Chapter 55
ADAM
“Is that everything?” I asked as Fletcher came around the corner, toting a couple of small cardboard boxes, stacked one on top of the other, nearly so tall he could barely see over the top.
“Yep, these are the last boxes.” He carefully eased them down onto the counter and then straightened up, wiping his forehead with the back of his sleeve. Catching my eye, he smiled.
I smiled back, tired but proud of what we’d accomplished on our own, without the help of anyone else. Maybe I was becoming a little bit paranoid after the whole Tank fiasco, but I didn’t really want anyone knowing where we’d moved to.
The house itself was a large ranch on several wooded acres, protected by the local shifter pack.
I’d met with Gracie Howell, the Alpha of Rubydawn, when I’d first come to scope out the place, since it sat on her territory and I didn’t want to cause a pissing match.
The last thing I needed was another enemy.
Thankfully, she seemed like a capable Alpha with a good head on her shoulders, and her pack was a sanctuary of sorts. After learning a bit about our past, she’d invited me and Fletcher to join Rubydawn.
Knowing we could use the protection, I decided to pull the trigger and buy the house, to uproot our lives and move across the US.
Here, we could settle down. It would be our forever home, the place here we’d start a family and raise our pups, protected by the safety of a pack far different than the one I’d been raised in.
“What do you think?” I asked, sweeping an arm out towards the wide open space of our new home, currently cluttered with boxes and furniture, all in a jumble. “Could it be home sweet home?”
To my surprise, Fletcher smiled at me, tired, but there was love in his green eyes. “Adam, home is where the heart is. Haven’t you heard that saying before? So long as you’re here, with me? I’m happy.”
He ran his fingertips along the wall, painted a dusty pink. “It’s a beautiful house, and we have room to shift and let our beasts out to run. It’s a big change but I’m sure, in time, I’ll come to love it.”
“I’m glad.” I stepped forward and kissed him. His lashes fluttered on a soft hum. “Let’s take a small break, then start unpacking. At least the necessities. We can manage living out of boxes so long as we have the kitchen, the bathroom, and the bedroom mostly unpacked.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he agreed, and the two of us soon got to work.
When Fletcher had first said he wanted to move away, I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking for—but moving across two states, to the town of Greymercy, Indiana, wasn’t in my plans. Especially not in the dead of winter.
But sometimes, Fate tended to throw you curveballs. After I’d seen a listing about Gracie’s pack on an online shifter forum, I’d gotten this strange gut feeling that this was where we belonged.
Guess we’d find out in due time.
We spent the next couple of days unpacking and living off whatever takeout options Greymercy had to offer. I had to admit, the food wasn’t terrible? Definitely not city food, but not bad.
Aria called one evening and all but demanded a virtual tour of the house, so Fletcher and I walked around, showing off every nook, cranny and closet as she “ooh’d” and “ahh’d”.
“I wish you hadn’t moved so far away,” she said around a sigh. “It’ll be much harder to drop in on you unexpected now.”
We laughed. “It’ll be good, I think,” I told her. “Besides, you could always move here too, if you wanted.”
Aria smiled fondly at me. “My place is here, with my family and my pack. Besides, Matthew is a good Alpha and a wonderful husband. I couldn’t expect that of him. Just please, promise me you’ll come visit when I start popping out babies?”
Another round of laughter. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Once our home was entirely put-together, Fletcher and I decided to host Gracie for dinner.
I’d learned that she was a single mother, since her mate had died in a tragic accident, and worked as a veterinarian right out of her home, so she was always close to her children and her pack.
I cooked up a beautifully-marbled beef pot roast with root vegetables and carrots, and baked a loaf of bread. The house smelled amazing as the food roasted all afternoon.
Six PM, on the dot, there was a knock at the door.
Fletcher called out, “I’ll get it,” before trotting off down the hall. I was in the middle of cutting the bread and placing the slices in a bread-basket. Footsteps shuffled back a minute later, and Fletcher returned, with the pack Alpha in tow.
“Your home is beautiful,” Gracie said, looking around, her gaze lingering on a large picture of two sailboats out at sea. It was a gorgeous piece I’d had since I’d first moved out, done in creamy teal, blue and purple pastels. “You both have impeccable taste.”
“Thank you,” I told her. “Fletch, can you grab the silver?” I’d already set out plates and glasses of water and milk. He nodded and bustled to do that while I dished the roast and veggies into a large serving bowl and carried it to the table.
Once we were all seated, our plates filled with food and our forks in hand, the small-talk began. Just little “get to know you” things like how long we’d been together, if we were married, how we’d met. We gave her the abridged version, of course. We didn’t need everyone’s nose in our business.
I was sopping up gravy with a piece of bread when the next question came: “So what brought you here, to Greymercy, of all places?”
I paused, mid-swipe. Fletcher glanced over at me, his eyes widening. I gave my head the smallest of shakes, then turned my attention on our new Alpha.
“It’s a long story,” I began. “Unfortunately, it’s not one we’re quite ready to share yet. No offense, but we hardly know you and it’s personal. What matters is that we made it through hell and back, and we’re alive to tell the tale.”
“I understand,” Gracie said, gentleness to her tone. “Perhaps one day. Either way, I’m glad you’re here, alive and well, and that you’ve put your trust in Rubydawn to keep you safe. I’ll make sure to leave you a list of numbers—emergency contacts, if you will—in case something was to go south.”
Fletcher and I exchanged a glance. “We’re not worried about the past following us, if it makes you feel better,” I told her. “We just wanted a brand new beginning.”
“Well, I’m happy you’re here, regardless,” she said. “I’d better get home. Thank you both for dinner. It was delicious. You have quite a talent. I have the feeling you’ll be a favorite at future potlucks and dinners.”
Fletcher grinned. “We do love to cook. We’ll walk you to the door.”
We followed Gracie out the door, watching as she got into her car, turned around, and drove off down the long gravel drive.
Standing on the stoop, in the snow, watching the cherry red of her taillights fade into the darkness, my attention was drawn to Fletcher, who was trying to catch a snowflake on his tongue.
He giggled, but grew somber once more when he caught me watching him. “It’s so peaceful here. Very quiet. I like it,” he murmured.
“Me too, kitten,” I replied, my voice just as soft. “I think this place has potential to be our happily ever after. One thing’s missing though…”
Fletcher turned to me, just as I dropped to one knee in the snow and opened the small ring box I’d been keeping in my pocket, waiting for the perfect time and place.
As I cracked it open, Fletcher gasped. His hands flew to his mouth when he saw the ring—the ring Aria had given us years ago, having been reforged into a gorgeous golden band with diamonds and emeralds to match his eyes.
“Adam… I…”
“Fletcher Rose. Marry me and make me the happiest man on earth. Be my mate, my Omega, and my husband, and let me take your name and shed my so-called legacy. What do you say?”
I gazed up at him, hope swelling in my chest, though I had no doubts he would say yes. Fletcher let out a little laugh-sob, then held his left hand out. I carefully slid the ring onto his trembling finger.
“Mine,” I whispered.
Fletcher threw himself at me, kissing me fiercely. “Yes, yes, yes! I love you!”
“I love you too.”
We got married in the spring, in a tiny chapel at the heart of Greymercy, with just a few friends and pack members looking on—and Aria, of course.
Fletcher looked amazing in a pristine white suit with a green tie and golden cufflinks, his red curls so long they’d been tied away from his face. My suit was gray with a green silk button-up and a gold tie.
We said our vows, sunlight streaming in through stained-glass, splattering the floor in a rainbow of color. My eyes welled with tears as we said, “I do.”
The priest placed his hand on the Bible. “I know pronounce you Alpha and Omega. You may now kiss.”
And we kissed—two hearts that beat as one, forever and always.