Page 7 of The Twelve Knots of Christmas
“I’ve never been outside Wisconsin!” Emberlee giggled.
“Okay, girls.” Miss Eloise stuck her phone back into her coat pocket and tugged us away from the fir. “Give this young man some room to cut down the tree.”
“Thank you.” Balthazar dipped his head to her and waited until we were about ten feet away before approaching the tree.He knelt down and cleared away some snow from the base of the trunk before he started to saw. His arm worked back and forth with speed and strength. Muscles under his coat stretched the fabric and looked almost as hard as his expression.
In a matter of a few minutes, he had cut the tree down and hauled it to the van to lift it onto the roof. Miss Eloise gave him the tethers from the trunk and helped him secure her prize.
By the time it was all done, Balthazar’s face had lost its edge and he was grinning once again. It was one of those grins that said ‘I know something you don’t,’ and every time he flashed it at me, I squirmed with unwanted anticipation.
“Everyone back into the van.” Miss Eloise gestured to us before turning to Balthazar.
“I hear Stan returning with my snow machine. I’ll meet you back at the barn.”
Being an Omega, I easily recognized unspoken talk about propriety. While I did have my escort here now, the three of us girls were unclaimed. Having an Alpha crammed into an enclosed space like a van with us was not something a respectable escort would allow. Despite his grin, he didn’t try to push anything.
“Good, good.” Miss Eloise nodded and slid into the driver’s side. “Thank you for all your help. You’ve helped to make this Christmas extra special for us. Your mom raised a fine boy, and I’m headed to the barn to tell her so.”
I put Artemis in the back of the van and then took my seat in front of her. Emberlee hopped into the seat next to me as Lyla took shotgun. She had the longest legs out of the three of us, so no one ever complained she always got the front seat.
Balthazar waved to us as we headed off. Everyone waved back at him except for me, but I was the only one who turned in their seat to keep my eyes on him as long as I could. Damn, he was insanely good-looking.
When I righted myself in my seat and stroked Artemis’ head as she laid it on my leg, I reminded myself it didn’t matter how hot the Alpha was or if we might even be compatible. Nothing could happen. Even if I wasn’t leaving Wisconsin, I couldn’t stand to have my life controlled and be made to feel like shit again. I wanted nothing to do with any Alpha.
“Mariska.” Oh no. Miss Eloise sounded like she was about to lecture me.
“Don’t worry.” I knew exactly what she was going to go on about. “I didn’t ride on the snow machine with him. I was on the sled with Artemis. We didn’t even touch. Both of us were well behaved.”
“I had no doubt you would be. I just had to make certain. I didn’t think you might run into an Alpha on the road at the farm.” Miss Eloise shook her head, more at herself than me. “He did have his eyes on you girls a lot.” On me, she meant. “I didn’t see him close to any of you, but the scent test will tell. Anything, girls?”
“Nah. I thought he smelled like a sooty fireplace.” Lyla shrugged and glanced in the mirror back at me.
“I didn’t smell anything other than the pretty trees.” Emberlee tapped on her phone’s screen and wiggled happily in her seat. “Dad has the route planned. He said your idea is good, Mari. He’ll arrive Friday morning to pick me up.”
“That’s wonderful, honey.” Miss Eloise’s face softened, and she turned on the radio to pump ‘Winter Wonderland’ into the van. She and Lyla started singing, and I gave a silent thank you that she didn’t push the question of the scent test to me.
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I wouldn’t complain about the Christmas carols at the moment. This would be one of the last days we were all together, and I put my focus on enjoying it.
No way was I imagining those dreamy green eyes and big shoulders, or how easily Balthazar could pick me up and pin me against the wall as he ravaged me.
Nope. Not thinking about him at all.
CHAPTER FOUR - Jasper
I stuffed my hands deeper into my coat pockets and nodded with a grin to one of our employees as she went into the tree barn. My smile dropped once she was out of view. What the fuck did Balthazar think he was doing bringing an Omega here?
We didn’t mix work with pleasure, and no Omega should be on our pack’s land unless we knew she was one for us. The bastard was hurting for one though. How many had he dated in the past five years? Every single one of them was either boring or a gold digger. No thanks.
Lucian came out of the shop and walked toward me. He hummed along with the Christmas music and took up a position by the corner of the barn beside me. “Gorgeous day.”
It was, but we weren’t here to enjoy the mild afternoon.
“Are you not going to say anything about it?” Lucian swiped a hand through his pale blond hair. If he didn’t get as much sun as he did, he’d look like a ghost. “You have to be a little curious.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” I snapped and then huffed. It wasn’t his fault. “Sorry. Why is Bal springing this on us? If he was dating someone, I’d like some time to prepare before meeting her. God, she better not be like Danica. The first time she went into the barn and saw the bats snoozing on the rafters, she freaked out. When she demanded we kill them all and we refused, she never came back.”
“Or Rebecca? She never said no to anything we asked of her and agreed with everything we said. She was sweet, but all she wanted was access to our bank accounts.” Lucian chuckled. “We need to get in contact with the DNR about them finding someone to help with the bat colony. It’s grown too big for me to keep an eye on now.”
“I’ll get on it after the new year.” I dismissed the bat talk and swallowed the sour taste in my mouth about Omegas. We’d only get burned. Every fucking Omega had an agenda, and I wanted no part in their games. “ Does our pack really need an Omega? We have Liz, and my brother and his family live in Fond du Lac. They’re here all the time.”
