12. Trent
Trent
I step inside the lodge’s café, double-taking when I find Zale sitting at a table with Saylor.
For a moment, I just freeze by the door, unsure of what to do, where to go, how to behave…
This was certainly unprecedented, and he sure as hell kept this arrangement a secret from River and me.
Still, when I spy her smiling and laughing so easily, my irritation soon turns into appreciation. It’s good to see her let loose for once. She certainly never smiled this much back at Silver Grove, and I suppose out here, surrounded by her fellow authors, she can truly be herself.
These are her people, her tribe. I even spot her smiling and waving at a group of Omegas on another table. They offer her encouraging grins as she talks with my brother.
I try to refrain from rolling my eyes.
Women always loved my brother. He’s tall, handsome, and easy-going.
It was River they always avoided.
Meanwhile, I always sat somewhere squarely between them. Approachable, yet quiet. But not hostile.
Still, had I been unapproachable to Saylor at some point? I sure hope not.
I want her to feel comfortable and safe enough around me. My brother is already a few steps ahead of me there, so I have some catching up to do.
However, it is not a race, especially when it comes to Saylor’s feelings.
We must treat her delicately and with the utmost care. We broke her spirit once before, after all. So we can’t do it again.
Saylor’s sweet laughter carries across the café next, and a small smile takes over my face.
Just perhaps she can be a part of our lives…
“You’ve been standing there for a whole two minutes, T. Are you okay?”
Startled, I turn around, finding Daisy at another table with Rowan Thorn.
I roll my eyes. He is the last Alpha I want judging me.
“Have not,” I argue back, sounding incredibly petty right now, but I’m just too afraid to move.
Saylor just looks so happy right now. I don’t want to intrude.
My sister grins up at me playfully next. Her tablet is in front of her as she writes her stories, and she’s not the only one, either.
Everywhere I look, I find Omegas laughing and working on their own devices, and it appears the writing retreat is in full swing.
Rowan checks his fancy watch casually. “Actually... he’s been standing there for two minutes and seventeen seconds.”
Daisy giggles, returning to her tablet.
I hike up a brow at her infuriating Alpha. And he has been keeping tabs because… what? He thinks of me as his brother now?
Hell would have to freeze over before Rowan reached brother status.
Rowan hikes up a brow at me in challenge as he drinks his black coffee. “Well? What are you waiting for, T? Don’t let Zale have all the fun now.”
I deadpan the Alpha. “It’s Trent to you, Thorn.”
The Alpha smirks, but Daisy kicks him beneath the table. The bastard acts nonchalant, holding his laugh behind his coffee mug.
Seriously, Rowan thinks he knows me so well, but I suppose he and his brothers have some experience in these matters. My sister glowing and smiling beside him is proof of that.
On the table behind him, I spy Noelle shaking her head at Rowan. I always forget she’s his cousin, and we really are one big, fucked up family in the end, aren’t we?
Noelle’s own Alpha, Robin, sits with her as she writes on her own device, and even those two offer me challenging looks.
“Wynter Lodge is all about new possibilities after all, Trent,” Robin remarks with a smile on his spectacled face.
Noelle grins up at him, and I palm my face.
It’s time I left. I really don’t need relationship advice from both Packs Rose and Wynter, thank you.
“You just need an ice-breaker,” Noelle announces next, glancing at the Bengal cat on the chair beside her.
I didn’t even notice it there.
She plucks it up off the chair where it had been licking itself, and the pitiful creature yowls in protest. “Here. No Omega can resist a cute animal. You can borrow him for the time being.”
I balk at the cat. “But... I’m allergic.”
“Well, tough. You want to win her back, then you’ve got to make sacrifices, T,” Daisy chimes in. “Besides, Snowball is a great conversation starter. Now go on. Take him.”
I look at Noelle. The redheaded Omega smiles encouragingly, and I take the animal in my arms.
Unfortunately, it climbs up onto my shoulder, wrapping its tail around my neck like a scarf, and I freeze up.
The cat sheds everywhere, and what a day to wear a dark shirt. Now it gets its white fur all over me, and when I sneeze, it just purrs louder, making itself comfortable.
Noelle bites her lip. “Sorry. Shepard always lets him climb onto his shoulders. Snowball likes to get up onto high places after all.”
Well, glad I could serve as another tree or a climbing frame.
“But it will be worth it, trust me,” she promises, her brown eyes sparkling as she looks at Saylor.
My gaze finds Daisy. She smiles at me encouragingly. Then I glance at Rowan. Again, he raises his brows in challenge.
“You know, I think it took Ash all but two days to win Daisy back.”
Daisy frowns at him now. “And it took you about a week. Maybe longer.”
Rowan fumbles now, almost spilling his coffee onto his pristine, white sheet.
Noelle and Robin laugh at Rowan, and I’m just glad that I’m no longer the center of ridicule and attention.
Well, it’s time to make my move.
Now, I rehearse what I will say: “Well, hello, Saylor. Fancy running into you here.”
That sounds stupid.
Snowball nestles down onto my shoulder, offering me the encouragement I need. He may make my sinuses clog up, but in that moment, he is my wingman.
Yet when I approach the table, Saylor’s eyes go straight to the cat, and she doesn’t even see me as she gushes over the animal.
“Oh, my goodness! What a cute cat!”
Now Snowball jumps down onto her lap, getting nice and comfortable, and I have never felt so betrayed.
So much for being my wingman then.
Yet I can't help but smile as she scratches beneath Snowball's chin. The cat begins purring so loudly that nearby guests laugh.
"Looks like you've been chosen," I say.
Saylor beams up at me. "I think he's actually chosen himself."
Her smile reaches her eyes. It's warm. Easy. Unforced.
Not once does she glance nervously around the café. She doesn’t hide behind her hair, either.
Somewhere over the past ten years... she has learned how to be happy again.
Without us.
And the realization hangs over me like a storm.
She survived our rejection. She built an entirely new life.
One where we weren't needed.
Perhaps we were never meant to be the heroes of her story after all.
Perhaps we were simply the chapter she had to survive before she found herself.