Page 89 of Scent of Home

“Bray was with me, helping an omega through his first heat.”

“He shouldn’t be near an omega-”

My temper snaps. “HOW DARE YOU!”

Eustice reels back, blinking rapidly. Her hand clutches her chest as she blinks.

“How dare all of you! Brayson has lived here and suffered under the condemnation of an entire town based purely on your opinions of his family. That automatically makes him a bad alpha? And yet, you’ve done the same to me. My family was good, and you put me on a pedestal I could never come down from. It is exhausting being your scapegoat and your golden son. I’m tired of your bitching and you pushing me to fix your gardens, clean your houses, run the resort, attend plays and sporting events. I’m tired. This last week has been amazing, and I know what I want. I want something for myself.”

“The resort-”

“Is a lot of work and lonely,” I snap back at Alma.

Her eyebrows raise. “Spit it out then, son. Say what you have to say. We’re all listening. If you have a problem with how we’ve cared for you, then say so.”

The words are right there. If I dare. I can’t take them back if I say them. I won’t be able to. No, I don’t want to.

I meet Alma’s eyes and straighten my shoulders.

“Brayson Langley is my alpha. He’s part of my pack. I love him. I think I always have. He is a good, kind, honourable man, despite how this town and I have treated him.”

“What are you saying?” Willy barks out. “You taking up with him? Are you joking? You cannot be serious, Finn. Your mother would roll in her grave.”

“Yes,” I say simply. “I’m going to stay with him if he’ll have me. And you are all going to stop. Or I swear, I will take Shane, Erin, Locke, and Bray. I will close the resort, and we’ll go somewhere we can live happily together.” I pause. “And I don’t think my mother would be angry with me, right now.”

The whole diner is silent, watching me intently, so when someone moves behind me, shuffling footsteps, I hear it, and I know the sound. I turn and find a vulnerable Brayson staring at me.

“You love me?” So quiet a pin could drop. The townsfolk who have raised us both ping pong their heads back and forth.

I exhale roughly. “Yes.” The word rushes out of me. The truth I’ve hidden so long, I’ve denied for so long, can no longer stay buried.

Fear chokes me, but I can’t look away from him. It’s like a veil has been lifted. All those dreams, all the midnight wishes. And here I am confessing my love for him. My heart set to beat out of my chest and all the eyes of Twin Rivers watching it happen.

He nods his head and swallows a couple of times. “Let’s go. I’m keeping you forever now, golden boy. No escaping me now.”

Joy surges through me, and I throw myself into his arms. He catches me, lifting me off my feet as I bury my face in his neck.

“I’m sorry. Oh, fuck, Brayson, I’m so sorry. I was blind,” I whisper as tears fill my eyes. My voice trembles. I’ve never felt like this. Not this scared, not this happy.

“Me, too. I picked at you. I was cruel,” Bray whispers back. “Let’s get out of here!”

And suddenly, this town really can go fuck itself. I lift my face and kiss him. I choose him. It’s so simple.

He exhales into my mouth, and all the tension and resistance fades away. Bray kisses me like we’re the only two people on the planet.

Words hover on the tip of my tongue. Bond me. Take me. Make me yours. I manage to keep them inside, just.

I hear a slow clap and pull away to find Erin hidden at the back of the diner, her eyes twinkling as she makes her way towards us.

“That was beautiful. Let’s go have dirty sex and then pack our bags,” She teases. Bray pulls her into our hug and traces a finger over the strap of her emerald dress.

“Wait! You can’t be serious!” Alma protests.

Icy fury fills me. How dare they try to argue my feelings? “Oh, I am.”

“Don’t be daft, boy. No one here cares that you love Brayson. To be fair, most of us have had bets on when it would happen, anyway. You protest too much.”

I blink at her, stunned. “What?”

---