1. Avery

Chapter one

Avery

I step through my front door, shaking the snowflakes from my hair as I go. The warmth of my house starts to sink in and I let out a long breath, letting my body relax after a long day of working.

Chloe just had her baby two weeks ago so I’ve been over to her house frequently, making sure that she’s recovering and doesn’t need anything for the baby. On top of that, Mrs. Bentower, from across town, came down with the flu so I’ve been checking up on her. I’m hoping she actually listens and stays home so this bug doesn’t spread to the kids because once one of the kiddos has it, everyone is doomed to get it as well. Then I’ll be running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to soothe worried parents and reminding them that they just need to let the flu run its course.

I hang up my coat and kick off my shoes. I walk straight to my bedroom and strip out of my clothes, tossing them into my hamper before getting into the shower. I always like to shower the day away. It’s one of the ways I finally allow myself to relax, like the water is washing everything else from the day down the drain. I can leave it behind and focus on just being Avery instead of the pack medic.

It’s been a long day. Hell, it’s been a long month. I might even admit it’s been a long year.

I take my time in the shower, letting the hot water soothe my aching shoulders. Eventually, they fall away from my ears. There’s nothing I would rather do in life than serve as our pack medic, but sometimes it just gets to be too much. I’m only one man, taking care of everyone. It’s so much, but at the same time, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Once the water starts running cold, I get out of the shower, dry myself off, and walk into my bedroom.

“Avery? Are you here?”

“Fuck,” I gasp out in shock, not even hearing the front door open. “I’m in my bedroom! But don’t come in,” I call out before Ellie walks into my room. “I’m naked!”

I can hear my best friend right outside my door. “Tell me when your naughty bits are covered.”

I shake my head in amusement. Trust Ellie to make me smile after a long day. She’s the best friend I never knew I needed in my life until she fell into it. The moment she joined the pack, she somehow knew I was an introvert in need of being adopted by an extravert. We’ve been inseparable ever since.

“Okay,” I tell her, opening my door in nothing but my boxers. “My bits are officially covered.”

“Thank Zeus,” she says dramatically, running into my room and flopping herself down on my bed. She lays on her stomach, her face in her hands. She kicks her feet back and forth as she watches me get dressed. “You know, if we weren’t both gay, we’d make a pretty bangin’ couple. We’re both hot as fuck. You’re a pack medic, I’m a hairdresser. We would be unstoppable.”

“There’s nothing stopping us from getting married for the meme.”

Ellie wrinkles her nose, startling a laugh from me. “I love you, Avery, but I could not be married to you. I would end up throttling you with your dirty socks.”

“Wow, and here I thought we could be a match made in heaven! Imagine how beautiful our babies would be!”

Ellie pauses, tilting her head to the side. “Wait, you’re onto something. We could make you carry our babies instead of me,” she says slowly before I throw my dirty socks at her. “Okay, okay! I’m sorry!”

“You’re the worst,” I tell her but I’m grinning so wide my cheeks hurt. It’s so nice being around her.

“I’m the best and you love me dearly!”

“Yeah, whatever.” I finish getting my clothes on before pulling Ellie from my bed. We make our way through my house to the kitchen. She laces her arm around mine as we walk.

“What’s for dinner?”

“You come to my house just for the food, I swear.”

“No! I come for the company! Your cooking is just an added bonus.”

Ellie jumps up onto my breakfast island counter, watching me as I get to work on dinner. I pull out the ground beef that’s been defrosting in my fridge along with some tomatoes, onions, peppers, and some cans of beans. All the fixings for chili, the perfect thing on a night like tonight where it’s starting to get cold and frosty overnight.

“Chili? Can you make mine--”

I cut her off as I pick up a mini pot and set it on the stovetop. “Without beans? No worries, Ellie, I know what you like.”

“This is why you’re my bestie,” she says with a grin.

I take out a bottle of wine, pouring us both a glass before starting to chop everything up for the chili. We make easy conversation, filling each other in on our days.

“So,” Ellie says slowly, “has your mother still been on your case?”

I let out a long sigh. “Yes,” I tell her. “She just won’t stop! I’m doing just fine on my own, thank you very much.”

“You are,” Ellie agrees. “But I also get why she’s pushing you so much. She wants you to have someone the same way she has your father.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I murmur, tossing more ingredients into my giant pot, making sure to take a couple huge spoonfuls out and ladle it into the mini pot. “I get it, I really do. They have a wonderful relationship but life is more than mating and babies.”

“You’re not wrong, but life is also about connections and relationships.”

“Don’t start,” I say with a long sigh. “Pretty soon you’re going to be telling me you’re on her side. Then I’d be forced to denounce our friendship.”

Ellie giggles, shaking her head. “Never. I’m always on your side, Avery.”

“Why can I sense a giant but coming?”

“The only giant butt in the room is yours,” she says with a chuckle. I turn around in order to glare at her which only makes her giggle even harder.

“It’s a nice ass!”

“Yes, and it deserves the proper attention by someone other than your own hand,” Ellie says, her face bright red from laughing so hard. I would smack her if I didn’t adore her so much. We’re so different but that somehow makes our friendship work. She brings out my adventurous side and I help mellow her out.

I dump the jug of vegetable juice into the pot before turning around and giving Ellie my full attention. “Let’s hear it. I wanna hear about the other giant but in the room.”

Ellie sets down her wine glass. “I get that you’re not interested in Aiden.”

“Just because he’s pack alpha doesn’t mean I want to fall at his feet and be his omega,” I say right away before Ellie can say anything else. “My mom has been trying to play matchmaker for years now but refuses to even entertain the idea that I’m not interested! ‘But Avery, he’s so dreamy and fit and is a wonderful alpha to the pack. Any omega would be so lucky to have his attention!’ Like okay, why don’t you try to date him then?”

I didn’t even realize how upset the topic was making me until now. I pick up my wine, tossing the rest of it back in one gulp.

“Wow,” Ellie breathes out, her eyes wide.

I wince at my outburst. “Sorry.”

“No, no. That was good, Avery. You’ve been holding that back for too long.” She gets off the counter and hugs me tight, squeezing me until I let out a squeak like a dog toy. Then she pulls back and puts her hands on my shoulders. “For the record, I will always be team Avery. No matter what.”

A little smile stretches across my lips. “Thank you.”

“Just because you’re not interested in Aiden, doesn’t mean you have to be alone forever. Okay?”

I nod my head. “Yeah, okay.”

“Good. I’m glad to be right once again.”

“Ass.”

Ellie chuckles as she gets back up onto the counter, her designated spot for the night. “I have a gift for you. You’ve been working way too hard and I’m starting to worry you’re willing to burn yourself completely out.”

“A gift? It’s not even Christmas yet.”

“I know that, but I figured you’d wanna be home for Christmas, so I needed to get you something early.”

Ellie pulls something out of her back pocket, carefully unfolding it. She hands it over to me. Opening the paper, I realize it’s a reservation to a lodge driving distance away from the pack land.

“A reservation to a lodge?”

“Yeah. You’ve been working yourself into the ground, Avery. You need some time away from the pack, just to breathe and be by yourself. I know you’re not like me, you need alone time to recharge. This will give you that.”

“Are you coming with me?”

“Nope. You’re going alone. And if you happen to meet a handsome man while away, you can give me an epic thank you speech at your wedding.”

I stare down at the paper for a long moment, unable to pinpoint exactly what I’m feeling. On the one hand, I could really use some time away. But the bigger part of me worries about the pack and what will happen if I’m away. What if someone gets hurt? What if someone needs me?

“I can see you overthinking this,” Ellie says, kicking my hip. “Accept this. You won’t be too far so if a disaster happens, you’re just a phone call away. But nothing will happen and we’re more than capable of going to a human hospital for one week.”

“But what if--”

Ellie cuts me off. “But what if this is the exact relaxation you need? What if you meet the man of your dreams? What if you’re able to pet a reindeer?”

“A reindeer?”

Ellie shrugs. “Could be kinda cool, I don’t know.”

A war of emotions plays inside of me until finally, tentative excitement wins out. “Fine,” I finally say.

“Fine? You’re in? Or fine, you’re going to marry me and make me the happiest woman in the world?”

I shove Ellie off the counter and onto the floor as I explain I accept the gift. Now I just have to prepare the pack for my vacation. That shouldn’t be too difficult, right?