Chapter 26
Jace
One week after the bonding, we ventured into town as a pack for the first time.
Talia needed supplies for the bistro, and Cassian had a meeting with the contractor about the house renovations. Hollis wanted to check on the bookstore after being away for several days. And I just wanted to be with them, wanted the world to see what we’d built.
The bite marks on Talia’s neck were visible despite her attempt to cover them with a scarf. Three distinct scars, healed but unmistakable. The visible proof that she was bonded, claimed, pack.
“You’re nervous,” I said as we walked toward Main Street, her hand in mine. Cassian walked on her other side, and Hollis slightly ahead, creating a protective triangle without even thinking about it.
“People are going to stare,” she said.
“Let them,” Cassian said firmly.
“Pack formations aren’t that unusual in Hollow Haven,” Hollis added. “Though three alphas might get some attention.”
“Three alphas and one omega,” I corrected. “That’s what they’ll notice.”
We turned onto Main Street, and I immediately felt the shift in attention. People doing double-takes. Conversations pausing mid-sentence. The weight of small-town observation settling over us like a physical thing.
Through the bond with Talia I felt her anxiety spike, felt her instinct to pull away and hide. But she held onto my hand tighter instead, lifting her chin in a gesture of defiance I recognized from childhood.
“That’s my girl,” I murmured, squeezing her fingers.
We stopped first at the hardware store for paint samples. The owner, Jake Morrison, had been serving Hollow Haven for thirty years and had seen every possible relationship configuration.
“Jace,” he greeted me warmly, then nodded to the others. “Hollis, Cassian. And Talia, good to see you looking well.”
His eyes tracked to her neck, to the visible bite marks, but his expression remained neutral and welcoming.
“We’re looking at paint for the house renovation,” Cassian said smoothly. “The old Green property up on Maple Street.”
“Ah, moving in together already?” Jake’s smile was genuine. “That’s wonderful. Hollis, your grandmother would have loved seeing that house filled with life again.”
Through my bond with Talia, I felt her surprise at the easy acceptance. This was what she’d been bracing for, this moment of potential judgment. But Jake just showed them paint samples and offered advice about which finishes held up best in mountain weather.
“See?” I said quietly as we left with sample cards. “Not everyone’s going to make it weird.”
“One person,” she countered. “That’s one person who was nice.”
“Let’s try for two,” Hollis suggested, gesturing toward Pine & Pages.
The bookstore was exactly as Hollis had left it, perfectly organized and peacefully quiet. His assistant, Willa, looked up from the register with a knowing smile.
“About time you came back,” she said. “I’ve been running this place solo for a week. Though I’m guessing you had a good reason.”
Her eyes landed on Talia, specifically on the bite marks visible above her scarf, and her smile widened.
“Congratulations,” she said genuinely. “All four of you. That’s wonderful.”
“Thank you,” Hollis said, clearly relieved. “I appreciate you handling things while I was away.”
“Of course. Though next time maybe give me more than a text saying ‘emergency, back next week’?” She winked. “I had to make up creative excuses for the customers asking where you were.”
We spent twenty minutes in the bookstore while Hollis caught up on business.
I watched Talia relax incrementally as Willa treated her with easy friendship rather than judgment.
Two people down, I thought. Two people who accepted us without making it complicated.
Although being in a pack of her own, Willa, was bound to not have a problem with our new family.
“Coffee?” Cassian suggested when we left. “We could stop by The Brew before my meeting.”
The Brew was busier than the hardware store or bookstore, full of mid-morning patrons getting their caffeine fix. Sarah, the owner who’d served us during the coffee shop meeting, greeted us with a knowing smile.
“Well well,” she said. “Look who finally made it official. I’ve been taking bets on when you four would figure it out.”
“You’ve been taking bets?” Talia asked, sounding somewhere between amused and mortified.
“Small town, honey. We take what entertainment we can get.” Sarah pulled four mugs from under the counter. “Usual for everyone? And congratulations, by the way. You four are good together. Anyone with eyes could see that.”
The easy acceptance was almost overwhelming. Through the bond I felt Talia’s relief mixing with lingering anxiety. Three people now, three people who’d responded with warmth instead of judgment.
But then Gerald Whitmore walked in.
Gerald was old money, had been on the town council for twenty years, and held deeply traditional views about pack formations. I’d dealt with him enough during my ranger work to know he had strong opinions about “proper” relationship structures.
His eyes landed on our group immediately, tracked to Talia’s visible bite marks, and his expression hardened.
“Quite the spectacle,” he said, voice carrying across the coffee shop. “Three alphas with one omega. That’s not a pack formation, that’s greed.”
The friendly chatter died. Every eye in The Brew turned toward us.
Through the bond I felt Talia freeze, felt her old fear of judgment rising. Felt Cassian’s anger and Hollis’s protective instincts surging in response.
But I also felt something else. Through all three bonds connecting to Talia, I felt our pack unity. We were stronger together than any of us were alone.
“That’s not greed,” I said calmly, stepping slightly in front of Talia without thinking about it. “That’s four people choosing each other. Choosing to build something unconventional because it works for us.”
“Pack formations have rules,” Gerald insisted. “Traditional structures that have worked for generations. What you’re doing makes a mockery of those traditions.”
“With respect, Gerald,” Hollis said quietly but firmly, “those traditions evolved to serve the people in them. When traditions stop serving and start constraining, they need to evolve again.”
“Easy for you to say when you’re part of the chaos,” Gerald snapped.
“It’s not chaos,” Cassian said, and his voice had gone cold and controlled. “It’s coordination. It’s three alphas who’ve learned to work together instead of compete. It’s an omega who’s strong enough to hold bonds with all of us. And it’s none of your business how we structure our pack.”
“It becomes my business when you flaunt it publicly,” Gerald countered.
“We’re not flaunting anything,” Talia said, and I felt her draw strength from the bonds, from knowing we stood with her. “We’re just existing. Getting coffee like everyone else. The fact that you consider our existence a spectacle says more about you than it does about us.”
Several people in The Brew nodded. I caught sight of Martha from the farmer’s market watching with approval. Of Wes Thatcher, my colleague from the ranger station, giving me a subtle thumbs up.
“You’ll regret this,” Gerald said, but the conviction had left his voice. “When it falls apart, when the bonds become too complicated, when someone gets hurt. You’ll see I was right.”
“Maybe we will,” Talia said. “Maybe this won’t work and we’ll fail spectacularly. But we’re willing to take that risk. Because what we have is worth trying for.”
Gerald left without his coffee, and the tension in The Brew gradually dissolved into supportive murmurs. Sarah brought our drinks over personally.
“On the house,” she said. “For standing up to that pompous ass. Someone needed to tell him that his opinion isn’t the only one that matters.”
“Thank you,” Talia said quietly.
“Don’t thank me. Thank yourselves for having the courage to be who you are.” Sarah squeezed Talia’s shoulder. “This town needs more of that, not less.”
We finished our coffee amid supportive glances and a few outright congratulations from other patrons. By the time we left, Talia’s anxiety had mostly faded, replaced by cautious hope.
“That wasn’t as bad as I thought,” she admitted as we walked toward Cassian’s meeting location.
“You were amazing,” I said. “The way you stood up to Gerald, refused to be ashamed. That was incredible.”
“I had backup,” she pointed out. “I felt all three of you ready to defend me through the bonds. That made it easier.”
“That’s what pack is for,” Hollis said. “We stand together.”
Cassian’s meeting was at the bistro site with the contractor. We all went in together, and I watched the contractor’s eyes track to Talia’s bite marks before returning to Cassian’s face with professional neutrality.
“So you’re all involved in this project?” the contractor asked.
“We’re all involved in everything,” Cassian said smoothly. “Pack formations mean shared goals. This bistro is Talia’s dream, which makes it our dream too.”
Cassian’s meeting was at the house site with the contractor. We all went in together, and I watched the contractor’s eyes track to Talia’s bite marks before returning to Cassian’s face with professional neutrality.
“So you’re all involved in this project?” the contractor asked.
“We’re all involved in everything,” Cassian said smoothly. “Pack formations mean shared goals. This house renovation is for all of us.”
The contractor nodded like this made perfect sense. “Then let’s talk about timeline and budget. With four of you coordinating and able to help with some of the labor, we might be able to move faster than I initially projected.”
The meeting was productive, professional, and completely free of judgment. By the time we left, we had a renovation schedule that would have us moved into the house in six to eight weeks.
“Four for five,” I said as we walked back toward where we’d parked. “Four positive interactions, one negative. That’s a pretty good ratio.”
“Gerald Whitmore doesn’t speak for everyone,” Hollis added. “He’s just loud about his opinions.”
“There will be others like him,” Cassian warned. “People who think what we’re doing is wrong or inappropriate. We need to be prepared for that.”
“We are prepared,” Talia said firmly. “Because we’re pack. We stand together.”
Through the bonds I felt her certainty, her growing confidence that this could work. And I felt Hollis and Cassian’s agreement, their commitment to protecting what we’d built.
We were pack now. Visible, public, permanent.
And we weren’t hiding anymore.
As we drove back to Talia’s cottage, I thought about how far we’d come in just a few weeks. From three orbiting alphas competing for attention to a coordinated unit that functioned as one. From Talia’s fear of vulnerability to her standing up to judgment with her head held high.
We’d face more challenges. More people like Gerald who thought they knew better how we should structure our relationships. More logistics to coordinate as we moved into the house and opened the bistro. More moments of doubt and fear and uncertainty.
But we’d face them together.
Through the bonds I felt what each of them was feeling. Talia’s cautious hope mixing with lingering anxiety. Hollis’s quiet satisfaction at how the day had gone. Cassian’s strategic planning already working through potential problems and solutions.
And my own contentment, warm and uncomplicated. This was right. This was home.
We were pack. We were family. We were exactly where we were supposed to be.
And let the town stare. We knew what we had.