“It’s okay, dear.” Gram winks. “I suppose I am.”
“Come on.” I link my arms through Gram’s, steering her way. “It’s this way. We need to catch up.”
“It was a pleasure to meet you all,” she calls out as I tug her away. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing more of you soon. Enjoy the rest of the rally!”
Relief spreads through me as we head off. All I have to do now is stay calm enough to break the news. Thankfully, the Tea House isn’t far, and when we enter, it’s quieter than the last time I was here.
“You really should have told me you were coming,” I say after we’ve placed our orders and sat down. “I could have planned something for us to do.”
“Nonsense!” She waves her hand. “Where would the surprise be in that?”
The barista brings over our mugs of Sakura cherry blossom white tea.
“Good.” Gram smacks her lips together after taking a sip. “Very good. I expect the blossom is from Tohoku.”
“You know your tea.” The barista nods slowly, clearly impressed.
“That I do,” Gram says as the barista leaves, carefully putting down her mug. “But I know my granddaughter better. As soon as we spoke on the phone, I knew something was wrong. I had to come check that you were okay.”
Gram claims she isn’t psychic, but sometimes, I think she may as well be, considering how well she reads people.
“There was this whole … thing…” I huff out an exhale. “A misunderstanding, but it’s all sorted now.” I speak in a garbled rush, stumbling over my words. “There was the Professor Grub incident, I was adjusting to campus, and?—”
“After you told me what happened, I’m using all Gregory Grub’s books to stoke the fire! And I’ve told all our customers to do the same.” Her kind face hardens. Gram is as sweet as a button until you get on her bad side. “You should have spoken to me about it. You know there’s nothing you can’t tell me.”
“I know,” I look down into my tea. “There’s something else too. I-I?—”
“You’re afraid of how I’ll react when I find out that you’re courting those nice alpha boys I just met?” She arches one eyebrow. “Were you going to wait until after you bonded to tell me?”
I splutter. “How did you?—”
“Seeing the way those boys looked at you was enough to give it away.” She takes my hand across the table. “That and Alice is always checking theValley Voiceblog. Apparently, the Silverwood Pack is courting a mystery first-year omega studying health botany." Damn Alice. I’ll have to have words with her the next time I see her. “You told me there was only one other omega in your major, and she’s already bonded.”
“All the murder mysteries your book club read are paying off, considering your sleuthing abilities,” I grumble, hanging my head. “I should have told you. I guess I just didn’t know how.”
“Courting a pack is a monumental moment in an omega’s life. Why didn’t you feel you could talk to me about it?” Her wrinkled fingers stroke my hand. “It’s always been the two of us against the world.”
“I know.” I squeeze her palm. “You’ve always been so protective of me, but after what happened to Mom with those alphas.”
“Oh, Hedgey.” She sighs and shakes her head. “I’m your gram. I’ll always be protective, but I know how our world works. Omegas and alphas get drawn together. It’s in your nature. Before you came here, I tried to prepare you as best as I could for what you may face. There was always a chance you’d find a pack. I didn’t think it would happen this quickly, but I know it was very unusual for your mother to fall in love with a beta.”
“I thought you hated alphas,” I murmur, keeping my eyes fixed on the bottom of my cup.
“I hate alphas who don’t support omega rights, alphas who treat omegas as objects, and alphas who think their designationgives them the right to take,” she corrects me. “Are the alphas you’re seeing anything like the brutes who killed your parents?”
“Of course not!”
“Exactly,” she replies. “The fact that they came to an Omega Unite rally tells me a lot about them.”
“I’m sorry for not telling you.” I’m hit with guilt, especially seeing how understanding she is. And maybe fear? “I guess I was afraid of what you’d think. I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me.”
“Disappointed?” She tuts. “I’ve never been prouder, Faye. You chose to come to Scent Valley University on your own—such a big place after living in Clover Hollow! You’re strong. Just like your momma was and more similar than you know. Did I ever tell you how she hid your father from me when they first started dating?”
“She did?”
Gram nods. “They snuck around for months. I only found out when I discovered your father dangling out of the upstairs window, in nothing but his briefs, in the dead of winter. I brought him inside and gave him a cup of tea to warm him up. After that, I loved him like a son.” She smiles wistfully at the memory. “Why don’t you tell me more about your pack? They must be pretty special to have caught your eye.”
“They are,” I reply, inundated with a relief that it’s now out in the open. “Actually, we’re scent matches.”
