.
The alpha was rooted to the spot and I was blessedly alone.
I’d never enjoyed the silence more than I was at this moment. I couldn't believe that the asshole thought I'd simply forgive and forget. He and his little crew made my life hell and I wasn’t just going to forget that.
This walk was just what I needed to clear my head, I was almost grateful for my car being out of commission.
"Where should I go first?" I muttered to myself as I neared the end of the winding path. I knew that I needed to think about something else for a moment so my face wouldn't be all red and splotchy when I got to town.
This omega was not a pretty crier.
Breakfast would be great. Then the bookstore. There was also a little coffee place near Luca's that I could hit first. I'd need caffeine and lots of it to get through this day.
The most frustrating thing at the moment was the radio silence from my mother. Even as I checked my phone again, there wasn’t a single notification. She was committed to the bit and had no idea how badly she fucked up this time.
Honestly, she probably wouldn't even care. This was just another instance of me being too difficult.
As I walked down the final path, I kept a slow and steady pace. I was going to enjoy my time out of the cabin before I had to go back to my nightmare. Holt was right about taking pictures for the insurance company.
My phone dinged twice, one was something for work, the other was Bea. That one I opened.
Bea
Did you survive the night?
Taryn
Well, I almost committed murder but I've escaped the house and am walking to town now thanks to the streets flooding.
Bea
WHAT?!?!?
Taryn
It was a long night, girl. Can I call you?
Bea
Yeah, I'm on a break.
I tapped the phone icon without hesitation, Bea answering on the first ring. My bestie was always down for gossip.
"Spill it," she demanded instead of offering a greeting.
I sighed before I started, "So, the pack my mother sent showed up last night. All three of them. And I recognized them.”
"No," she gasped. “Who were they? Another fancy pack to win her over instead of you?”
"They were the assholes that made my life hell in college," I said to her. “Well, them and their girlfriends at the time. I’m shocked they didn’t marry those witches.”
"What did you do?" she questioned.
I side stepped a hole in the wet grass before I answered.
"Slammed the door in their faces." A grin took over at the memory. Their shock was priceless, even if I was too angry to appreciate it then.
"Shut up, you did not," she gasped, barking out a laugh at their expense. “That’s my girl.”
"I did, but I caved and let them in when a tree took out our cars," I admitted. “The storm was terrible and I’m not a monster.”
"Your car is trashed on top of it all? Wait, where did they sleep?" she asked. The gasp was begging for more details. My friend was a shameless gossip.
"Not with me. I gave them the first floor and I took the second.”
"And they stayed there?" Bea asked.
"Yes. Now I'm walking to town for coffee, books, and groceries," I said. Really, we both knew it was pure avoidance.
"None of them came with you?" Bea scoffed. “What dicks.”
As I stepped off the path and onto the sidewalk, the sound of the town came rushing in. Tires on wet streets because, apparently, the town had better drainage than the lakeside roads. People were chatting on the sidewalks and the bell over the coffee shop dinged, reminding me of my first mission.
I could practically taste the coffee already.
“Taryn?” Bea asked, impatient to get answers while I was distracted.
"Holt tried to follow, but he was an ass and I put him in his place and walked alone to town.” I purposefully left out the part where I angry cried and ran like a coward.
"Are you in the town now? I can hear people in the background," Bea said.
"Yes, made it and only checked the map on my phone once. Score one for Tayrn," I joked.
Bea laughed at that. "Get some pictures of the assholes. I want to see what your mother sent you."
"I'll try to get some. If they are even still there when I get back. I'm going to try and stay in town for a few hours. Just the sight of them makes my blood boil," I said with a huff. All those old feelings I thought I suppressed were coming back. Maybe it was because my body recognized them as scent matches and my mind revolted, so I was literally at war with myself.
If we are matches now, we were back then as well, meaning even if we didn’t know it, their opinion still mattered to my omega on some level.
Biology was fucking weird.
"My break is up, but I can leave for a family emergency if I need to. Do I need to come rescue you?" she asked, serious now. My bestie would kick their asses but this was a fight I had to do on my own.
"That's sweet of you, but I need to handle this," I told her. "Love you, bitch."
"Love you, jerk," she said before we both hung up.
I headed towards the row of shops, the sweet aroma of coffee hitting my nostrils the moment I was a few doors down. Oh heaven in a cup, here I come.
A few people were out on this wet day, surveying the damage from the storm last night. There were a couple broken windows here and there but all in all it seemed that the storm didn't take too big of a toll on the town itself.
I hadn't thought about that when I stormed out this morning and hoped that all the shops were still open. I waved at a few people and they smiled back as I still headed for caffeine. A smile tugged at my lips when I noticed someone came out of Caitlin's Java. Ah, there’s the coffee.
When I entered the shop, a little bell rang to alert the workers I’d walked in. A cute, little brunette was behind the counter with a smile on her face. She quickly wiped her hands on the pink apron she was wearing and waved at me.
"Welcome to Caitlin's Java, how can I help you?" she beamed. Her bubbly greeting was chasing some of my frustration away.
"Can I get the biggest latte that you have?" I asked with a strained smile.
"Amen, sister. After that storm last night, we all need that caffeine, don't we?" she countered as she flipped her long hair over her shoulder and huffed. If she had a rough night she was hiding it well.
"You're not wrong. Caramel if you have it, with whipped cream and drizzle? I feel like splurging today," I said as I glanced at the menu behind her. It was a black chalkboard with a rainbow of colors and cute, little flowers decorating it.
"Gimme five and I'll have that right up. Sheldon will take your payment," she said as she gestured to the guy further down the counter.
"Thank you," I said before moving to the beta at the register.
I paid and then moved to the pickup section. As I waited, I glanced around. Everything was decorated with pink. The wallpaper had gorgeous watercolor roses and gold accents. A few pink, vintage framed portraits of people drinking coffee dotted the space, and there was a display of unique mugs.
It was honestly adorable. The charm of these mom and pop shops were lost in the city with all the big box and chain stores.
"This was my grandma's place," the lady from behind the counter said when she saw me looking around.
"I love it," I said as I turned around to find her holding out my latte. “It has a unique charm to it. I’ve missed these kinds of shops.”
"Thanks,” she said, looking so proud. “When it was grandma’s, it was a diner, but I've never been a good cook, however, I make a damn good coffee.” She let out a musical laugh.
"Well, I think it's wonderful that you’ve kept it going, even with the change. There aren't enough places like this where I live," I told her as I took a sip of my sweet drink. A small sigh escaped as the blend of sweet, creamy, and bitter hit me. It was perfectly balanced. “This is incredible.”
"It's visitors like you that keep us in business. So, thank you," she said with a genuine smile. It was helping fix my sour mood.
"Of course, and this won't be the last time you see me. I plan to come again before I head back home," I promised.
The bell dinged and she gave me a quick goodbye before greeting the next customer with just as much enthusiasm. I had a feeling it wasn’t just her coffee that kept her in business.
Now, on to my other love, books.