It’s her. This is my mate. My Omega.
I fall back against my car, my shoulder jamming hard against the frame. It’s like an enormous weight has been lifted from my soul, and my body never knew it was there all these years. Now, I need to re-learn how to stand, how to move. How tolive.
“...I thought you were asleep.”
Her words are airy, distant, those chocolate eyes still wide and zeroed in on me.
“Huh?”
Oh, right. She heard me pull up and came out to find me just sitting in my car.
I shake my head, blink at her. “I-I’m Adam. I’m… Jasper’s…”
“Pack brother,” she breathes.
I nod wordlessly.
My heart constricts when she takes a couple of tentative steps forward, the skin around her eyes tightening. “I’m Adley.”
I nod again, like an idiot, then say, “I know. Jasper told me, but I also knew Aaron when I was working in Silicon Valley.”
Something flashes across her face at the mention of her brother. Something I don’t like.
I’d been a new hire, right out of Stanford with my master's, and Aaron was one of the only people who was actually nice to me when I arrived. I wasn’t at that company very long, though. I missed the quiet tranquility of my childhood home. I missed my brother and his family.
Striking out on my own was the best decision I ever made. BeyondBinary is still a growing app developer, but I make a good living. What’s more, I’m happier here.
And I’m about to be happier still with my Omega by my side.Soon.
“Jasper said you’ve taken over Jim’s sanctuary.” I do my best to change the subject, to steer her mind away from whatever thoughts brought dark storm clouds across her face.
A smile, at last, as she nods. “Did you know my Uncle Jim?”
“I did, in passing. I was born and raised here. Everyone knows everyone in some capacity.”
“I used to spend every summer here when I was a kid.” She squints at me then. “You look familiar.”
My brows jump in surprise. “I’d remember meeting you, Adley.”
Her cheeks grow pink in the orange light of the sunset. “Yeah, I’d remember you for certain, too.”
A thought occurs to me then. “My older brother and I look a lot alike. Maybe you met him. I was in boarding school a lot growingup, and then went straight to university. I didn’t always come back home during breaks.”
I leave out the part where I really couldn’t. How our parents were gone, and only just before I went to university did Ben move out of his tiny studio apartment so I'd have a place to come home to and stay a while.
“Maybe it was him, then. But… I wish I’d met you back then.”
My eyes grow hot, my vision begins to swim. I swallow hard against the emotions building in my chest. “Me, too.” She has no idea how much.
Adley holds her hand out to me with a smile. “Come inside with me.”
I take her hand without a second thought, close my car door, and let her lead me up the creaking wooden steps to the front porch. When her hand rests on the doorknob, she shoots me a quizzical look. “You’re not allergic to furry animals, are you?”
I can’t stop my chuckle. “I am not.”
And I’m thankful for that. I can feel the energy rolling off Adley in waves, the love and care, as she leads me through the house to a barking chorus of furry friends with waggly butts, some jumping with excitement. One giant black lab approaches me, sniffs my slacks, then looks up at me with eyes that melt my heart. I slowly put my hand down close to his snout, let him sniff and give me a quick lick, then gently run my hand over his head, feeling the soft fur along his big, floppy ears.
“That’s Crooze,” Adley tells me. “He’s a big boy, but he’s been very gentle, if a bit mischievous. Never leave any food you care about within his reach.”
