Page 12 of The Twelve Knots of Christmas
I mostly had self control.
Dammit. Why did I want to hold him and reassure him that it was okay?
CHAPTER SIX - Lucian
I inwardly flinched when Mariska snapped at me. It was my own fault. I tried to strike up a conversation, but I went about it in the wrong way. I wasn’t a smooth talker like Jasper or naturally likable like Balthazar. When I said I got along better with animals sometimes, I meant the vast majority of the time.
Balthazar had talked about nothing except Mariska all week. He wanted us to call on her at Primrose House—and we knew she lived there because Liz knew Eloise—but Jasper refused to budge on the subject. He was right that we should let her be because she was leaving the state, but I couldn’t get her out of my head either.
And now I was fucking this new chance up.
If Balthazar thought I screwed up any shot our pack might have with Mariska, he’d be furious. He had been trying to find an Omega for us for a while now, but none of them had ever been the right fit. Mariska was a scent match for all of us, and none of us could deny our attraction to her. Of course there was a lot more to consider, but this was one big step in the right direction.
Other than the fact she was moving to California at the end of the month.
I followed behind her, trying to make sense of all my conflicting thoughts. Balthazar believed we could convince her to stay, and Jasper wanted to forget about her. I found it impossible to get her out of my head since we met, and while I had been happy to accept an Omega into our pack before, I found myself suddenly wanting it as badly as Balthazar because of Mariska.
She walked confidently through the snow with Artemis trotting along beside her. Just by the way she was dressed and how she knew where to step told me she was a girl comfortableoutdoors. Plus, she was an environmental tech. She was smart, scientifically minded, and cared for the natural world.
All of this greatly appealed to me, but was I the Alpha who could convince her to join our pack?
Mariska made a sudden stop and turned. Her amber eyes shimmered with concern. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make it sound like you didn’t know your job. I’m sure you’re very capable, but…”
As her voice trailed off, I wanted to embrace her and let her know everything was all right. “Don’t worry about it. I understand it’s a surprise to see me here. You’re an Omega, and I’m an Alpha. You must feel anxious about that fact. I don’t know why they paired us up, but I’m glad for it. You have nothing to worry about from me. You’re absolutely safe.”
Fuck. Did she think I didn’t find her desirable now? Did I insult her rather than reassure her?
A thousand different things I could have said whirled around in my head. Instead, I pushed forward like an idiot with my job credentials. “I completed my arboriculture degree at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. I did my internship with Silver Tree Farm and stayed on afterward. Since we do landscaping for several big homesteads and businesses, I’m sometimes called on to do an independent contract. This is my first for Blue Skies. I’ve not been to this site before, but I’ve helped at other farms in the past.”
Slowly, Mariska blinked once.
Twice.
Yup, I should have just kept talking to the dog.
She nodded slowly. “Marion University graduate. Environmental sciences degree. I interned at Blue Skies and stayed too. My focus is on birds and bats and improving the environment for them around the turbines.”
Now this was my sort of conversation. “I admit I don’t know much about wind turbines themselves. We’re considering getting a trio of turbines at the farm, but we’re pulled between that and solar panels. It would help to know what benefits the turbines would have over the panels and, with our many acres and diversity of wildlife, how turbines would affect the environment.”
Mariska perked up and described the pros and cons of turbines over solar energy as we walked to the first set of trees. I kept asking her questions, loving the excitement in her voice, as I conducted my survey of the copse.
We continued on to the second and then third ones. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold, and her eyes shone with more gold as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds. I’d never found a soul so beautiful just from one conversation, but she was an intellectual goddess with a compassionate heart.
There had been physical attraction right away, but now I was absolutely convinced Mariska was the one. She was our Omega.
It was ridiculous to think of such a thing. We’d really only just met. But fuck, I couldn’t help how I felt. The problem was how to convince her she belonged with our pack. She was very focused on her work. Not only was she good at it, but she loved it. How could we compete against her dream job?
As we approached the fourth and final copse of trees, I slowed my steps, not wanting for the morning to end. My heart beat harder and my mouth was dry. I had to think of something, anything, but would I be enough to lure her to becoming our Omega?
“Your farm would be the perfect candidate for wind turbines. I personally think solar panels are more suited to residential and city sites. Turbines are way more efficient and collect more power if you have the land to position themcorrectly.” Mariska was working toward her final arguments when I stopped and let out a long exhale at the sight of the poor trees. “What?” She looked back and forth between me and the barren limbs. “Is there something wrong?”
“These are ash trees, and they’re badly infested.” My heart grew heavy with the knowledge that they likely could not be saved. The file on this site had not indicated any arborist had inspected the trees before, and they were lucky these trees were still standing.
“With emerald ash borers?” Mariska asked and I nodded, moving up to the trees. “How can you tell? Usually the only way I can tell is in the spring and summer if there is canopy dieback. The last time I was out here…” She tapped on her tablet’s screen and frowned. “Was at the end of March. So I wouldn’t have been able to tell myself.”
“Come here.” I gestured to her as I ran a hand slowly along the trunk. “See how the bark is split and cracked? This isn’t from the cold.” I easily removed a piece of bark and pointed to the tunnels the invasive insects made. “You can tell emerald ash borers made these because they wind like a snake. And these little D-shaped holes,” I pointed a couple out. “The adults emerge from them. Higher up, you can see where the woodpeckers have been at these trees. If you looked at where they drilled, you’d find they know where the borer tunnels are too.”
Mariska stood on her toes, leaning in beside me to look more closely. Her sweet vanilla scent sent a rush of warmth through me and had my cock hardening in my jeans. I glanced down at her neck.
