You’re stronger than you think you are…Matias’s words were still bouncing around in my brain like a tennis ball.

Was I really? Or was he just giving me one of those motivational speeches you were supposed to give to someone when they were feeling down?

Matias was a great pack leader, and I couldn’t help but think he was just doing his duty by trying to pep me up and make sure everyone in his pack was happy, but at the same time, as I stared at the roses Tyler had brought me, I felt something stirring inside me.

I was an omega, and I knew that, but after being liberated from life under Kade’s cruel thumb, I’d been feeling like a fire had ignited somewhere inside me, and every time I saw Tyler, he was fueling the flames. The roses, for some reason, were really having an effect on me.

Maybe it was because no one had ever given me anything.

My father leaving me at such a young age really messed me up for a while, and I’d never allowed myself to really develop any trust for men. Every alpha who’d looked at me had been a potential threat, and what Kade had done to me had only confirmed my views.

Alphas were all out for themselves. They needed a place to bury their dicks, an omega to bear their child and fulfill their biological imperative, and that was it. Then they were gone. Your usefulness was over. At least that’s what I had believed.

But then I met Tyler, and even though my walls were still up, I knew that everything had changed. He’d flirted with me, showed me that he was interested and given me all the compliments I’d expect from an alpha who wanted to sleep with me, but the unexpected gift of the roses had caught me off-guard.

A gorgeous guy like Tyler could get any omega he wanted. He was tall, strong, handsome and looked like he’d just stepped out of a magazine. I’m sure he even had hordes of girls fawning over him, just begging to try and turn him straight. He lived in Portsmouth, where there was no shortage of dates, but still he was coming all the way up here to the camp to see me.

What could he see in a place like this? I’d never met his parents or been to his house, but I knew he came from money, and this camp was far from anything in his world.

Matias had been doing a great job fixing it up with help from Tate and the other members of the Scarlet Mountain Pack up north, but it was a far cry from the ski resorts he was used to, or the house he grew up in. The fact that he kept coming up here to visit me – that meant something.

Reaching into the box, I picked up one of the roses and twirled it around in my hand. It was beautiful. The complexity of the flower always amazed me. The stem was a rich green and felt strong beneath my hand, but it was also lined with thorns that could cut into my skin with ease.

Kind of like me, I thought, smiling to myself.

After everything I’d gone through, I wanted to believe I was stronger than I’d acted in my life thus far. I wasn’t an alpha, nor would I ever be, but when I looked at Matias, Charles, Dwayne or Tyler, I longed for the strength they seemed to possess.

No matter what happened, Matias managed to keep his head up. I’m sure he had his moments of doubt and insecurity, but Chase, his mate, would be the only one to ever see those.

And that’s what hurt me the most.

I had no one to share anything with. My grief, my sorrow, my loneliness…it was all mine. I had no one to talk to about the loss of my son or my desires for a family. It was the kind of thing you’d go to a therapist for, but of course we didn’t have anyone like that living here, and I was looking for more than that anyway.

I set the rose back down in the box, threw my coat over my shoulders and stepped out into the snow.

The camp was quiet as I made my way across the white expanse to the main building at the head of the driveway, the dining hall where we all had our meals together. The snow was mostly undisturbed, aside from Matias’s tracks that led from his cabin to mine.

I could see the flickering candlelight from his window, and knew he was in there with Chase and their beautiful new baby boys, Jeff and Graham. Twins. One blond and one brunette. A blessing that had warmed the spirits of everyone at the camp. It was bittersweet to me. On one hand, I was beyond happy for them, but on the other hand, seeing their new sons only made me think about mine…my lost baby boy.

Keeping my hand in my coat sleeve, I tugged open the door to the dining hall and shook the snow off before stepping inside.

The dining hall was spotless. Patrick, another omega and self-designated “pack mother,” had done his usual incredible job of cleaning the place up to a spotless shine after dinner. I crossed the hall and pushed open the kitchen door to find him in his usual spot by the stove, working on a pot of sauce for tomorrow’s meal.

“Hey, Nate!” he said with a grin as I closed the door behind me. “How are you tonight?”

I shrugged and half smiled. “Hanging in there. You?”

“Just working on this marinara for tomorrow,” he said, lifting a wooden spoon to my lips. “Thoughts?”

I really wasn’t in the mood for spaghetti sauce, but I didn’t want to be rude, so I stretched out my tongue and took a taste. As usual, it was delicious.

“Mmmm,” I replied. “That’s really nice.”

Patrick grinned from ear to ear. Nothing brought him more delight than feeding people and seeing their reactions. He was like an old Greek grandmother and was the primary reason we ate so well up here. Patrick could take an old boot, a stick of butter and some herbs and make a stew that would knock your socks off. We all told him he should open a restaurant, but none of us really wanted him to – we wanted him here.

“I’m going to make meatballs,” he said, raising his eyebrows and turning back to the pot.

“Hey, Patrick. Do you have an extra vase or a tall bowl or something?”

“A vase…” he mused. “Hmmm.”

“It’s okay if you don’t,” I told him as he shuffled over to the cabinets.

“No, I should have something here…” he said, moving things around. “Ah ha! Here you go. Will this work?”

He pulled his arm out and was holding a tall clear vase that looked absolutely perfect for Tyler’s roses.

“Yes! Thank you so much!” I said, taking it from him and bringing it to the sink. I filled it about halfway with water and smiled at him as I pulled open the door. “Have a good night, Patrick!”

“You too, Nate!”

I made my way outside and back to my cabin and closed the door behind me. The fire was still going, but I put another log on from the bundle Matias had brought me.

Setting the vase down on the end table by my bed, I reached into the box Tyler had brought me and removed the half-dozen roses. Smiling, I set them in the vase and stood back to admire them. They really did brighten the room up, and the flickering orange flames cast a warm glow across their petals that warmed my heart.

As I stared at them, I couldn’t help but feel like something was changing inside me. A determination to change was swelling within where before there had only been desperation.

Matias would never sit and wallow in his own misery. Neither would Charles or Dwayne or Tyler, or any of the alphas I knew. So why should I?

You’re stronger than you think you are!