Page 11 of Tending Our Omega (Saved by the Alpha Pack #1)

Romi

James was officially the sweetest, but also so badass.

When those jackasses decided to get handsy, he put a stop to it.

I could have handled myself as I had a thousand times before.

But when he got up, my wolf told me to let him handle it, and I did.

I had to cross my arms over my chest to avoid lashing out at those asshats, but there was something so satisfying about watching an alpha get all protective like that.

I’d never had that, not in my entire life.

Not with my father. Not with my mate. It would be easy to get used to it, but I wasn’t living in the land of everything being perfect and wonderful and sunshine and rainbows and unicorns and all that good stuff.

In my reality, I was a single mom living in someone else’s house.

The alphas didn’t live here and were soon going to be leaving. Our borrowed time was quickly running out.

Maddox had an appointment with his ENT this morning. He wasn’t great about telling us when the hearing aids were bugging him, and they liked to follow up to make sure there were no issues.

I didn’t mind driving the forty-five minutes to the larger town for the visits, but I did mind the preparation.

I always felt like I needed to be extra sure no one could tell I was an omega around so many other alphas.

It was difficult, always hiding like that.

But it had always been expected of me—except for now.

My alphas… No, not mine. The alphas. I had to be careful not to keep slipping into that train of thought based on my omega status as being special, valued, revered even. Maybe that was why I felt extra dirty using all the scent blockers just to go to an ear appointment.

And just as Maddox always did after a trip to the doctor—no matter how few or many tests he had to take—he fell sound asleep on the way home. I spent the next half hour of the drive overthinking every single event that had happened since James, Heath, and Seth walked into my life.

By the time I pulled in front of the cabin and helped Maddox from his car seat, I was once again spiraling. “Go in and wash up. I’ll make you lunch.”

Maddox looked up at me and then signed Mama .

“Okay… Yes, baby, I’m okay. I just need lunch—getting hangry.”

He ran inside, and I followed him, not at all surprised to see Gram-Gram preparing sandwiches and soup for us.

“Figured you’d be back around now.” She set her wooden spoon down and came over to me. “You don’t look so good.”

“You wouldn’t believe this, Gram-Gram, but I am analyzing every interaction I’ve had with the alphas.”

“You don’t say.” She held a hand to her chest. “And how far is that getting you?”

I grumbled.

“Some things, Romi, are not meant to be analyzed. Some are just meant to be accepted.”

“I don’t think I’m quite there yet.”

“This, I know. Come—I made tomato soup, and I’ve got grilled cheese ready to cook up.”

Over lunch, she suggested I invite the alphas to dinner. And, of course, because Maddox was there, he instantly agreed, and it was two against one. I put the invite in a recently created group text between the four of us, and they all popped back that they would be there. We were doing this.

It would be good. We would be at our house, in our territory, and then maybe after dinner, we could go for a run. Gram- Gram promised to be there, and I didn’t need a chaperone, or a protector of any kind anyway. It wasn’t about that.

Yeah, but having someone there when Maddox was asleep so we could go out for a run was going to be nice.

And also, I was a package deal. Sure, Maddox was a given—he was my son, he would stay by my side—but, in every way but blood, Gram-Gram was family.

If I decided to move forward with these alphas, she would be part of our family.

That wasn’t negotiable. Best they saw that now.

Once upon a time, back before everything changed, I would have tried to be the person the object of my affection sought.

At that time, I thought I was alpha and praying to be a beta.

If they wanted someone smart, I would have read more.

If they wanted someone who could cook, well, I’d take classes.

I’d never been my parents, looking at mating as power, but I’d so longed for love, I would have done anything.

And the worst part was, I didn’t see it at the time.

I wasn’t going to make that mistake again. From now on, I was who I was—take it or leave it.

“The guys want to know if they should bring anything.” I set my phone down, unsure how to answer them.

“Can the boys cook?”

“Um… I had a very interesting sandwich at the picnic.”

“Interesting does not bode well. Let me try to think of something that will accept their offer and not leave us hungry.” She leaned back in her chair. “Been a long time since I’ve been a part of this courting thing.”

“You think they’re going to ask you for my hand?” My jaw dropped.

She got back up. “It’s so easy to get you going, sweetie.”

“What’s courting?” Maddox asked.

I shot Gram-Gram a glare. “It just means Mommy’s making new friends, sweetie.”

He held up three fingers.

“Yes, Maddox. The three wolves we’ve met.”

Of course he knew who we were talking about. My sweet boy never missed anything.