20. Walter
WALTER
Hockey season was finally over, and I felt bad thinking “finally” about my mate’s career. For a long time, it had been the center of Archie’s life and being glad it was over was at a minimum selfish.
I blamed it on my pregnancy. I wanted him around me all of the time. I was a needy little omega like that.
We were now living with the pack full-time. Neither of us had said it was permanent, but we did have a place that was ours on packlands whether we slept here or not. In my mind, that meant it wasn’t exactly temporary either.
Archie was a UFA player, which meant he kind of could do his own thing when it came to contract negotiations. And he was going to have to make a decision very quickly because he would need a new one in place within the next few weeks depending on his decision.
He rubbed my feet, which were the size of a clown shoe, and asked me what I thought about taking a year off.
“Can you even do that?”
“Yes. Maybe. I don’t know. But I’m thinking I want to talk to Coach about what’s possible.”
Before the last game of the season, the one where they walked away with a trophy thanks to their kickass playing, Coach told him to call if he wanted to talk. He must’ve seen that my mate was struggling to decide. It would be hard to miss with all his flying back and forth.
“I don’t know what it would look like or even if it was possible, but I don’t want to be traveling the country when our pup is tiny, and I don’t think it’s fair to ask the two of you to travel the country with me.”
It didn’t go unnoticed to me that he wasn’t talking about the pack.
He was basing his decision on us. He’d been making the Alpha position work despite not being here all the time.
Doing things remotely was a stop gap, nothing more, and it added stress to Archie, his Beta, and pretty much everyone’s lives. It couldn’t be a forever strategy.
Archie didn’t sound too confident that Coach would go along with his idea or that he’d be able if he wanted to. But until we got a no, it was a possibility, and that was enough.
Living with the pack was so much different than when we went back and forth.
I got into a routine I enjoyed. I missed work, but not as much as I loved the life we had been building here.
We snuggled up together every night, woke up together every morning.
I got to watch Archie be all sexy at pack meetings, and I saw his wolf all the time.
At first, I worried that not having a wolf would make me feel like an outcast and that I wasn’t good enough. That was no longer the case. The pack showed me I was just as much a part of this pack as everyone else was. Not once did I feel like I was being looked down on or with fear.
During pack runs, I often talked to the other omegas who’d chosen to stay back.
The first time, I’d heard them talking about how much nicer it was since my mate took over.
My initial reaction was that they were just blowing smoke up my rear, because wasn’t that what you did when you were with someone who’s power adjacent?
But as time passed, I understood their sincerity.
Garrick had ruled by fear. And once he was removed, everyone could go about living the life they wanted instead of the one demanded of them.
“Did you want to go for a walk tonight?” Archie asked when my foot massage for the evening was complete.
I shook my head. “Too tired. I want to go for ice cream.”
“Didn’t we go for ice cream at lunch?”
“Maybe, but baby wants ice cream.”
I’d never been a huge ice cream person, but there was a convenience store not too far down the road that had their homemade ice cream available by the scoop.
Recently I discovered one with chocolate-covered pistachios in it.
That one flavor ruled my life. I tried to take some home and keep it in our freezer, but the temperature wasn’t the same, and it was ruined.
I attributed my reaction to being pregnant because who said ice cream was ruined because it was too frozen?
“Then ice cream it is.”
We took the long way around the pack till we got to the car, saying hello to kids who were playing, waving to pack members who were sitting on their porches, and being present.
That was a goal both Archie and I had for when we were here.
Letting people see us and knowing we were approachable mattered whether this was a job for a lifetime or only while decisions were made.
I loved that every square inch of this place felt like home. That hadn’t always been the case.
That hunting cabin had given me a lot of trauma I hadn’t been expecting. I hadn’t said anything to anyone about it, not wanting them to feel bad. It wasn’t like they could do anything about it, except—my mate heard me mumbling it in my sleep and talked to the pack when I was in town.
Our pack decided that they would raze it. If it was difficult for me to be around, they didn’t want it here. I’d never had anybody who cared about me like that before. And here I had an entire community of people who did.
“Your chariot awaits.” Achie helped me into the car. He was such a gentleman like that.
We went to town, and I ate three scoops of the delicious creamy goodness. I would’ve eaten more if I hadn’t finished their tub already.
As much as I enjoyed going out and indulging in my craving with my mate, the thing I loved the most was the feeling of home that flowed over me as we drove back onto pack lands.
I hated that deep inside I wanted me and Archie to live here forever full-time, which meant he’d have to give up his team. But with every passing day, I saw how this was the only place I wanted to be.