Chapter 27
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
Lana
All I could think about were the boxes that were growing into a small mountain in the entry way. More came every day, and I had yet to open a single one. I wasn’t sure why they thought they could buy my forgiveness, but it wasn’t going to happen.
My exes didn’t stop there either. My phone was full of voicemails and text messages. I hadn’t had the motivation to listen to them or clear them out. Honestly, I should’ve blocked them, but until all this gossip blew over, something told me not to.
That didn’t mean I had to entertain it.
A knock on the front door had me tensing beside Wilder and Kieran. He convinced me to come in here and read with him, but I’d stared at the same page for at least an hour. The stress was finally catching up to me.
All of those gossip sites had twisted the story, painting me in the worst light. The rumors that I was openly cheating on the biggest pack around were their favorite to focus on.
Everyone was dying for me to say something, to defend myself, but I hadn’t given a single word. At some point, I knew I’d have to.
No matter how they treated me, I wasn’t trying to ruin my exes’ careers. I didn’t need validation to know that I had made the right choice in leaving. They were an awful pack and should learn from those mistakes, but it was no one’s business but ours.
“It’s alright,” Wilder said gently. “The guys already handled it. You can breathe.”
I let out a breath and nodded, finally closing the book. It was useless at this point.
“Come on, reading is clearly not what you need tonight.”
“I don’t know what I need tonight,” I admitted. “Except for the world to leave me the hell alone.”
“That’s understandable, princess. But, no matter what, we’re here for you. The whole pack has your back. Hell, the whole team.” He stood up and held out his hand for me. I slid mine into his, letting him pull me to my feet.
“I’m so glad I have you,” I said as he folded me into a bear hug. No one else hugged like my beta.
I breathed in Wilder’s scent, soaking it in for a moment until the scent shifted. Kieran’s warm, brandy and spiced pear mixing with the ink and old books filled my senses. It was a warm and comforting mix, and I melted even more as he pressed himself into my back, surrounding me.
I didn’t speak until I was positive that I could handle it without bursting into tears.
“What was it this time?”
“Flowers. I’ve already contacted the post office and asked them to block them from sending anything else, but if they use some kind of site, we won’t be able to block it. I’m not sure what to do,” he admitted quietly. “I want to fix this for you.”
“You can’t. Fuck them for making me uncomfortable in the one place I felt safe,” I growled, stepping out of their embrace, ready to face the world now. “Let’s go see if I can donate any of it, and the rest? Well, it can go to the trash. I’m tired of it darkening our lives.”
“Damn right,” Kieran agreed. Each of them took one of my hands and led me to the living room, where the pile had been moved.
“Yeah, you probably need this,” Cade said as he walked in with a box cutter, flipping it open before handing it to me.
It should have been disconcerting that they didn’t even have to speak to know my plans had shifted to finally handling this massive mountain of boxes.
I sat on the floor in front of them, tucking my legs under me, and started to open them.
I viscerally recoiled at the first one, a burst of their scent hitting me hard.
Cade growled, snatching the box from me before taking it back outside to put it directly in the trash can.
I didn’t need to know what was inside. It smelled like their clothes, as if they were giving me back my pack scents.
How kind of them, I thought sarcastically. They missed the mark every damn time.
The second box I opened had a binder in it. I pulled it out and flipped it open. They had printed off pictures of our pack.
How strange that not one of them pulled me into old memories or feelings. It felt like a different life entirely at this point.
There were only a few candid shots. The rest were mainly group photos from things like vacations or events. Not one of them really showed my personality or how they saw me.
In fact, they all looked perfect in every single one, like they’d handpicked the ones that made them look the best, even if I wasn’t. That was something that didn’t sit right with me. It felt like this was a gift for them, not me.
I didn’t want a perfect, picture-ready pack.
I wanted a candid one. One that shit-talked while they shot zombies in a game.
A pack that wasn’t afraid to mess up the kitchen and share meals around the table.
One that would blow handfuls of suds at each other as we cleaned up.
Simply singing and dancing to music as we worked.
I wanted a pack that was real. Every day I spent with this pack made me realize they were exactly that. In a short time, they had already mended the broken pieces of me, helped me heal after my old pack broke my heart.
Right now, staring at the gifts that meant nothing to me, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.
That was a freeing thought. I no longer had to let them hang over me like a raincloud. They had no place in this life I was making.
I slammed the book closed and looked at the others with a wicked grin.
“Anyone up for a bonfire?” I hopped to my feet, ignoring the rest of the boxes.
As I stormed out to the fire pit, I started ripping out the photos, dropping them onto the pile of logs that was waiting.
I unceremoniously threw the binder on the ground, letting it lay there, just a carcass of what they put together.
If they thought this bullshit photo album was going to make me forgive them, they’d lost their minds.
Mason joined me with a grin on his face and a bottle of lighter fluid in his hand. He popped it open and handed it over. I took it, dousing the logs and photos alike.
Cade tried to hand over a lighter, but I waved him off, camera already ready to record. “Light it for me, please.”
He didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger, pressing the small flame to the liquid, igniting it in a flourish. I took the video, watching as flames took hold, the blaze flaring to life and consuming the pictures until they were curling in on themselves. When nothing but ash remained, I hit end.
Then I hit send.
There were no words. The video was enough.
“Can someone bring me the other boxes?” I asked. They went back inside, gathering the boxes, and then we went through them as a pack.
Nothing was safe. There were little trinkets and empty daily journals for me because they knew I liked notebooks. Funny enough, they used to complain about finding them everywhere.
Now, all of a sudden, I guess they deemed it worthy. They even sent me a few stacks of books, probably picking out whatever was popular, not bothering to know if it was part of my collection or not.
“Not one thing in this fucking pile fits you,” Cade said as he looked between the fire pit and our donation pile.
“They even got the snacks that I eat wrong,” I said. I hadn’t touched some of these sugary treats since high school. It just showed how little they knew me now.
“That’s why they’re back in North Crossing, licking their wounds, and she’s here with us, having plenty of orgasms and pampering,” Mason concluded.
“On that note, what’s next?” Lennon asked, looking at me.
My mood had shifted, and I was more than ready for some time with my pack.
“First one to beat me in Zombie Annihilator 2 gets to share my nest tonight,” I said as I raced back inside, the entire pack on my heels except for Cade. I knew the alpha was standing by the fire pit, making sure the flames were out before coming to join us.
Lennon hopped into the seat first, but he didn’t get to stay long. Then it was Mason, his shouted complaints making me laugh harder than I had in a long time. To the point my stomach was aching from it.
“Oh, come on, give me another shot,” he begged as I wiped him out.
“Those weren’t the rules,” Wilder said. “Move.” He hopped in next to me, feigning confidence, but out of all of us, Wilder was probably the worst.
Even going easy on him, he joined the others in the defeat column.
“Even though I highly doubt that I’ll actually win, I’m going to give it my best shot,” Kieran offered, sitting down next. He lasted longer than the others had, focusing so hard that his tongue was poking out of his mouth and his eyes were narrowed at the TV screen.
He almost got me, just from the fact that I was checking him out more than playing. In the end, I pulled it together, gaining another victory.
“Okay, get her, Cade,” Kieran called. “You’re the last one. We’ve got a wager going.”
“And you think I have a chance?” Cade questioned as he joined us, arms full of snacks.
I don’t know if he did it to prove that he knew the kind of things I liked, or if it was just one of the usual things that Cade did to take care of us.
Either way, I wasn’t going to question a good thing.
We dug into the snacks as we waited for Cade to take his seat.
We hadn’t played against each other yet.
“Get it, alpha,” Mason said. “The prize is her, you have to try.”
“Tell me someone is going to be able to go after me, because we all know I’m not going to win this,” Cade said. He looked slightly embarrassed.
“Why do I feel like I’m about to get hustled?” I said, turning away from him and locking in. I knew him better than that. He was always quiet, but confident.
A few minutes in, and it was clear that Cade was not, in fact, kidding. He was honestly terrible, maybe even worse than Wilder.
“Well, that didn’t work out. We need a new wager,” Mason said, holding his hands up. “Our girl is just too good.”
“How about a game she’s not familiar with?” Lennon suggested, giving me a side-eye. “If it’s a game she hasn’t spent hours and hours on, we’ll be on even footing.”
“What game is that?” I questioned, not sure how this turned against me so quickly.
“How do you feel about jump scares? This game here, if you scream, you lose.” He pulled up a game that looked terrifying as hell.
“It’s not suspense,” Wilder reassured me.
I had a feeling I wasn’t going to win this one, but that was the point.
“I can handle this,” I said, readjusting on the couch. My palms were already getting sweaty. The chances of me making a fool of myself were extremely likely.
“Whoever makes it the furthest gets to claim you.”
“If I win, does that mean I have to sleep alone?” I asked, eyes wide. “After a game like this?!”
Kieran snorted. “You know there’s no way we’re letting you sleep alone if we can help it.”
“So what you’re saying is, no matter what, I win?”
“Pretty much,” Lennon agreed. “I know it’s tough being an omega.” This time, my delta’s voice was teasing.
Just like he was proud of that picture that was spreading around, I was proud that I was able to change his mind on omegas.
Now, if we could just show him that he didn’t have to avoid his delta nature, then we’d be perfect.
The game started off subtly, the setting creepy enough to have me on the edge of my seat. I was jumpier than I usually was, and of course Lennon and Mason found that hilarious.
I didn’t say a word, jaw clenched tight. Everyone talked a big game until it came down to getting jump scared.
We were walking through a foggy, dark forest. Every shadow felt like it was about to jump out at me.
Somehow, I kept myself together through the first jump, my heart pounding in my chest as I swallowed down a whimper.
The second, however, my body jolted so hard that I sent the bowl of chips in my lap flying. Every single one of my mates started cracking up. At least Wilder had the decency to promise that I’d be able to return the favor with them.
I was going to absolutely hold him to that.
The next hour turned into a match of goading each other and trying to keep our cool, which wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Not surprising, Cade was the one to blow the rest of us out of the water, making it the furthest in the game without a single bit of trash talk.
I kind of envied his level of calm, something I absolutely would never be able to possess.
“Not so bad after all, are you?” I teased. The grin he gave me was so fucking cute. He was proud of himself, as he should be.
“That means you’re mine, princess. No takebacks,” he said. “And you guys get to clean up.” They groaned as he snatched me up, throwing me over his shoulder and rushing up the stairs, my laughter trailing behind us.
I could’ve let my frustration get the best of me tonight, but I was so glad that I didn’t give in.
Once again, my pack proved to me that I was more important than hockey. The lingering doubts that used to stick around, saying that I had to wait for them to fail me, were finally silent.
Maybe I was truly letting go and embracing this new life.
The one that felt like mine.