Page 7 of Tending Our Omega (Saved by the Alpha Pack #1)
Romi
I hadn’t meant to kneel down to touch their fur, to stay and talk with them.
I was supposed to get back in my car, return to work, and forget about the entire encounter.
But I was drawn to all three of them, in a way I didn’t understand.
Maybe it was my wolf’s desire to be part of a pack again.
That had to be it—nothing else made sense.
At least, that’s what I tried to convince myself as I drove away.
It wasn’t easy, and if work hadn’t been waiting, I wasn’t sure I’d be strong enough.
But I couldn’t afford to get fired, and when I got back, last call was being announced, which was good.
It meant everything was going to be busy.
Between bringing the last of the drinks, hurrying the customers along, and cleaning, I didn’t have time to think about them, or how kind they’d been to me, or how they didn’t look at me as less than omega.
I arrived home at a dark house, everyone sound asleep, and, after a quick shower, climbed into bed. I lay there replaying our conversation over and over again until sleep finally took me.
My alarm ripped me awake far too early. I had a lot to do in town today. It was the eighth of the month, and that meant my bills were due.
Maddox loved bill day. We would go into town, stop and drop off our utility payments, and hit up the coffee shop for a cup of whipped cream with sprinkles for him, coffee for me, and a cookie to share.
It had become our monthly outing, and it started out of necessity one time when Gram-Gram was unable to watch him for me to go deal with the adult part of life.
Being a single mom wasn’t easy. Of course it wasn’t, and if I didn’t have Gram-Gram, it would be nearly impossible, but there was nothing I would switch out about my life so far.
I couldn’t be mad at being forced to mate his father.
We might not have loved each other, but he was kind enough, and he gave me Maddox.
I couldn’t be mad at leaving the pack, and, even if my mate was still alive, that wasn’t the place to raise our son.
They saw him as less than, and I refused to let him grow up being treated that way.
And I couldn’t be upset at living with Gram-Gram.
She’d become a pseudo pack member for me and the mom I wish I’d had.
I drove to town, Maddox in his car seat, still not big enough for a booster, and turned the radio up far too loud for most people, focusing on the bass so he could feel it.
It wasn’t a hard drive, and I stopped at the general store first. It actually was more of a hardware store than a general store.
I think at one point in time, it probably had traditionally followed its namesake, but now, if you needed hammers, nails, or paint, that’s where you went.
But customer service also let us pay our electric bill, and, for those near the city, their water bill and gas bill.
It didn’t take long. I already had my tips counted out for each one.
It was somebody different behind the counter.
I’d seen them in town before and at the bar.
They weren’t new here, but recently began the job, and they took care of things fine enough.
I had my receipts, but not once did they acknowledge Maddox waving, and it ruffled my feathers.
But we were in a small town, and small towns were like packs in a lot of ways.
Causing a problem in the general store would get around. Neither of us needed that.
“Ready for a cookie?” I moved my hand in rotation to indicate. I really needed to get better about signing with him.
He hugged me tight.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” I kissed the top of his head, and off we went, the short walk to the coffee shop.
Only, halfway there, I ran into the guys—all three of them. I held onto Maddox’s hand a little bit firmer and stopped in my tracks, unsure what to do next. Maddox knew. He waved and smiled bright, recognizing them as wolves.
“Hey, Romi, we didn’t expect to see you here,” James said.
“Yeah, we had to pay some bills, and then Maddox and I have another errand to run.” I didn’t want to say it was at the coffee shop.
Didn’t want them to think I was inviting them, because I wasn’t.
This was my special time with my son. Even if I had wanted to spend time with them, I still wasn’t quite sure about that.
“Oh, we have plans.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “We were kind of thinking of taking you to lunch.”
The answer should have been an immediate no. Instead, I said, “Probably not today,” which, of course, opened the door for them to ask me if I wanted to go on a date with them.
“Depending upon when it is, I might not have a babysitter.” I still was sucking at saying no, but when they were there in front of me, their eyes so kind, their smiles so sweet, their posture so submissive, while at the same time showing their strength, that word just didn’t come out.
“Is this your son?” James asked.
“Oh—sorry—this is Maddox.” All three of them squatted down and introduced themselves, making sure they were eye level, giving him the respect he deserved. There was no way they didn’t see his hearing aids. They definitely stood out.
“Maddox, do you want to go to dinner with us or your mom?” Seth asked, and then looked up at me, eyes filled with panic. “I should have asked you.”
And he was right. He should have. But the fact that an alpha was there, catching a mistake and then apologizing and trying to fix it, had me accepting immediately.
“You’re good. What do you say, Maddox? Do you want to go to eat?”
His response was to fist-bump each of them. He might not speak as much as children his age, but he always made it known what he needed.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“He’s a part of you. Of course we don’t mind.” He spoke for the three of them.
We chatted for a couple more minutes, and then they left—Maddox and I going in to get our special mother-son treat at the coffee shop. More than once, I itched to grab the phone to cancel with them. My life was on track. I didn’t need to complicate it.
But that plan was thwarted when my phone buzzed and I looked down to see a short video of Heath and James signing to a wolf pup—my guess was that it was taken by Seth. The caption of the text: screw it .
One text. One date. A date. I didn’t need to be reading so much into it.