Blizzards and Brews (Holiday Hollow Omegaverse)

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Adam

I was done waiting.

Ever since Lindsay dropped the bomb that she’d dismissed that pathetic boyfriend of hers, I knew it was time.

We’d been patient. I’d been patient. But I couldn’t let us keep going through this song and dance that the four of us had found ourselves in.

Growing up, I knew immediately that Lindsay ‘soon-to-be’ Drake was the one for me, there wasn’t a single question in my mind. And when she and Dustin had gotten close in high school, taking their relationship to the next level, I thought for sure it was just the beginning of the next chapter of our lives.

Only she pulled away when our designations hit, spouting some bullshit about not being able to give us what we needed and it was better if we stayed friends.

What an absolute crock of shit.

Except instead of fighting for her and assuring her that wasn’t an issue, Ollie’s first heat had hit, and we had to scramble to the city to get him the help he needed.

By the time we got back, she’d erected a wall between us. It had taken an act of god to get us back together in some semblance of the pack I knew we were meant to be, and ever since then, she’d held us at arm’s length.

She’d come over and hang out like she always did, but she’d rarely spent the night, even if she did have her own room in our pack house. Hell, if she’d just accept the damn thing already, I wouldn’t have to worry my ass off like I was now, wondering where she was.

“She’s late,” Ollie commented, glancing at the clock. “She’s never late. Especially today, she knows how important this meeting is. Otherwise, we’d have postponed because of the weather.”

Janet, part of the town’s welcome wagon and one of everyone’s favorite moms, had put us in touch with a beer consultant who was going to help us launch our new line of winter brews. Having distribution outside the state was huge for us, and making sure our product and packaging was on point was crucial.

All of us were meeting here today to solidify a plan forward so that we could have the launch ready by the winter. Something our small town of Holiday Hollow went absolutely wild over.

“If Dustin wouldn’t have stopped me from putting that tracker on her car last year…” I trailed off, giving my brother a pointed look.

“Linds would kick your ass and I would have helped her,” Dustin said. “You know better than to come at her with all that alpha shit. That’s the fastest way to make her fly.”

He was right. My firefly was a hard one to catch.

“We’ll invite her back to the house for dinner tonight and pick up her favorite,” I told them.

“Do you think she’ll agree?” Ollie asked, his brow furrowing. “I don’t think I can take another heat without her, not even the clinic was much help last time.”

Before I could assure him, the door opened, wind whipping the chimes violently as our woman in question hustled in.

“Sorry! Sorry! I know I’m late,” she apologized. “Are they here yet?”

“You’re good, Linds,” Dustin assured her. “Take a breath, babe.”

He went to help her with her coat, putting it on one of the racks when I saw it, her scarf slipping ever so slightly before she put it back in place.

Within seconds, I was across the floor and in her space, pulling her into my arms, my nose confirming what I already knew as I buried my nose in her. All her gorgeous iris and amber scent was muted, covered with a woodsy scent that was certifiably alpha.

I couldn’t talk. Couldn’t speak, as I undid her scarf and stared at her neck covered in bruises and bites.

Never before had she’d come in here smelling like another alpha, and my instincts weren’t having it. A sickening feeling of dread washed through me as she tried to slip from my grip.

“Adam,” she warned.

“Did you want it?” I choked out.

Horror washed across her gaze as she realized what I meant.

“Yes!” she said quickly. “Yes, everything was consensual. I promise.”

Even though that was what I wanted to hear, it didn’t make it better.

I couldn’t let go of her, didn’t want to let go of her. I wouldn’t be able to take feeling her slip through my fingers again now, not when she was still carrying another alpha’s scent, his marks all over her skin.

Intentional marks that were meant to stake a claim. On my girl.

“Firefly–”

“Can we not do this now?” she begged, her brown eyes looking up at me pleadingly. She almost looked as raw as I felt.

The thing about Lindsay was that she never asked for anything. Not when she was sick, not when someone called out, not when she broke down. She asked for nothing. So, when she asked me this, her vulnerability on full display, a reprieve from the fa?ade she sometimes wore, I found myself nodding along.

“Later,” I relented. “You’re coming over tonight after this, no buts.”

“He already said he’d pick up your favorite,” Dustin piped in, giving her an easy smile.

Her eyes narrowed. “With extra rangoons?”

“What are we? Amateurs?” Ollie asked with a small smile.

“And that’s why you’re my favorite,” Lindsay beamed at Ollie. “For today at least.”

She patted her hand on my bicep that was still very much wrapped around her and looked at me pointedly. I relented, but not before I dragged my wrist against her skin, covering her with my scent as well.

“That will have to do for now, firefly.”

She rolled her eyes. “Why oh why couldn’t the three of you have a sister? At least then I wouldn’t be the only one knocking sense into you. I’m going to go to the back and get the flights ready for the consultant. They should be here soon, right?”

“Any minute now,” I nodded, watching as she disappeared into the back where we kept our storage and stills.

We all shared a look as she disappeared into the back. Ollie started to say something but I couldn’t talk, I needed to calm myself.

After a few breaths, I wasn’t any more centered than before. That scent lingered here, intertwined with hers, and I was about to lose my fucking mind.

An icy wind cut through the scents, dispersing them, and I glanced to the doorway to see a man walking in. He had a bit of a swagger to his step and a smile on his face. There was stubble on his chin but just enough to give him a rugged look.

“You must be Spencer,” I said with a nod, stepping toward him. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course, you have a great place here. I’m excited to get started.”

His green eyes widened as he breathed in and it wasn’t until he reached me that I realized why. Spencer’s eyes followed the direction of where my girl had disappeared into the back room.

He was the one who’d been with Lindsay. His scent was an exact match, that same warm, woodsy tone that was wrapped around her.

Dustin stepped up to my side, gripping my bicep to hold me in place. It wasn’t until then that I realized I was growling at this man.

“I didn’t know she was going to be here this morning,” he said. “I was told the owners were the Drake brothers.”

Dustin’s grip tightened on me. “She’s a silent owner. Does she know that you are the consultant Janet set us up with?”

“I hadn’t had a chance to tell her yet. Should I go?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m not saying I’ll leave Lindsay alone, but we can just end this business meeting here if we need to.”

He was blunt but honest, and that I could handle. Plus, I wasn’t going to win over Lindsay if I was an ass to her current…suitor. She wasn’t one to let just anyone mark up her neck like that. Even if the way the alpha was handling this so calmly was pissing me off.

She was never the type of beta to keep her words to herself and I didn’t want to rock the boat. If she had a problem with this man, she was more than capable of handling it, not that I wouldn’t have great joy in handling it for her.

“I’m going to check on her,” Ollie said from behind the bar, rushing into the back room before he could get close to our confrontation.

A few moments later, my girl stepped out of the back room with wide eyes. Her shocked laughter bubbled out of her as she sat the sampler flight on the bar.

“This is just my luck, isn’t it?” she muttered to herself as she shoved her blonde hair out of her face.

Despite her frustration, she was still gorgeous. I’d always loved Lindsay’s fire and it was starting to spark now. It would likely consume us all in its inferno by the end of this confrontation.

“I see you know each other,” I managed to say through clenched teeth. She let out a breath and nodded. I could already see she was afraid to hurt me but she would never lie.

“Spencer, they’re the men who I own this place with,” she started. “Ollie is in the back, Dustin, and Adam is the brute staring you down.” She gestured to us to show who was who and his calculating green eyes swung from one of us to the next before settling back on my beta.

“A pleasure to meet you. I’m waiting to see if I need to leave, angel,” Spencer admitted. “It’s clear that I’m walking into something more complex than everyone expected and I understand if we need to reschedule.”

I hated how unaffected he was. Now I just felt like I was being a jerk and overreacting.

She’d made it clear I didn’t have a claim over her. At least not in the way I’d wanted.

The thought had my chest aching, something I’d grown to live with as I gave her the time she needed.

Not anymore. This man was far too smooth and I knew if I didn’t go all in now, it would be over before it started.

Living without her wasn’t an option. She’d always been ours and she just had to face it now.

“No, stay,” I offered, my voice barely restrained and harsh but he just beamed at me and walked toward the bar to take a seat.

“I’ve heard good things around town about this place, and I was able to scope it out quietly last night. You have a good thing going here so far. Is this your seasonal selection in front of me, or is it your signature beers?” Spencer asked, fully in business mode. “I know we’re here to talk seasonal promotion, but if you already have a few holiday selections I’d like to know so I can complement them.”

“This is our signature, Ollie is coming with the seasonal options we have,” Lindsay explained as the doors swung open. “He’s the brewmaster with all the taste buds.”

Ollie walked over and set the other on the bar but stumbled, the beer spilling. Spencer jumped back before he froze as well, quickly coming to his senses to help my brother.

“Well, this is interesting,” he purred, as my brother’s caramel-marshmallow scent intensified. “I’m Spencer.”

“Ollie,” my omega brother whispered as he stared from her to Spencer and back again, his head swiveling continuously until she moved closer and pushed her shoulder against his. Ollie settled immediately at Lindsay’s touch and Spencer let out a slow chuckle.

“You didn’t tell me you were with a pack, Lindsay,” Spencer started but she shook her head a bit too quickly for my liking.

“We’re family, but not quite a pack,” she said quickly. That caged, panicked look was back.

She was infuriating but worth the frustration. I knew damn well she wanted this, wanted us. It was just more designation bullshit.

“She’s pack,” I said firmly, my eyes daring her to argue with me. It had slipped out and her lips parted into a gasp but she recovered quickly.

“Anyway, these are our seasonal,” Lindsay said, rushing into a quick explanation. I guess we were playing this like usual, with impressive avoidance.

Spencer chuckled but refocused on the beer, taking out a notebook as Ollie hastily wiped up his mess. The alpha’s fingers brushed over Ollie’s and there was a whisper that made my brother blush before he started tasting each one, asking all the right questions, and taking a few notes.

What the actual fuck was happening?

The tension was still hanging strong in the air as Dustin dragged me closer to the bar and shoved me in a stool several away from the other alpha, putting himself between us.

It wasn’t like I was a feral animal. I wasn’t going to attack him but now things were even more complicated than I could have imagined.

He was not just catching Lindsay’s eye, it seemed he was likely scent-matched to my brother.

There was no getting rid of this man now.

I was just unsure where this would go from here. Having multiple alphas in a pack was a delicate balance, and I had no idea what this guy was thinking. If I thought it was a mess before, it had nothing on this situation.

Oh, we were definitely talking tonight. Whether my beta wanted to run or not. At some point, she had to realize running wouldn’t change the facts.

That she was mine.

Ours.

And no one was going to get in the way of that.