Page 77 of Talk About… History

ARDEN

Just like he promised, Mason pulled up outside The Omega Network right before five. She was beaming with a smile and looked carefree. Whatever they did definitely pulled her away from her work.

Her cheeks were flushed, smile wide, and eyes dancing with happiness.

Those gorgeous hazel eyes widened at the bouquet in my hands. She took them and breathed in the fragrance, tears welling in her eyes.

“These are gorgeous,” she whispered.

“Avery, what’s wrong?” Mason asked. He was just as startled as I was by the reaction.

Did I choose wrong?

“No, they’re perfect, you guys are perfect,” she said, taking a shaky breath and offering them to Mason. “Will you take them home and put them in water? I love them. Thank you.”

“They’re from the whole pack,” I explained. “Ford, Cohen, Mason, and I all wanted you to know we were thinking about you today.”

“Stop, I’m going to cry again,” she complained around a laugh, fanning her face. “You’re spoiling me.”

“As we should,” Mason said firmly. “Now give your alpha a kiss, I need to let Arden have you now.”

She giggled but leaned up on her toes to kiss Mason. My cock stirred at the sight of them, at seeing her so open to our pack, but tonight wasn’t about that.

Tonight was about getting to know each other, to spoil her and show her that a pack is so much more than bonds and bites, even though they were one of the most important milestones. We wanted her to know we were here when she was ready and that she could trust us with her heart.

She slid her hand in mine after waving goodbye to Mason. Her gaze lifted to mine, giving me her full focus.

“So, alpha, what do you have planned?”

“Well, I was thinking dinner,” I said. I’d been working on my plan all day and the owner of the Italian Restaurant, Il Giardino, was happy to rent me their back room and set it up just for us.

Apparently, Enzo was a romantic. He and his pack were happy to set us up, his omega going as far as printing off a special menu for the night.

Avery was confused when they lit up at the sight of us, ushering us through the restaurant.

When they opened the door to reveal it, I was just as stunned as she was.

The table was gorgeous, set with candlelight and a beautiful floral centerpieces. The other tables were removed so ours stood in the center of the room.

“We’ve prepared this table for you,” Enzo said, bowing slightly as we passed.

“This is gorgeous,” Avery gushed, letting out a little laugh as they placed a cold glass of champagne in her hand. She took a sip and groaned. “This is incredible.”

“Here is tonight’s menu, and we will be sure to check in often,” Enzo promised, giving me a secret smile after placing it on the table then leaving us alone.

“This is crazy, Arden,” she said, shaking her head as she took it all in again.

“It’s all for you, omega,” I said, pulling her close and claiming her lips. She melted into me, a small moan escaping before I helped her into her chair then took mine.

She looked even more gorgeous in the warm candlelight. Her black hair was shiny and her hazel eyes bright with excitement. She was clearly not used to this level of thought being put into dates but it only made me want to make this a tradition. She deserved the world.

“Did you see yourself staying in Rockwood Valley?” she asked as she took another sip of her champagne. Her cheeks were already flushing red and I made a mental note of asking for water or other drinks as well.

“When I first came here, I honestly wasn’t sure, but it didn’t take long to convince me that this was where I wanted to settle down. I love the work I do at the Network Clinic, and now I have every reason to never want to leave,” I said.

“What about your mom? You mentioned before she moved away, do you think she’ll visit?”

“Maybe, if not we could visit her. We text and keep in touch, but she’s very much in her ‘living her best life’ era and I don’t fault her for that,” I said. My mom was amazing, but she was a free spirit and I loved that she could enjoy that now.

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