Page 37 of Loving My Omega (The Perfect Designation Trilogy #2)

Chapter

Thirty-Seven

E ventually, I fell asleep as we drove up the mountain. I woke up when the road turned into dirt and rocks. Looking around, I was surprised to find that there wasn’t any snow on the ground.

“Where is the snow? Aren’t we higher up on the mountain?”

Marcus chuckled. “We are in the lair right now.”

“The lair ? What does that even mean in this context?”

“Just what you’re thinking. A dragon’s lair. There is some contention is this part of the mountain itself already had this warm spot and one of the original dragons claimed it. Or if they poured their own magic into it to make it a lair. It is perpetually warm and it could be an intense blizzard all around us but the territory won’t see a temperature drop or a speck of snow.”

My eyes widened as I looked around the area. It was mostly dense forest but there were spots where it opened up to more grassy areas. After about fifteen minutes, the trees opened up to a huge plateau of grassland. On the far edge was a house that looked like it was the size of one of the university buildings.

The whole thing wrapped around a driveway in a very colonial-style building. Complete with columns holding up a balcony over the front door. The whole thing looked absolutely enormous and put my parents house to shame. I always thought their house was too big but now I was rethinking my entire belief system.

“You grew up here?”

Marcus laughed awkwardly. “I did, yes. This place gets passed down through the generations. The house itself goes through renovations ever four or so generations as well. This one is nearing the end of its life, I think. It will go to whoever becomes Alpha after Keith.”

“So one of his kids?”

He shook his head. “Not necessarily. It’s open to the family.” His eyes caught mine for a moment. “Including ours.”

My heart jumped into my throat as I looked back at the house. I hadn’t even thought that one of our kids could be Alpha of a flight. They would of course be Alpha’s but I thought it would follow his brothers line.

We pulled up the long driveway and Marcus parked off to the side. There were already three cars parked around the driveway and I was kind of surprised. My heart started to beat wildly as I looked at the door. I’d already met Marcus’ father but this seemed so much more official. On top of that, I was meeting his mother and I assumed the rest of the family.

What if they didn’t like me? What if they were like when my family got together? The fear made me tighten my hold on the seat belt.

“Colton.”

I slowly turned to look at Marcus. He had a soft smile on his face. Brushing my cheek, he pulled me closer by my chin. Kissing me, I finally let go of the seat belt. His forehead touched mine and he smiled.

“I promise you, my family is nothing like yours. Except maybe Queen. But she will be outnumbered. You are safe here, Colt. They are your family now too. You’ve met most of them. Do you think my dad could stand being around people like your family for long?”

Chuckling, I shook my head.

“I know you won’t, but you can relax. You know most of the family anyways.”

The front door burst open and three little kiddos that I knew very well raced out of the house. Opening the door, I stepped out and immediately was bombarded by two of them.

“Colt!”

“Horsey!”

I laughed and crouched down, hugging Ellen and Audrey. “Hey you two! I missed you!”

“We miss you!” Audrey smiled brightly. “Like my dress?”

She stepped back and twirled around in a bright red dress that had ruffles for the shoulders and skirt. Ellen rolled her eyes but she held my hand tight.

“I love it. It makes you look like a dragon princess.”

Her eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Really.” She squealed and raced around when Marcus huffed, giving him a hug.

“Mom brought it for her. Her bribe every time she bothers to come see us.” Ellen was frowning. “She got me a matching one in pastel pink.”

Moving Ellen in front of me, I held her hands in mine. “I’m sure the last time she saw you, that might have been your favorite.”

She scoffed, but I turned her head to look at me. “The one nice thing about fabric though, is that it can be changed. I think a little dark blue die and some fabric paint would make I look like one of Selene’s celestial dresses.”

“Can we?”

I nodded. “So don’t be ungrateful just because the color. You can still dress it up to be exactly your style.”

Ellen smiled and I pushed her into Marcus, who was waiting with his arms open. She ran to him and I finally was able to shut the door. Mason was standing off to the side and I held out my hand to him. He shook his head and I held out my arms. Surprisingly, he stepped forward and gave me a hug.

I looked at Marcus who seemed equally surprised I was getting a hug. However, I let Mason decide when he was done hugging me. He stepped back, looking embarrassed but I squeezed his shoulder.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He shook his head.

“Alright. I’m here if you need me, alright? No judgement or anger. You know that, right?”

He nodded his head this time. “Thanks.”

“Come on, I somehow have to survive with the level of nerves I have right now.”

Mason chuckled. “You don’t need to be nervous.”

“See, Mar said that too. Yet here I am, one nerve short of shaking like a leaf in a hurricane.”

Laughing, he shook his head. Taking my hand, Mason pulled me up the steps and into the house. Looking back at Marcus, he only smiled at me and I realized I was on my own. I managed to put on the breaks once I got into the entryway. Looking around, my eyes were wide.

It was beautiful. Not in the cold, modern way or even in a mansion fit for an Alpha kind of way. The whole interior felt like a home while also showing off the architecture of the house. Color was everywhere and each room that I could see had a different color.

“Well, are you just the most adorable little wolf.”

I jumped and turned. A woman was wiping her hands on an apron as she came out of the kitchen. Marcus closed the door behind him and Ellen and Audrey ran to my side.

“Hey, Mom.” Marcus gave the woman a hug and she hugged him back tightly.

“Oh sweetheart, it’s been too long. Your dad got to see you three times already. Before you were forced to come up here.”

He let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry. I promise it wasn’t on purpose. One of those times you sent him.”

“Yeah, sent me up the wall.”

Mr. Alford stepped came out from behind the Mrs. Alford, coming over to me. He looked me over much like he did when I first saw him. My heart beat fast as I tried to stand my ground and not melt into the carpet like I wanted.

His face softened after a moment. “You look better. Not where you need to be, but definitely better.”

I smiled and held out my hand. “It’s good to see you, sir.”

He threw is head back and laughed. “Absolutely not.” Gathering me up, I was surprised to by getting a full -on hug from him. “You call me Ty, Tyson, or Dad. That’s it. You’re part of the family now, Colton.”

Part of me wanted to cry. I’d never received a hug from someone I would consider a father figure. Let alone actually because called family. Mr. Alford let me go and I struggled to smile.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Mrs. Alford stepped up and pulled me into a hug as well. “Don’t you worry. We will take care of you. Just another one of our kids.”

“Please, you get to know him and he is going to be your favorite.” Beau bounded down the stairs. “Also, you didn’t even introduce yourself, Mom.”

Mrs. Alford stopped hugging me but she kept her hands on my shoulders. “Oh my! I’m sorry. I’m Candice Alford. Mother to these crazy dragons. I promise, I had no say in how they turned out. There is nothing I can do about it either. They don’t listen to me anymore.”

I shook my head. “I doubt that. From what I hear, you were the one who taught Marcus how to take care of people. He’s saved me, more than once, and continues to take care of me. So, I have you to thank for that.”

Her eyes filled with tears and I panicked for a moment. She pulled me into a tighter hug. Beau scoffed and shook her head.

“Yup. I’ve been dethroned as the favorite child.”

“Oh, hush you!” Mrs. Alford let me go and she smiled. “Well, you are far too thin. So either Marcus isn’t doing a good job or it needs to be a two-person job.”

Marcus chuckled. “At least point, I’ll take all the help I can with him.”

“Mar!” I looked up at him as he laughed.

Beau stepped up and gave me a hug. “It’s good to see you, Colt. You do look worlds better.”

“Thanks. How are you?”

“Good. Lauren should be here soon. She was finishing up a job and coming over.”

Mrs. Alford motioned us into the kitchen. “Peter can’t come. He’s stuck in back to back meetings today and he said he didn’t want to fly over after. Keith just went off to be Alpha for a moment.”

“Queen is here though. Keith brought her in last night.”

Everyone’s mood shifted but no one let it show on their face. Probably for the kids sake who were running around. I started to follow Mrs. Alford and Beau into the kitchen when Marcus stopped me.

“Coat and jacket off. You don’t need your security blanket here.”

Swallowing, I nodded and with his help, took off two of my four layers. Looking up at him, I knew he could feel my unease. Marcus stepped up to me and wrapped his arms around me. He kissed me. Not a peck or a soft kiss either. It was one of his all-consuming and turning me into putty.

“Relax, Colt. They know you’re an Omega and they know you are carrying out hatchling. Don’t worry. You are safe.”

I stared at him in the eyes and gave him another quick kiss. “Okay. I’ll try.”

Taking a deep breath, I turned and my face turned red when I realized both Beau and Mrs. Alford were leaning to look through doorway. Marcus rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“See, I told you. He’s all affectionate now. I’ve never seen this side of him. Ever.” Beau was whispering to Mrs. Alford.

Her hand covered her mouth. “My word. How my little dragon has grown up. Finally.”

Neither of them were trying to be quiet. Marcus growled at both of them before pushing me gently into the kitchen. They giggled and I stepped into the kitchen. It smelled great but I couldn’t pinpoint what was cooking.

“Sit, Colt.” Mr. Alford patted the set next to him at the kitchen island that was nearly double the width of the one Marcus had. “How is class? You started your winter quarter now right?”

“I did. I have four classes. I wanted to add another in because I planned on taking off Spring.”

Mrs. Alford pulled a bowl from the fridge and turned around. “Are you planning on only Spring or summer too?”

“My scholarship only allows for me to take off one quarter off. Otherwise, I’ll lose it. I was going to take a class or two for summer and then jump back in full during fall.”

“Well, we will support you. If you need us to watch our little grandbaby, we will be happy to.”

I nodded, blushing slightly. Marcus stood behind me, wrapping his arms around me. Holding onto his arm, I was happy when the conversation flowed around me without focusing on me. It was so relaxed and normal that I felt my fears melt away.

“Does no one look at their phone?”

Everyone turned to the voice stepping into the kitchen. She looked like a model. From her makeup to her clothes, it looked like she belonged on the runway and not in the kitchen of a family house. Mrs. Alford smiled.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. We were talking and weren’t checking. You can always come down and take whatever you need.”

“I know I can. But I’m pregnant . I shouldn’t be straining myself.”

I blinked at her. Her white blouse tight against her front, all of which was flat. Her skirt was belted tight around her waist and she was wearing at least three inch heels, maybe more. Where the hell was this mysterious pregnancy?

Marcus snorted and put his head down on the top of mine. My thought must have been projected again. I wasn’t wrong though. On top of that, if she didn’t want to strain herself, maybe the heels should go. No one in the kitchen looked that impressed either.

“It’s not too much of a strain dear to go down the stairs. You’re supposed to exercise while pregnant. It keeps your body healthier.” Mrs. Alford wasn’t even phased by her attitude as she added a couple slices of strawberry to some sparkling water.

The woman, who I could only assume was Queen, sighed. “Maybe back in your day. Now, we have a lot more to worry about. I have a lot of stress on my shoulders and I need to make sure I don’t do too much extra. Otherwise, something might happen.”

My hand tightened around Marcus’ arm. “Well, maybe you should stay home and not work. That would take away the biggest stress. I’m sure the kids would be happy to have their mother home more often.”

All eyes slid to me, most of them shocked while Queen narrowed her eyes at me.

“Who the hell are you? Who the fuck let in a wet dog?”