“We have to keep warm, right?” he teased against my lips before one icy hand brushed over my cheek, holding me in place as he deepened the kiss.
“Unless you want to give this entire town a show, you better watch it, omega,” I shot back, nipping his lip before gasping asthe cart shifted, slowly rising up. It only stopped twice to fill the last two carts before we were moving steadily.
My hand stayed in North’s, the other gripping the side of the cart so I could lean forward and take in the view.
The town sprawled out below us in all its snow-clad glory. There were dots of glowing lights here and there outside of the town, but Pine Ridge itself was beautiful. Rows of Christmas lights sparkling against the winter night.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
As we started to lower, I looked over at the omega next to me, my heart slamming in my chest as I realized he was staring at me this whole time.
“I love you,” he said, tucking a stray strand of dark hair behind my ear. His smile was so gentle it made my chest ache.
My face was already set in a permanent smile, and it widened even further at his words.
“I love you, too,” I said, planting a quick kiss on his lips before turning back to the sights, laughing as we rose again, feeling so free and happy. My gaze shifted to the alpha below, and I gave a little wave.
My adorable mate waved right back, no shame.
It felt like nothing could ever tarnish or take away from how perfectly our pack fit together, how amazing they made moments like this.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt so alive.
When the ride stopped, my cheeks were bright red from the cold and pure joy was radiating from me. Cole caught me in a hug as soon as I stepped off, spinning me around and breathing me in like this small separation was just too much for him to bear.
As he set me down again, I put my hand in both of theirs. “Next? Your turn to pick, North.”
My omega thought about it as he glanced around at all the festival had to offer. Then his grin lit up as wide as mine was, before pulling me toward a giant slide.
Kids were sliding down in burlap sacks, but thankfully the attendant didn’t say a word when an omega wanted a turn.
He cleared the line of children before waving us forward. “Have at it,” the alpha teased, taking the offered tickets from North’s hand and handing us each one of the burlap sacks.
There were two lanes on the giant plastic slide, and we each took one, sitting down on the burlap before scooting forward enough.
“One, two,” North started.
“Three!” I yelled for him as we let loose, flying down the slide. We had quite a bit more momentum than the children thanks to our weight, practically crashing into the hay bales they had to stop our fall.
North fished me out of the straw, picking pieces of it off me before pulling my face to his. It was nice to know they couldn’t get enough of me, either.
“Where did Cole go?” I questioned as we stepped out of the ride area, looking around.
North frowned, doing the same before pointing him out. “Over there, by the hot chocolate.”
A few things happened at once. He started to walk forward when a gust of wind stole my scarf. I let go of his hand long enough to grab it before a crowd pushed through, forcing us apart.
I stood there, waiting for it to pass, trying to keep my calm, but something felt wrong.
My skin was crawling, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up, and I glanced around trying to find the source.
“Hello there, little omega. Did you miss us?”
Aspen
“What are you doing here?” I gasped, shoving at the hands gripping my forearm hard enough that I could already feel it bruising.
“Apparently, searching for you,” Luke said, his voice hard. Gavin and Trent were standing on either side, boxing me in now.
