Chapter 30 Mona
"So humans really work there?" I ask, bouncing in my seat at the prospect of seeing new people. So far, the wolves of Silent Peak have been amazing.
But in the last couple of days, I've been trailed by an enforcer or one of my mates non-stop, even when I'm alone in the cabin.
And, when I do venture out, now that I've officially joined their clan, when I come across a wolf I haven't met before—or even ones I have, like Heather—they can barely contain their excitement, plowing me down with hugs and kisses.
It's adorable.
It's overwhelming.
And, according to Orion, this is them holding back.
I hate to think what happens when they aren't.
In any case, I'm looking forward to being around some humans, getting a little bit of normalcy. When Doc offered to show me around the town at the bottom of the mountain, I immediately said yes.
Grayson wasn't too pleased about it, and while Kellen, the light gray wolf who carried me back after the witch incident, is in the truck with us, we also have a truck ahead and behind, full of enforcers.
"They sure do," Doc says happily as we bound down the dirt road to the bottom of the mountain.
I've cycled through every emotion since I got here, but I'm done with uncertainty.
I'm ready to find my footing, and if Grayson thinks bodyguards will keep me safe from the witches, fine.
I'll tolerate them. Given what Doc discovered about what they and my father did to me, I'm not taking any chances.
I haven't let myself dwell on Dad's betrayal.
The sad part is how easy it was to believe.
But I've got so many other things going for me now—I have mates!
And friends, and Beep and I are getting along better than ever.
I have food and shelter and safety. A chance at happiness.
Someday I'll grieve my failed relationship with my father, come to terms with what he did to me. That day isn't today. Or tomorrow.
I peek around Kellen's giant head and long black hair, taking in our surroundings as we wind down the mountain. Kellen points things out, tells me about packs that live in different directions.
At the bottom of the mountain, the dirt road ends at a blinking red light. We turn right, and the dirt crunching under the tires eases over asphalt.
"I sometimes teach survival skills and hunting classes to the humans there," Kellen tells me, pointing at a hand-painted, weathered wood sign reading Trading Post, hanging on rusty nails. I think that's cool and I tell him so.
"And there—" he gestures to a low brick building, smoke curling from a chimney at the back.
"Local tribe runs the community center. You should see their seed storage.
They offer some classes teaching people how to identify plants year-round so people can be more self-sufficient and help support the local environment. "
"That's amazing. I would love to take a class like that."
Kellen grins. "I'll take you sometime."
It's all so foreign to me since I lived in a major metropolis my whole life. But if I had known this was here, if I had the physical wellness to live like this—I don't think anything could have kept me away.
It's raining today, but the wolves don't mind. The windows are still cracked since this truck is too old for air conditioning. Which, fine, even though it's summer and humid as hell—I'm in the middle, so I'm not getting whacked in the face by water droplets.
But the entire drive is inexplicably soul-filling. We get to the end of the road and pass a mini downtown, similar to the one up the mountain, then we take another right and pull into a parking lot.
"The cafe is run by the Wren Pack. Lily is their daughter," Doc says quietly as he turns off the engine.
"The shifter that went missing?"
Kellen nods beside me. "We all try to visit as much as we can. I think… Well, we were thinking. I hope you don't mind, but—"
Doc interrupts Kellen's rambling. "Mona, you have a very soothing presence. We think it would be good for them to meet you. Do you mind?"
"Meeting them? Of course I don't."
"We didn't mean to be deceptive—this really is about showing you around. But I thought we'd add this stop to our tour because—"
"Doc, I may not get why everyone keeps trying to touch my arm everywhere I go, but you don't have to explain why we're here. If being around them helps, I'll do it." Beep hums in agreement, and I feel her with me as I nod once, then shoo Kellen out of the truck. He chuckles, then helps me down.
"You're so short. I've never met such a short wolf before."
I groan. He's not wrong. Shifters are huge, and I'm basically a garden gnome.
Doc says even though omegas tend to be smaller, the suppressants I was on probably stunted my growth.
It was fine when I was human. I was scrawny and too sick to care.
But since I've been a wolf, and most definitely since I've been here, I've been eating a ton and feeling so much stronger. So, I've gained a little weight.
And all that weight translates to junk in the trunk. My tits are huge. My ass is bigger than Orion's hands. I know this because I stared at his handprint in the mirror after he unexpectedly spanked me in the kitchen a few days ago.
But I'm still so short, I practically need a stepladder to climb out of the truck.
I shake off the memory of Orion's sudden alpha dominance. No way I want to walk into this sweet little bakery with a grieving family thinking about how fucking hot my mates are and how badly I want them to fuck me.
I still haven't asked how all that works.
Again, I have to point out that there are two of them. What do I do with two mates?
I'm relieved when Kellen and Doc go ahead of me, the doorbell overhead jingling. The other enforcers that followed us wait in the parking lot like dutiful soldiers.
Considering how small and quiet this town is, I'm shocked at how busy the cafe is. Every round little table is full, including a few booths along the wall in the back. Vintage French music plays overhead. The place smells amazing—of coffee and pastries, butter, sugar, and jam.
I'm gonna eat everything.
Do they have fries? Beep asks.
I snort, then remind myself these wolves don't know mine talks to me. I thought you said that the fries were garbage?
No nutritional value.
So why do you want fries?
The salt tastes good.
Well, so does sugar, I argue back.
She doesn't respond right away. Then, If they have fries, I want those.
Sure thing, Beep.
Kellen and Doc seem to know everyone in here, even the humans.
So I stand back and read the menu, trying to decide what to order, letting Beep see for herself that they do not, in fact, serve fries.
Someone tugs on my sleeve, and I guess I'm getting used to being touched by strangers because it takes a second for me to realize the woman is talking to me.
"Excuse me, Omega? It's Mona, right?"
"Oh, yes, sorry. Hi. Nice to meet you…"
"Vin."
"Nice to meet you, Vin," I say, smiling.
Then I wait. She doesn't say anything else, just anxiously shifts from foot to foot.
A man stands behind her, wearing a similar expression.
If he wore a hat, he'd be twisting it in his hands.
"Do you… uhh… want to ask me something?" I almost say Do you want a hug?
and am glad I don't, because the woman, Vin, nods aggressively.
"I'm so sorry, we really didn't mean to bombard you like this—"
"It's okay—"
"It's just, my husband and I… Well, we've been together for about twenty years now.
And we thought… it's just, we expected to get pregnant by now.
But you see, it hasn't happened. And neither of us are called to grow our pack, it's just the two of us.
And we are happy with that. But now we worry that we'll need to expand our family in order to get pregnant. "
I stare dumbly for a minute. Some people glance our way—even the humans nearby can hear what Vin just said. But no one bats an eye. Is she looking for condolences?
And I hate that I'm going there again, but considering how touchy-feely they all are—does she want a hug?
When I don't say anything, her husband intercedes. "If we have to grow our pack, we will. We want a child more than anything. Vin and I, we're ready."
Still, I stare. Long enough for Kellen to finally come and rescue me.
He throws his arm around me and tucks me close.
"They're worried they might need to bring other people into their relationship to conceive," he explains.
"Shifter fertility is difficult and sometimes requires multiple partners for success.
That's what they mean by growing their pack. And something they'd rather avoid."
Kellen doesn't lower his voice. As awkward as it is to have this conversation in the middle of a busy cafe, I'm grateful when he continues. "Omegas sometimes help couples get pregnant. Maybe you could sit with Vin for a minute. Hold her hand?"
Vin nods again, even more enthusiastically this time. Her partner—Craig—thanks Kellen by slapping his shoulder, then the couple guides me to their table. And right there in the middle of the bustling little cafe, I sit stiffly beside this hopeful, delusional couple and hold their hands.
Delusional, because there's no way this is going to work.
But I feel like an asshole for even thinking that, so I don't voice my concerns. Instead, I let them hold my hands.
And it's weird. And uncomfortable.
For a minute.
Until I start to feel relaxed. A normal kind of relaxed, like after a long but productive day. Curled up on the couch with a movie or a book. My mate rubbing my feet. Food in my belly.
The warmth in my chest, the ember where my omega lives, begins to radiate out of me. And then my hands go a little slack, but the two of them, they're holding me so tight, they probably don't even notice. But I do. My heart beats slow. And I can't help it, I yawn. My omega is beaming.