Chapter 46
Hestia
The past few days have been perfect, and I feel like I’m floating on clouds.
I have everything I could ever want, the perfect pack, the perfect job.
I work with my mates to protect the mountains during the day, in the evenings we have cute dates at the station, and at night we bang like crazy.
Of course they ensure I still get plenty of sleep, no one wants our job performance to suffer.
But now, we’re finally on break, and we don’t have to worry about anything else.
They planned things for us to do in town, so it won’t be like it was during my heat when we were snowed in with nothing to do but each other. Not that I’m complaining. I’m interested in them for more than just sex.
Yet despite resuming the physical side of our relationship, I still haven’t brought them into my nest. I’m not exactly sure why, maybe because it feels like saying this is permanent.
I want this to be forever, but if we end up separating, I couldn’t bear to have their scents lingering in my nest.
Maybe I’m more scared of HR finding out than I thought, because that’s the only way I could see us splitting up.
I can’t live in fear though. I need to work up my courage and invite my alphas into my nest. Now that I have them, I don’t want to hold anything back just because I’m afraid of losing them. We should enjoy the time we have together.
Maybe today’s the day I’ll be brave.
“I made you a coffee for the road. It should tide you over until we get to town,” Henri says, handing me a large tumbler.
“Thank you,” I say, and give him a kiss.
The coffee is covered in whipped cream with chocolate shavings and colorful sprinkles. Underneath the chocolate, I can smell sugar cookie creamer. Coffee with a side of Henri and Cato’s scents.
Delicious.
Henri always makes me coffee flavored like at least one of them now, gingerbread, peppermint, and even sweet pine needle vanilla syrup.
I only take a few sips, wanting to save it for the ride.
We’re about to head into Starsfalls to visit the street fair, but everyone else ran off after breakfast, saying they needed to finish getting ready.
They return quickly, and Orion comes in last, carrying a big blue gift box with a white bow.
I’m already reaching for it when he says, “We wanted to get you something for our first day out together.”
I snatch my hands back, remembering to be polite.
“I hope you like it, and that this will be a reminder of the great memories we’ll make today,” Orion says, giving me the box.
“That’s so sweet, thank you. I’m sure I’ll love it,” I say graciously.
My alphas are so thoughtful, it feels like my heart will burst with happiness.
I sit on the couch to unwrap it, carefully untying the bow and pushing the tissue paper aside to reveal plush faux fur.
I pull it out and a light blue coat unfurls.
It’s long, with a thigh-length skirt and gold buttons running down it.
The collar, cuffs, and hem are trimmed in white fur.
It’s like a fairytale cloak for a princess.
“Do you like it? If you want a different style, we can exchange it,” Charm says.
I drop the coat back in the box and slide it onto the couch before launching myself at them.
“I love it, it’s perfect! Thank you so much,” I say, arms wrapped tight around Orion and Charm.
“You’re welcome,” Orion says.
I release them so I can hug the others. Cato squeezes my ass when I hug him.
I do one more round of thanks, this time with kisses, and then they help me try it on.
“It has pockets!” I say excitedly after finding them hidden in the side seam.
Orion buttons it up, and I spin to watch the skirt flare out around me.
“It looks beautiful on you,” Magnus says, grabbing my arms to look me over.
I smile, as pleased with all the attention as I am the coat.
Once they’re done admiring me, it’s time for the festival. Since it’s outside, I’ll get to show off the gift from my mates, without letting on that we’re dating, of course.
The street fair is already busy, and we got here shortly after it opened.
The road is lined with stalls selling all kinds of winter things, with cheerful decorations everywhere in between.
Shiny garlands, colorful lights, and evergreen trees make the gray winter day feel bright and cheerful, along with the live band playing festive music.
The air is crisp but not too cold, and the evergreen scent mixes with the smell of fried food and sweet things.
I try to keep track of everything I want to eat, but there are so many options, I discover a new one and forget two others.
It doesn’t really matter, I’m sure we’ll end up visiting every booth eventually. I need to get some of that funnel cake soon though, it has powdered sugar and cocoa powder sprinkled on it.
So far, we’ve just walked around to see where everything is.
They closed down all the roads near the town square.
The skating rink is still there, but now there are other activities too, like an ice sculpture carving contest, axe throwing, gingerbread house decorating, and a giant bonfire for roasting chestnuts and marshmallows and other treats.
“Should we start with a snack, or is there something else you want to do first?” Orion asks.
I reply with “snack” before he finishes talking, so we head to the closest food stall, a pop-up for Quickie Coffee.
Their menu has new winter drinks they didn’t have the last time we visited the café, so once again I have a difficult decision to make.
“Do you want a recommendation?” asks the same blonde barista who helped me before.
“Yes, that would be great!” I say.
“The frosty iced latte is a blonde roast with a creamy vanilla flavor, the cranberry cappuccino is strong and fruity, our ribbon candy espresso is a classic, and this one, the gingerbread man latte, comes with a little cookie. We also have a toasted s’mores mocha and a snowball cookie latte.
I think those are all of my favorites from our fair menu. ”
“They all sound good…” I say a bit forlornly.
If they only sell them during the fair, I don’t know if I’ll have room to try them all.
“We can get one of each and share,” Magnus says.
“Yes! That’s a great idea,” I say, and hug him before I remember we’re not supposed to do that in public.
I gasp and quickly pull back.
The barista is already working on our drinks, so hopefully she didn’t notice. It’s not that weird for teammates to hug anyway, right?
I keep my distance while we wait, tucking my hands into my coat pockets so I don’t slip up again.
This is going to be harder than I thought. I didn’t realize I’d gotten so used to touching them already, like I’ve been doing it forever. It feels so natural being with them that not being allowed to touch seems wrong.
The blonde hands us our drinks and says, “Thanks for stopping by! Let me know whenever you want suggestions, I’m always happy to talk coffee. My name is Seph, by the way.”
I thank her and introduce myself, already mentally planning on more coffee chats.
Before we leave, Seph leans over to whisper to me, “If you come by the shop and see the manager, Marlene, I’d keep your guys away from her. She’s a big flirt.”
I stutter, attempting to deny they’re mine, but unable to make myself say it. But Seph is already smiling and waving goodbye, turning to help another customer.
I usher my mates away with a red face, hoping no one else heard her comment.
Charm pulls us to the side and asks, “What did she say?”
“Nothing,” I say, avoiding eye contact.
I should confess that someone is onto us, but I don’t want this to stop. I don’t want to break up.
I shouldn’t have hugged Magnus.
I’ll just be extra extra careful from now on and make sure no one else suspects anything.
“Are you sure? Is something wrong?” Orion says.
“I’m fine, it was just some girl advice,” I say.
“Okay. You know you can tell us anything,” he says, briefly stroking my hair.
We’re hidden between stalls, so no one should be able to see our secret touch.
I nod and they drop it. We decide to browse the trinket booths and start down the nearest row.
There’s so much to look at, and right when the caffeine hits is a dangerous time to shop. It makes me fall in love with everything I see and want to buy it.
Although there’s always the risk of getting overstimulated by all the things to look at. Currently, though, I’m staying on the right side of jittery.
As usual, my alphas are happy to get me anything I like, which is good because this fair has everything.
Any kind of wintery thing you could think of, practical, decorative, whimsical, they have it.
There are booths selling preserves, jams and jellies, spiced nuts, panettone, caramel popcorn, and dried fruits.
Then there are the boutiques with clothes and art and toiletries.
We stop at a candle stand, an art gallery booth called Art’s Art, Old Dusty’s Antiques, and so many more that I can’t keep track of them all. It’s slow going because we buy at least one thing from every stall, and my alphas take turns running our bags back to the SUVs.
After a few hours of shopping, we break for lunch, covering a picnic table with our feast. The band plays in the background, and I end the meal with the chocolate funnel cake I’ve been craving.