Page 8 of The Omega Exchange: Omnibus (The Exchange)

Chapter Seven

Everly

Luke drives the giant truck further down the snow-lined…

I'm not actually sure this is a road, it's more like a well-kept trail.

Both sides of the path are lined with trees, and the further we get from the lodge the more I realize I barely know this man.

Okay, I'm being ridiculous. He's my appointed security.

"Ready, pretty girl?" Luke asks, dragging me out of my musings. Sure enough, we're stopped in a small, well-maintained parking area.

"Are you going to tell me what we're doing?" I ask, glancing down at my outfit. "Or is it still a surprise?"

Before we left the lodge, Luke had me change in to what can only be described as a snowsuit that we got from the gift-shop.

I cringe, wondering how much this outfit will set me back. It's not that I have a strict budget, but if I'm ever able to have a baby I'd like to be able to take at least the first year off to stay home and soak up every moment I can.

"We're picking out a Christmas tree," Luke says.

That would've been a good one to add to my Christmas list. I can always add it after the fact.

Luke climbs out of the truck and comes around, helping me down. The air is cool as it whips around us.

Once I'm settled on solid ground, my glasses instantly fog up.

My jacket is slippery and won't work to clean the lenses, but Luke carefully removes them.

He pulls the front of his long sleeve t-shirt down and wipes them clean.

His huge hand brushes my hair away from my face as he puts them back on.

He smirks, giving my hips a squeeze before stepping around me to the back door.

Grabbing out a pair of gloves, he yanks them on before pulling out a saw. I'm super freaking grateful that I asked what we're doing before he pulled that thing out. Otherwise I might've had a heart attack right here in this parking lot.

I pull my gloves on as he comes up to my side, offering me his free arm.

"Let's do this," he says, giving me a crazy-handsome grin.

Luke guides us into the woods and down a walking trail. It's not long before we come to a clearing with a copse of Christmas trees. On one end you can see where someone replants the trees on a regular basis.

"All right," Luke says, stripping off his heavy jacket. He hands it to me, and I blink like a fool. Um, why exactly is he removing his coat? "Which one tickles your fancy?"

An embarrassing sound between a snort and a cough comes out. "I have no idea what I'm looking for."

"Well these are all balsam, they're going to give you that fresh smell for longer.

But they are known to dry out faster than Frasers.

We'll need to do a needle check to make sure the one we pick will last, but go on, pick the size and shape you like best and we can go from there.

" Luke pulls up the sleeves of his t-shirt.

It's freezing. What the hell is he thinking?

My arm wraps tightly around his jacket at the sight of his strong forearms. They're corded with thick lines of muscle and they’re veiny.

Which is such a weird thing to find attractive, but here we are.

His delicious manly scent fills the air as my arm flexes in his jacket.

It's insane. He very much smells like an alpha.

I've never in my life had such a strong reaction to any beta's scent.

I wonder if my sisters have the same reaction to the smell of their beta mates?

I always assumed they were more of a love match than a scent match.

Luke gives me an encouraging look, and I get myself together. I walk up and down the lines of trees. Luke's scent has me questioning everything I thought I knew. Considering how sensitive he was about it, I'd say it's likely something that's been brought up regularly.

I find a tree about my height. It's thick, and the branches seem well-placed. I nod to it, and Luke heads over, pulling off one of his gloves. He runs his strong hand over several branches and seems to be taking note of how many needles fall.

He shoots me a megawatt grin. "Good choice, this one's perfect."

My knees clench together, and I try to get a hold of my raging hormones.

I sure hope he has decorations, since I absolutely don't have any hiding in my suitcases. Several Christmas-inspired sets of lingerie? Absolutely, but not a single decoration to be found. Well, not unless my reindeer-inspired dildo counts. Or the elf-ear clit stimulator.

"All right, sweetness, take a few steps back for me," Luke says, shooting me a panty-melting smile. I stumble back in the thick snow. It's light and fluffy and seems different from the snow we get in New York.

Luke's muscles flex as he shakes the tree to get off any remaining snow. He squats down, leveling the saw with the ground. Holy shit, his ass fills out those jeans nicely indeed. It takes longer than I'd like to admit to realize I'm being a total perv.

The tree tips, and Luke drops the saw before popping up and spinning around to face me. I'm sure I'm beet red from more than the cold. I take a few steps toward him, and he meets me in the middle. His long hair falls around his face as he grabs the jacket and pulls it on.

"Come on," he says, grabbing my hand. "Let's get you settled in the truck. I’ll come back for the tree."

A shiver runs down my spine as he smiles at me. "Thanks for bringing me with you," I say as we head off. "I've never picked a tree before."

"You're welcome," Luke says, linking his arm with mine. "Will you hang out with me and the bosses tonight to help us decorate it?"

"Yeah," I agree. "I think I'd like that."

Luke smirks, and my stomach dances with butterflies. I lean into his strong form as we head back to the truck. This is a once in a lifetime getaway from reality, so I'm going to lean into the craziness and enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts.

It didn't take Luke long to haul the tree back to the truck, but I'm grateful he let me sit in the heat.

The ride back is peaceful. The truck smells like Luke, and my nose doesn't mind a bit.

Luke tells me about his family, and what it was like growing up on a ranch in Texas with four brothers.

I tell him a little about the insanity of growing up in a house with four sisters.

The fact there's only eight years between my oldest sister and youngest sister always throws people for a loop.

"Damn, that's fucking nuts," Luke says, laughing and shaking his head. "I'm the second youngest, too."

It's such a small thing to have in common, but it makes my heart race. Luke is one of the hottest guys I've seen in person. It's a major bonus that he's friendly and easy to be around, but I do have eyes.

I might be quiet and spend more time with old books than I do people, but I'm not a virgin. I had several boyfriends during college and in the years after. They've just never been so different from me. Luke is outgoing and in your face. The men I've spent time with tend to be more like myself.

"My oldest and youngest brother have eleven years between them. My parents subscribed to that two years apart is baby smart bullshit."

I laugh. "Dang, my younger sister and I are Irish twins. There's only eleven months between us."

My heart pangs the same way it does anytime I think of Cassie.

Being so close in age, we were thicker than thieves.

She was my best friend, even when I moved to New York City we talked daily.

It hurt losing the possibility of a pack, but losing that close bond with my sister hurt even worse.

I've tried to do everything in my power to keep up our friendship, but it's not the same, and I worry it won't ever be.

"Shit," Luke says, laughing. "Your mom's the omega, right? Her heats came back that fast after giving birth?"

I nod. "My oldest sister also has two kids who are less than a year apart."

"The women in your family are fertile as hell." He laughs, turning in to the parking lot for the lodge.

I swear a pang shivers through my ovaries at the sound of that word slipping from his lips.

My shoulders hunch. I'm going to have to come clean with someone soon, but I've done my best to tune out the worry and stress that comes every time I think of what might happen.

They could kick me out right before my heat. I have no clue what I'll do if that happens.

Omegas who try to ride out a heat without alphas experience pain on a level that's difficult to comprehend. I've only experienced the breakthrough pain that comes when you start a new packet of suppressants. Without those to help, though?

I could get mindless and hazy and start begging any alpha. Am I really going to risk that?

You have literally no other choice.

I originally planned to try to discuss it with my pack. To test the waters and see if they might be open to some arrangement or even wait and see if we clicked. Only, they're not here. Now I'll have to tell the owners about the slight flaw in their carefully crafted system.

"This parking lot is notoriously slippery," Luke says as he unbuckles his seat-belt. "Let me come around and help you out." The thick twang of that country accent vibrates around the truck. He climbs out and walks around the vehicle.

The door opens, and cold air whooshes inside. I untangle myself from the seat belt and turn to Luke. His strong hands meet my waist lifting me from the truck. My boots hit the pavement, and I mumble a quick, "Thanks."

"Not a problem," Luke says, gently pulling off my glasses. "I'm guessing this is a regular thing?"

"Every time I step outside during winter."

"Don't worry. I've got you, pretty girl," he says, pushing them back up my nose. His hands are tender as he makes sure they're wrapped around my ears. All air seems to evaporate from my lungs as he smirks down at me. My heart feels like it could race right out of my chest.

I spin around to grab my jacket. The issue becomes evident immediately. I'm nowhere near tall enough to reach it now that I'm on the ground.

Luke's huge frame cocoons my back as he stretches around me, easily grabbing it off the seat without needing to climb back inside.

"You've got freakishly long arms," I grumble.

"I told you, Evie," Luke says against the shell of my ear. His warm breath fans over my neck as his pelvis brushes my ass. "I've got you."

"That was only easy because you're a giant," I say, glancing at him over my shoulder. His dimples pop as his face breaks out in a wide smile.

"I'm a big guy," he says with a laugh. "It comes in handy sometimes."

Is he flirting with me? Or just an extremely flirty person by nature? I'm so ill-prepared to deal with a guy like Lukas Hall that it's not even funny.

"Aww, darlin', you're shivering," he says, wrapping an arm around my back. "Let's get you inside."

I know better, I really do, but I sink into Luke's warm frame and pretend for a minute that I'm someone else. A person without a huge secret hanging over their head.