“You promise you will keep him in check?” Piper nods and smiles at the doctor. “Very well, the front desk will set up our virtual appointment.” He leaves, and Piper and I glance at each other.
“This place is magical,” she says, and I wonder who was more affected by this experience, me or her.
* * *
The drive isn’t long, but it feels like it as Piper drives and I sit in the passenger seat like an Omega prince—in silence.
Fuck it. I’ve got to say something.
“I could see you working at a place like that,” I say softly, and I mean it with complete honesty. Piper is so compassionate. She’s great with me, her best friend Charlotte, she would be a natural.
“You think so?” she asks, and it feels nice to hear her voice again.
“Definitely. I’ve never felt so heard before by a doctor. He wasn’t telling me to bond with you and shut the fuck up about what I want. He listened, adapted, and is going to actually help me.”
“I’m sure they don’t take on many residents at a place like that.”
“Probably not, but they would be missing out if they didn’t choose someone like you.”
Her eyes leave the road for a moment to look at me, and then she’s back to being quiet.
“I’m not sure I should live at the house. I think I should stay with Charlotte,” she says softly.
“What?”
“You heard what he said. We can’t do anything, and I could set off your heat at any moment. I’m trying so fucking hard to not hold your hand right now, Owen. How are we supposed to live together and keep our distance? I’ve never been allowed to have my own dream, and you do, and I want that for you so bad. I can learn to be patient, I can keep my distance so you can have this happiness that you need. But living together? I’m not sure I’m that strong.”
I reach across the dash and take her hand in mine. I rub my thumb along the knuckles of her fingers and sigh.
“I’m holding your hand, and I’m not begging you to climb over here and lock me. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. And I’m sorry that I’m putting you in this position. I’m being selfish, but please don’t move out.”
Her hand squeezes mine back, and she lets out an exhausted breath. “I’ll stay. Plus, Charlotte is due in the next couple of weeks. I would feel horrible crashing in on their family.”
“You know they wouldn’t feel that way. You’re never a burden.”
She’s quiet and contemplative for a moment before speaking. “I grew up in a house where I wasn’t truly loved, I was a legacy. The only thing my father wanted from me was excellence and to make sure I didn’t embarrass the family. Charlotte and her mom are the only people who have ever truly made me feel like I was loved and I was allowed to be myself. I’m working on it, but years of never being good enough doesn’t happen overnight. The years of not feeling worth someone else’s love don’t just go away either.”
I think about my own mother and how much she hates me playing hockey because I might get hurt. But she loves me so much that she supports me in my dream, how she’s always been there for me through everything. I can’t imagine not having that.
I give Piper's hand a squeeze and bring her knuckles to my lips and place a soft kiss on her skin. It was a complete risk, but I don’t go up in flames or have the need to jump her—well, at least that’s something.
I pull the bracelet out of my pocket. I had to pay Bram’s niece twenty-five dollars to make these for me. I’m pretty sure he told her to gouge me for every dollar. As soon as I clasp it around her wrist she smiles. It’s simple, stupid really, and I have its matching counterpart. Hers has lemons and strawberries on it and mine has cinnamon sticks and oranges.
“I know it’s not much, but I’m all in, Piper. I’m so lucky to be your scent match,” I tell her. It’s at that moment that the distance I created before closes. The closure of the way I treated her and pushed away is forgotten. She squeezes my hand back and smiles as she drives. I feel a little bit lighter and like I can actually be the Omega Piper deserves.
“The feeling is mutual.”
CHAPTER22
Ideserve an award. One bigger than the Stanley Cup for my strength and patience for living with both Piper and Owen. The tension in the house… is something.
We just had another string of away games and I’m pretty sure the entire team knows something is going on between Owen and I at this point. But there was no way I was letting him room with someone else while we were gone. One, because I’m a possessive asshole, and two, I’m becoming addicted to the moments when Owen truly lets his guard down and lets his Omega nature shine through.
It’s clear he’s been so good at masking his needs, but when we’re home or in a hotel room, he’s able to truly be himself. Like right now as Piper reads something on her tablet and Owen is lying on her lap while she strokes his hair mindlessly like it’s second nature. I rub my mouth and smile behind it. I’m not a psychic, but I’m pretty fucking sure I manifested this.
Are we doing everything a pack should be doing together? No. But again, I’m trying to be a patient man.
“What are you working on over there?” I ask Piper.
