Page 50 of Talk About… History

“Can I get you something to drink? I have wine, water, soda...” I continued rattling off options until she put a hand on my arm to stop me.

“Water would be great,” she admitted, fanning herself a little.

I gestured for her to sit before I pulled out the charcuterie board I’d made earlier. I poured two glasses of cold water, sliding one her way as I took the seat next to her.

“It sounded like you had something you needed to talk to me about,” I said, diving straight into the conversation. If it was unpleasant, I’d rather get it out of the way now.

She glanced down, her eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks as she took a few deep breaths, like she was trying to calm herself. It was funny—she hadn’t seemed nervous at all until now. She shifted in her seat and chewed on her lip, hands curling into tight balls. Whatever it was, she was majorly freaking out.

“So, I went to talk to someone about building a house on my land,” she started, not meeting my eyes. “I won’t get into the details now—I think I’ve rehashed it like three times for different people—but he tried to scam me. Two of his workers stood up and told me he was playing me for an insane amount of money, and they just so happened to be my mates. Then, if that wasn’t enough, after I started to have a panic attack about it, Mason jumped in the lake with me.”

I made a choking noise, and she stopped speaking, looking at me alarmed, but I waved her off, taking a sip of my water.

“Sorry, the whole jumping-in-the-lake thing got me.”

She let out a laugh. I could tell from that small, carefree sound that she loved every second of that interaction. Checking in with myself, I tried to gauge my own feelings, wondering if I would be jealous about her finding more pack members.

When we met, it was just me and her, and I felt like I’d never really gotten her to myself.

Yet, as I thought it over, I realized I didn’t care, as long as my omega was happy. She deserved to smile like she was doing now and I knew this would be coming one way or another.

“It actually did snap me out of that panic, so I get why he did it,” she admitted. “But then my doctor from the clinic showed up. I guess not mine, specifically, he was just the lead for intake. He shuffled me off to a different doctor for my exam. I thought it was just for my benefit, but apparently, he’s also a mate. They have to wear scent blockers, so he knew who I was, but I didn’t know. He was trying to be professional.”

“Honestly, that speaks volumes about his character. He could have said it right then and there,” I added. That meant he was someone I could trust with my omega.

“It was a really vulnerable meeting, and I really appreciate that he didn’t,” she agreed. “It didn’t make anything less weird when it came out, though. But now I apparently have four mates, three of whom have already started a group chat. I was going to add you, but I’m not going to just throw you to the wolves. I wanted to speak to you in person since I met you first.”

I reached out for her hand again. It felt like I was always leaning toward her, touching her, reaching for her, without realizing I was doing it. Our interactions were instinctual under the surface, just another sign that fate was involved.

“Look, Avery, I had no delusions that I would have you to myself forever. I wouldn’t have complained if I did have you for a little longer,” I teased, giving her a wink, “but I’m happy that you’re happy. I’m sure we’re going to get along great. Add me to the chat. We’ll get to know each other. It will work out, Avery.”

Her smile widened, and she leaned in, pressing her lips to mine in a chaste kiss.

“I knew you’d say that. I had a feeling you were going to take this really well. I just... I knew you deserved to hear it from me.”

She wanted to make sure my feelings were considered as well. My mate had a big heart.

“I’m still a little hung up on the fact that he jumped with you into a lake, but hey, if you’re not angry, I can’t be. Other than spontaneous, what are they like?”

I knew this would be my true test—to see how she reacted thinking about them, how she talked about them, and how I felt about it all.

She grabbed a cracker and cheese, nibbling as she thought over how to answer.

“Mason was kind of intense. He seems a bit more protective. He was a bit blunt, but not in an overbearing, suffocating way.”

She peeked up at me and I kept my smile even, not wanting to deter her. So far, I was still just curious, not worried.

“Ford is sweet. He seems really funny, a little mischievous maybe, but I don’t really know him that well yet.”

“And the doctor?”

“I think Dr. Clark… well, I guess I shouldn’t call him that. Arden is the hardest to read. My first impression was that he takes his job seriously. He was indignant on my behalf when I explained why I was at the Network clinic, and what happened that led up to it.”

My stomach was in knots hearing those words. I didn’t know the details of why she’d come home. I knew she had exes, but that was about the extent of it.

Did they hurt her?

She noticed my reaction and reached out to squeeze my arm. Her eyes were shadowed, but she didn’t look away.

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