Chronically

One

I had been asked over and over if I really wanted to do this... If I was sure that the pack could take on another omega... A chronically ill one at that... But both of our current omegas, Evan and Tracey, had come from the registry, and the twins are absolute gems.

When they had first gotten here they were both a bit shy, but now after spending the last couple of years with us they are well aware that they are home, and that they won't ever have to be left twisting in the wind like they had been when their first pack surrendered them...

Both of them currently struggling to balance their college lives and wanting to stick close to home because they've come to love being here with us so much... And I just want to be able to extend that to another omega who needs that... An omega that needs a real home.

It's not that I'm not aware that the health issues outlined on the informational packet I had been sent after I had learned of Julian are kind of scary with how serious all of it sounds...

But I know that a peaceful home will be good for him... His cabin already set up with as much comfort as the pack could muster as a whole...

The placement of it closest to my wing of the main house in case he needs anything, but still far enough away that he doesn't feel like he's too far from the rest of the pack, their cabins all scattered about on the isolated territory we had traded for a couple of generations ago... The snow when it hits us in the wintertime turning our pack into a painted card depicting a Christmas village...

Exactly the kind of place that's good for the soul..."

Which is exactly what Kendrick, the case manager we work with at the Omega Registry. thinks Julian needs...

The calm... The quiet... And the ability to enjoy nature whenever he pleases... The springtime here mellow, the summer never harsh... The autumns beautiful... And the winters magical... For someone who has it rough as Julian has lately... His pack surrendering him because they didn't have the resources to care for him... All the uncertainty and stress probably making his condition worse... I just hope he isn't too nervous about coming to stay with us as someone special.

I had wanted to go with Delaney to pick him up from the airport, but we had been warned that he's a little Alpha shy and that I should give him some space to settle in and start feeling at home before introducing myself instead of bum-rushing the poor guy when he gets off the plane... Kendrick having told me over the phone this morning that Julian had ended up needing an antihistamine before boarding because he was so filled with anxiety over meeting his new pack that he had broken out in hives...

So instead, I've stayed home and tried to focus on what needs to be focused on...

Which this morning, was fixing the heat in one of the cabins...

And at the moment... Is figuring out if we should have a welcome home party for our new pup or if we should just let him settle in quietly and get to know everyone in his own time..

I have a feeling that the party might be a bit overwhelming... But a pack dinner a couple of weeks from now might be nice... We could set up some tables and fairy lights outside and autumn would be in full swing so it would be cool and full of crisp fall colors to set the mood.

It really is something that I should give more focus to, but I can't seem to concentrate... Because it's nearly an hour later than when Delaney should have been back with Julian in tow and I'm worried that maybe something bad has happened... The roads up the mountain are a bit steep, and I always worry whenever we end up having to send anyone to the nearest town because it can be hard to get back... Or maybe Julian had an issue once they got in the car... Delaney's text message saying that he had Julian and that they were on the way home... And that had been nearly two hours ago...

Before I can pull out my phone to text my Beta and figure out what the hell is going on he ends up letting himself into my office, the scents sticking to him making my eyes go wide for so many different reasons... The stink of the airport is all over him... But nearly completely masked by the smell of weed... And a very distinct warm scent of cinnamon and spice that makes my heart pound...

A smile on his face that tells me he has an explanation for both his lateness and why he smells reeks of weed when I know he knows that he's on duty at the moment and that there would be no way I'd be okay with him smoking while working, much less when that work involves driving down to the airport to pick up a new pack member and bringing them back.

"So don't be mad, Harri..." He starts out with his hands in the air, his ass sliding into the seat positioned in front of my desk, his eyes apprehensive as he tries to calculate whether or not the look on my face means that I'm upset with him when really all I am is confused... And dazed...

My office filling itself with the odd combination of smells and overwhelming me... That scent of cinnamon and spice... He had been in proximity with someone important..."The kid was pretty shy about even asking in the first place and I didn't want him to feel put on the spot about me stopping and texting you... And he did have an actual medical card on him..."

"What?" I don't mean to actually snap at him but I want him to spit out what he needs to say so I can ask him where he got that smell to stick to his clothes... I need him to hurry up so I can ask my own questions...

"I took Julian to a pot shop... He uses weed as medicine, and said that Kendrick should have already mentioned it to you." The second part slips from Delaney's lips as if he feels guilty about it... My relief coming in the form of knowing that I can still trust Delaney not to smoke on the job when the job includes driving.

But the thing is, "Kendrick did not tell me... But Julian's file says he turned twenty-one a few weeks ago, and it's legal here. What shop was it though? One of the shifter run ones?" It takes a shrug of my shoulders to dismiss Delaney's fear, and he finally drops his hands now that the skunky smell clinging to him has been explained.

"I mean yeah. It would be kind of useless to take him to a human pot shop, wouldn't it? The shifter shops have strains that actually work for us and not all of the human shops do... Or at least that's what I've heard..." The fact that Delaney still doesn't think I know that he sometimes smokes when off duty always makes me roll my eyes, "Why?"

"What one was it?"

"The one on thrid street, it's only a block away from the airport." Delaney's lips don't hesitate as he answers me, my fingers snagging a pencil out of the cup of them on my desk so I can jot down the information, his curiosity showing in the way he changes his tone of voice, "Why do you wanna know, Harrison?"

The way that my Beta says his words... It makes me look up at him over my reading glasses... A smile slowly starting to tug on the corners of his lips... "You smell something you like?"

I have to stare at him for a moment... My eyes narrowing at him as he leans back in his chair away from me, "Is it the cinnamon? Cause It's not from the pot shop and you already know you need to give Julian time before you introduce yourself... He mentioned that the van smelled like vanilla and honey and that would be you, my friend."