Page 18 of Tending Our Omega (Saved by the Alpha Pack #1)

Romi

Maddox stood at the front window, staring out.

He was as excited as I was that Seth and Heath were coming back today.

They had put their belongings in a storage pod that would be delivered to our new property as soon as we closed and were bringing back their vehicles.

Their land was already sold—signed, sealed, and delivered.

I teased them that there was no going back now.

A person couldn’t live out of a storage pod, after all.

It was the wrong joke to make because both of them had their wolves flickering through their eyes and growls building in their chests.

My sarcasm was lost on their beasts, and I spent the rest of our video call calming them down and letting them know I was teasing.

And then, of course, there was no turning back because we were pack, and pack belonged together.

Silly wolves—although not so much silly as we’d been apart too long. Two months. Two months since they left. It was necessary; details had to be figured out and dealt with, but it was far too long, and I really hoped we didn’t have to do that again.

“Here, Mommy!” Maddox jumped up and down before bolting to the door.

Gram-Gram chuckled from her chair. “I’m going to stay here and let you guys have your reunion.”

“You’re family, too, Gram-Gram.”

“That may be, but I’m old family. They can come see me when they’re ready.”

As much as I wanted to argue with her that that was completely ridiculous, I was too eager to see them. I got outside just as Maddox was jumping into Heath’s arms and hugging him, before fist-bumping Seth. And best of all, they seemed just as happy to see him, based on the smiles on their faces.

James came up behind me, intertwining his fingers with mine, giving a squeeze. “The family’s together now,” he whispered in my ear, and I kissed his cheek before running to them.

I hugged them both hard, holding on for dear life. “Gods, I missed you,” I whispered over and over again.

Space really put things in perspective. I knew they all scented me as theirs, and that there had to be a little bit of hurt from me mating with James first. It had been the right thing to do at the time, and I didn’t regret it—especially after they had to leave.

I couldn’t imagine the pain of being mated to them and having them gone when this hurt so much.

But I wanted to move forward, and it was a discussion that needed to happen—not today, not now, though, because we had places to go.

“The closing is in an hour—you guys cut it close!”

“We had plenty of time,” Seth insisted.

Heath rolled his eyes. “You said that every time you wanted to stop at a new exit.”

“What?” Seth shrugged. “It wasn’t like you didn’t want to go to those places too.”

“Wait. Did you guys do an eating tour?”

Heath leaned over and whispered in my ear, “More like a Romi and Maddox and Gram-Gram spoiling trip.”

I discovered very quickly what they meant when they opened the back of Heath’s SUV and I found it filled with bags from multiple stores.

“We don’t need stuff.”

“But we need to give you stuff. So that’s how that is.” He tapped my nose.

It was an argument for another time because it really was approaching closing time.

We’d seen a number of properties that had not come through or been right for us, before James had learned about a large swath of land during one of his school staff meetings.

Someone was randomly talking about the property going up soon—it belonged to a friend of theirs, or a second cousin, or a connection I didn’t remember—but we were the first to see it, and it was perfect.

It ran along the river my wolf loved so much, was close enough to school to make it an easy commute for James and eventually for Maddox, but far enough away that we could be in our fur without worry—something we didn’t have at the current house.

Every time we shifted, we had to be cautious, the neighbors just a little too close for shifters.

We emptied out the SUV before piling in. Maddox stayed with Gram-Gram, his focus on a new airplane that blew bubbles—picked up at one of the guys’ many stops along the way. The paperwork was easy, and we were officially owners within a half hour of arrival.

I called Gram-Gram to let her know, and she met us there with Maddox, a huge cooler in the back filled with a picnic that I had put there right before I left.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I leaned in to James as the other two took it in for the first time with their own eyes.

“It’s home,” he said.

We ate the picnic and talked about all the different things we could do with the space. We wanted a home for us, but also one for Gram-Gram that was close by—so we could give her a little bit of privacy but also never have an excuse not to see her.

And when we were done eating, the three alphas and I took our fur and marked the land. We ran the entire perimeter, rubbing against trees and then going back the other way. Our wolves weren’t satisfied until we made the trip five times. And then it was time to hunt.

Pack tradition would have Heath lead the hunt—he was alpha—but he let me take the lead, saying that I was the best hunter among us.

I wouldn’t say I was the best in strength—I couldn’t fell a deer, and I was pretty sure Seth had on his own more than once—but I was pretty good at the small prey, managing to fell animals that would get away from most others.

But today, I didn’t want a rabbit, or a squirrel, or any other small creature.

I wanted us to hunt as a pack and take down something large.

Being newly marked, our land was still filled with animals who didn’t realize they should be scared—that they had suddenly become the prey. And it wasn’t long before I found a buck chewing away at the grass without a care in the world. He had no idea he was about to become our supper.

I turned back and met eyes with our pack, and it was as if we had been doing this together our entire lives.

We circled—large circle, getting smaller and smaller—until I lunged forward, the others following suit.

It was quick and painless for the deer, which was always a goal—but with a buck, very unusual, even as a full pack.

I’d been part of hunts that resulted in the buck getting away—but not us.

We ate our fill before jumping in the river, simultaneously cleaning off and playing. My wolf raised her nose to the air and howled—not with fear like the night I presented but in victory—the other three doing the same.

We trotted back to where Gram-Gram and Maddox were waiting to find them both stacking pine cones the way most people played with blocks—only far less successfully. They barely managed to get a couple before they toppled down. It was pretty adorable.

I shifted back first, threw on my clothes, and joined them. James and Seth were up next, but not Heath. He kept scenting the air and finally bolted away.

“James…what’s going on?”

“I don’t know—but let’s get the kid, Maddox, and Gram-Gram the car.”

I agreed and helped them. By the time everything was settled in, Heath was standing there, naked, out of breath.

“We missed someone on the perimeter.”

“Someone that sounds like…”

He looked to me. “Your old pack.”

“You mean we missed scenting it? Like it’s old?”

“Yeah. It’s not new. But it’s something to keep an eye on.”

The day had been perfect. Absolutely perfect. And suddenly my past was coming back to me. I couldn’t outrun it, but I wanted to be wrong.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

Seth took my hand—a comfort he didn’t usually give. “Don’t be sorry, Romi. Just be ours. We’ll take care of this.”

And they would. Because they were my pack. And this—this was our home.