“Uh, huh, and I can’t ski,” Elliot says.
With Elliot and Forrest’s size, we can’t all fit on the quad, and I decide to go with Wells because everyone keeps picking on my poor little angel.
“You’re a good teacher, baby,” I tell him and he puffs out his chest.
“I am. Mitchell Pack said I taught them more in a day than they had learned in a week with another instructor,” he says proudly.
“No matter who wins, everyone gets to take me on private trips this year, it’s an Omega bonding requirement.”
Wells clicks his tongue and looks back at the lift behind us.
“That fucking asshole played me, didn’t he?”
I don’t confirm or deny and when we get to the top of the slope, Wells takes a lot of my weight as we get off of the lift.
When I see how steep the run is to our left, I’m automatically shaking my head.
“Hell no. Put me back on the lift,” I tell Wells and he rolls his eyes.
“As if I’d risk the most precious piece of me on a blue run. I’ll carry you down,” he says, and I arch a brow at him. He gasps, clutching his chest. “Do you doubt the love of your life who happens to be a winter games Olympic gold medalist can’t carryyou down a simple run? First my pack brother betrays me and now my Omega?”
I sigh as Forrest and Elliot get off the lift behind us. Elliot has a shit-eating grin on his face and Forrest looks amused.
“Take princess’ skis. I’m taking her down the mountain,” Wells proclaims, and I don’t waste a second digging my poles into the back of my skis and popping them off. I don’t even have to bend over to grab them, Forrest does it for me. “New bet,” Wells says, as he grabs me by the back of my legs. “If I beat you down to the bottom while carrying Claire, then I get her all to myself tonight and since you can ski, you dirty liar, we have to do a pack brother ski trip out west.”
“You literally won gold in Alpine racing. Why the fuck would I?—”
Wells doesn’t let him finish as he shouts the word go and suddenly I’m holding on to him for dear life as he treks it down the slope. I close my eyes so tightly that I’m seeing spots. Meanwhile, Wells hums a song happily, as if we couldn’t potentially tumble to our deaths right now.
It’s only when we come to a stop that I open my eyes and watch as Elliot and Forrest are catching up from a distance. Wells puts me down, sliding up his goggles and giving me a wide smile.
“I told you nothing would happen,” he says, and that’s the moment I officially retire from skiing.
Wells pouts, but is excited to get back out there with Elliot. They make a few more bets and I shake my head as Forrest takes me to the lodge and gets down on a knee to take off my boots. We spend the rest of the day at the resort, not doing anything remotely physical, and I couldn’t be happier.
Hours later they join us in the hot tub at the resort and I declare that I’m more of an après-ski Omega.
“You can be our little après princess all you want,” Wells says with a kiss to my temple.
“You made the right call tapping out, baby,” Elliot says, resting his head on the lip of the tub as fat snowflakes trickle down from the sky.
“Whatever our Omega wants,” Forrest says, rubbing the back of my neck and I happily sink into the water.
Those are the magic words and I know exactly what I want and that’s my pack, naked and writhing in my bed. My scent must give me away because before I know it, I’m being ravished in my nest just like I deserve.
Chapter 42
Wells
Epilogue 2
4 years later
“Melody Grace,do not lick the snow,” I tell our three-year-old daughter, who defiantly swipes out her little tongue and licks the snow in her gloved hand.
She definitely takes after her mother in looks and getting what she wants. She has us wrapped around her tiny finger almost as much as Claire does. Her cherub cheeks are pink and I know she’s about sick of skiing for today. Meanwhile, her twin brother is tugging on my pants leg, ready to go back out.
Melody plops onto the snow, her teddy bear balaclava falling back as she lets the most petulant groan fall out of her mouth.