We put everything down and I sank onto the plush rug behind it, facing the TV that someone had clicked on.
“What kind of things do you watch, Aspen?” Jack asked as he picked up the remote, looking at me expectantly. “Are you the Hallmark Christmas movie kind of omega? I know some of you can’t resist those sweet pack moments.”
I narrowed my eyes playfully. “There is nothing wrong with watching wholesome, sweet movies where the girl finally finds her pack. Or those beautiful second chances. But that’s not all I watch.” My voice came out a bit too defensive, making him laugh.
He held his hands up. “I promise I wasn’t judging. I was just asking. Those are North’s favorite anyway.”
I glanced at North and raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Like you said, can you blame a guy for wanting to watch the small-town antics and packs meeting up in the most cliche but satisfying ways?”
“Kind of like ours,” Cole said, giving me a secret smile, both of us remembering the moment I literally plopped myself in his lap, clad in a Santa suit, then kissed him breathless.
Then he sobered, his expression shifting into something questioning. I knew exactly what he wanted to say.
“Speaking of which… I think I need to give you guys a bit of an explanation of how she and I met. We don’t want to start our lives as a pack with lies,” Cole said carefully.
North and Jack both froze, eyes darting between us.
“It’s nothing bad,” I reassured them. “It was just a little white lie that got out of hand.”
“It was my fault, really,” Cole jumped back in, trying to take the blame instead.
“Why don’t you stop bouncing blame back and forth, and start from the beginning? Tell us what the fuck is going on,” Jack said.
Neither one of them had moved an inch, both braced for impact, as if expecting the worst.
“So, I’m sure you heard about the Christmas party that Karina went to as Cole’s date,” I began.
“Yes,” Jack agreed carefully. “The one where she met you for the first time.”
“It was also where I met Cole,” I said, rushing out the words.
“Wait,” North said, clearly confused. “How did you just meet? You were engaged. Was it arranged or something?”
“No. I was too big of a baby to disappoint Mom, and frankly, the opportunity arose and I took it. Plus, the moment I saw Aspen, kissed her, I knew I couldn’t let her walk away.”
“Now that part I understand,” North said. “The rest, not so much.”
“I should probably start with… it was also my wedding day,” I said with a sigh, before explaining the details from start to finish—how awful Sadie and Darcy were, and how I ended up running away after finding them cheating.
My grand escape sounded even more ridiculous when I explained it out loud, but these were details they deserved to know.
North and Jack were silent again by the time I finished, and I was a bit embarrassed to relay all the details.
I shouldn’t have worried, their reaction was a shared look of disgust and rage.
“They fucking cheated on you?” Jack snapped, angry on my behalf.
“With the girl they told me not to worry about,” I confirmed. “I guess I should’ve worried.”
“They did you a favor,” North said. “At least you finally found out the truth, and not ten years down the road.”
“I did. Thankfully, there were also resources in place at the Omega Network to help me get my things from their place since I was partially moved in. I’ve also got a bunch of stuff in storage and only one month left on my lease, so that’ll be a problem for after the holidays,” I said with a shrug, as if it were no big deal. I think they saw right through it.
“We’ll figure that out,” Cole reassured me before turning to his brother and North. “We’re sorry for lying to you. But I was a coward and didn’t want to hurt Mom’s feelings when she caught us. She needed an escape,” he said, gesturing to me. “I figured it was a win-win situation.”
“He told her I was his fiancée, and I went with it… and then it became very, very complicated. We didn’t want to lie to you guys, but we haven’t really had a chance to explain more until now. Please don’t be upset.”
