Chapter Text
You don't know me, but I need to tell someone about my journey that led me here, just as I suppose it did for you. Now I find myself near the high mountains covered in pine, oak, and walnut trees. Vast swaths of land, begrudgingly giving up its timber. It feels so much like my own life that I left behind.
~
Lexa scanned the delicately written words in the note she found a week ago while walking in the woods near her cabin. The author had carefully wrapped it in leather, tied it shut with twine, and left it hanging from a branch. Lexa didn't know why the message should resonate with her so personality, but it was like the person spoke directly to her.
Gustus, her foreman, and a good friend, caught Lexa reading the note while on her lunch break from clearing brush from behind his home. She quickly shoved the paper into her pocket, though he sensed enough through her silent embarrassment and playfully suggested that it was just the fairy forest folk who left messages to the lovesick wanderers. Lexa heard about the legend before from the other lumberjacks and didn't believe them or Gus, but perhaps it was someone playing a joke on her. Nothing in the note indicated anything about love. Although, if she were honest with herself, it had crossed her mind. Logically it wouldn't be wise to take it personally because anyone could have found the note. It just happened to be her. Still, the playful side she kept hidden couldn't help but feel special that she was the one who discovered the message and wondered what it meant.
The author was correct. Her journey led her here almost three years ago. Fresh from college and into a career in a private equity firm, she was bright-eyed and eager to make a lot of money until her life began to fall apart. A broken relationship with her first love was how it started—then working with the more aggressive alpha males and females who would do anything to make their standing in their corporation, even at the expense of ripping off the little guy. Her company bought out struggling businesses only to turn around and break the pensions of hundreds of people by downsizing the shop. It would leave the former owners with massive buy-outs and screwing over their workers. Lexa cringed, remembering she had a hand in it as well.
But, cutting wood didn't become her next choice. No, the smaller consulting jobs within the same corporation became the final straw for Lexa. The pay was substantial, but the hours were too long. Then finding out they also put more people out of work at the expense of the bottom line. It seemed the one constant that became her whole world. She tried to find a way to save their jobs but didn't have the control she needed to make the final decisions, and she quit in the middle of their last takeover. Lexa didn't want to witness the carnage left behind and made some enemies on both sides.
In disgust, she sold all of her overpriced furniture and the upgraded urban loft, bought a jeep, and headed for the mountains. She shortened her name from Alexandra to Lexa. Then found this place by chance, put down a hefty payment on a cabin to own free and clear in a few years, and took a job with Forrester's Lumber.
Indra Forrester was another fellow traveler, fed up with the fast-paced world of the big city, and took over her father's business after he died. Lexa was physically strong and willing to get her hands dirty on an honest job. One that she could live with herself at the end of the day and found some good friends along the way.
~
Clarke studied the map on the cell phone and tried to get a sense of her direction. An urge beckoned her to go northward and away from the city she had lived her entire life. To leave the people who felt betrayed by trusting her but mainly flee from shame and guilt that weighed heavily on her every decision. Clarke wasn't in search of anything, in particular, other than a simpler life, one in which she did not control the fates of people she worked with and had little sway over their destinies when everything went to shit.
Clarke used some of her money to purchase a late-model car, packed her positions, and left. She hoped to find a place to discover herself again and pick up the piece of her shattered life, maybe find a way to live with her guilt.
A few days into her trip found herself at the base of a mountain and saw a Help Wanted sign in a window of a quaint restaurant called The Diner. While filling up her car and on impulse, she asked the owners, Octavia and Lincoln, if they were still hiring and got the job on the spot. The friendly couple gave her a tour of the place. Afterward, they rented her a cabin about half a mile down the main road from their business.
It was almost too perfect, but with all she had been through in the past few years, she wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to take a break and get her head back on straight. This first stop wouldn't be permanent. It wasn't what she was looking for, just a place to blend in and make some money before heading to her next unknown destination, wherever that might be.
~
A few drops of rain came down on the windshield as Lexa shifted in the seat of her jeep while her thumb nervously tapped on the steering wheel, waiting to get up the nerve to go inside. Her anticipation grew to catch a glimpse of the new waitress through the windows. Lexa recalled her scent from last week as her eyes filled in the rest of her details; the woman was blond, shapely, and unattached omega. Lexa saw too few of them in the town she lived in, next to the mountain where she worked.
Lexa saw the woman for the first time last week by chance, catching a glimpse of her leaving the local market as she pulled into the parking lot. The frazzled blond carried a couple of bags of groceries in each arm and struggled to open the trunk of her car to stuff everything in the back.
Then watched as she labored to get her vehicle started. The stubborn car refused to turn over and overheard the woman cursing and pounding on the steering wheel. Lexa was close to getting out of her jeep to help the stranger until the ignition finally started. Lexa beamed as the woman pumped the air in victory, put her car in drive, and headed down the road.
What Lexa did next, she convinced herself was for her protection and followed the stranger home. The sun had set hours ago, and Lexa needed to make sure this woman got to her destination safely for her peace of mind. Admittedly she was also egged on by her alpha's curiosity getting the better of her. The drive wasn't long, and she soon found herself coasting to a stop down the road, darkening her headlights and watching from a distance. The woman parked her beater near a cabin, retrieved her groceries, and headed inside, but not before turning to look out as if she felt her presence.
By this time, Lexa had already rolled down her window, lifted her chin, and sniffed the air trying to catch a whiff of her scent. It was subtle but present, with the light breeze blowing in her direction. The distinct raw omega scent was so rare Lexa thought she felt the omega was in her bed last night. Stirring in the middle of a dream, she woke hard with her hand on her cock, dripping from her climax. She left the evidence in her sheets, now tossed in the dirty laundry.
A loud slam against the outside of her door caused Lexa to jump. The distinct laughter of her friend followed it.
"Are you coming in before it starts pouring, punk?" Anya smirked at the side-eye Lexa gave her.
"Yeah, yeah," Lexa said, annoyed that her best friend had a way of snapping her out of her daydreams. It was just as well when she finally spotted the omega through the window; she was smiling and laughing at something a rival alpha named Quint had said. She would probably hook up pretty quickly in this town if its reputation holds to its history.
The restaurant was almost full when Lexa saw an empty booth in the back, shoving Anya in that direction, then taking a seat on the far side to get a clear view of the entire place. Lexa tried to justify that she didn't like anyone coming up behind her when in reality, she wanted to watch the omega passively. Anya wouldn't challenge her choice; she may be her tormentor at times, but she wasn't the dominant alpha of her group of friends; it was Lexa's place but kept herself from reacting most of the time.
Since the new arrival came to town, she had been all the talk. Curvy in all the right places. Friendly, but not giving up too much personal information. Lexa wasn't one to start a conversation with a beautiful omega because of her private nature. It would probably be too late if she possessed an urge to pursue this woman. It would be wise that she put away all thoughts of her. Chances were, Lexa wouldn't be able to reach those highs in love again anyway. Afraid to put herself in the game, she ducked her face into the menu to avoid making eye contact when she approached their booth.
"Would you like some coffee?" Lexa shut her eyes as the gentle words caressed her ears and detected her familiar scent. She lost herself in the soft timbre of such a simple question, and to her embarrassment, the women asked again, "Coffee?"
"Since my friend is tongue-tied, go ahead and fill her up," Anya answered.
"You bet." The omega flipped over the coffee mugs and poured out a serving for each.
"Just let me know when you've decided what you want for breakfast."
Lexa peeked over the menu and followed her back to the open kitchen, watching as she put up a customer's ticket on the order wheel and spun it around.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, Woods?" Anya asked as she poured some cream into her coffee.
Lexa didn't answer, gazing at the menu and trying to focus on what to eat. But what wasn't on it was now standing not four feet away helping out another customer. Lexa nonchalantly observed the omega, and this time, when the woman looked at her, she smiled. It frankly stunned Lexa, but she didn't respond to the gesture as her eyes returned to the menu.
"Earth to Woods."
"Nothing...I don't have a problem, other than I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."
"Could it be you're a little distracted by her?" Anya indicated with a lift of her chin, thankfully not pointing at her directly. "Like how long has it been since you've hooked up with anyone, a month?" Lexa glared at her, knowing no way Anya would stop annoying her with what she thought was Lexa's lack of nerve. "Ah, no, I remember it's much longer than that. Was it Chloé back in November? No wonder you're losing it."
"Keep it up, and you can eat alone." Lexa shut her menu, began to fix her coffee with two scoops of sugar and cream, and took a sip.
"Have you decided?"
Lexa sprayed her coffee across the table and menus when the waitress managed to slip behind Lexa, startling her.
"Shit," Lexa hissed, holding out her arms and reaching for her napkin to wipe her mouth.
"Ooo, you're a bit jumpy. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." The omega cleaned up the mess like she was skittish whelp making Lexa dart her eyes to Anya, who grinned at her expense at the woman's comment.
"No, I'm not...," Lexa stopped speaking when she glanced up and couldn't avoid staring at the tops of her breasts, just peaking out the v-neck of her shirt and then up the length of her unmarked neck to her flushed face.
A moment of silence hung between them until the omega stuttered, "Do you mind? You have some coffee on you." Pointing at her sleeve. Lexa didn't have time to stop the omega from holding her hand as she wiped at the coffee that landed on her shirt. The sudden warmth made the alpha wake up from its slumber as a pulse charged through her clit, and she awkwardly started to extend. Lexa whimpered under her breath when embarrassment washed over her. "Easy pup," The omega whispered so only she could hear and may have sensed her arousal. Lexa could have sworn the woman was taking more time than it should have, but it was a mere second or two.
Time stood still, feeling her whole world come to a screeching halt. Before it got more out of hand, Anya cleared her throat, breaking Lexa out of her spell. She gently pulled her hand away and edged out of the booth. Lexa held out her hands, hoping the new waitress understood she needed to wash them as she stepped away.
"Thanks. I guess I'll have number five. I'll be right back." Then took off to the bathroom to get herself back under control.
Lexa locked the bathroom door and put her hands on the edge of the sink, willing her erection to go away but having little luck. She tried to focus on dull and uninteresting subjects instead of the blond's scent that ebbed into her lungs. The woman wasn't in heat, but her essence tantalized her senses, urging her alpha to come out a play with her.
Her mind flashed her breast again, making her cock fully extended. "Not now," Lexa groaned. No way this is going away on its own. Her mind already planted an image of her flawless face and the cute beauty mark above the corner of her kissable lips. Then remembered the adorable dimple on her chin.
"Damn. Why did you have to be so pretty?"
Lexa wasn't sure why she was hesitant to pursue an omega again. Other than how badly burnt she got the last time. When she hooked up with someone now, it would be a beta girl. Nothing that often or permanent. What they did together was just for fun. She didn't want it to get serious with anyone. Going so far that when she got together with a woman, she used condoms and never went down on her or vice-versa. Still, she left them satisfied, with evidence of happy texts the next day. But Anya was right. It had been a while since she hooked up with anyone. The urge to mate with the woman grew.
Lexa splashed cold water on her face and began thinking about her somewhat uncomplicated life. After arriving at Mount Trikru, she kept to her work. She learned the trade through a quick introduction with Anya, and they headed up the hills to the backcountry to pull down some large trees. Indra had a rule. For every tree taken down, one was left in its place if a volunteer wasn't already struggling to grow near the base of the one they just felled. The clean air and hard work kept her mind on the job, with Anya occasionally yelling at her to watch the fuck out, don't let the damn tree fall on her head.
With her downtime, the weather growing cold and snowy, she spent her free time working on her cabin. What money she earned from spring through fall would be more than enough to keep her close to home, work on her projects, act like a regular person, and get intimate with someone for a night or two.
The reflection that looked back at her through the mirror took in a breath and released it as her cock started to go soft, and the urge to mate finally receded. Lexa washed her hands, returned to her booth, and found a smirking Anya already eating her breakfast.
"I didn't want my food to get cold."
"No problem, Anya."
A few moments of blessed silence with only the clanging of forks and knives against plates and small talk filled the air, and she could eat in peace until she could sense Anya wouldn't stay silent for long.
"Listen." Lexa looked up and waited for Anya's pestering to begin. "If you can't handle being around a pretty girl, that's your problem. But I feel it's my responsibility to let you know; the waitress thinks you're cute and was sorry you got your shirt wet." Anya grinned, then dipped her bacon in the egg yolk and stuffed it into her mouth. Lexa ignored her remark but filed it away to think about later and began eating her omelet. "Yeah, I also may have mentioned to her that you don't seriously date anyone." Lexa kept her eyes on her plate and started on her hash browns. "Her name is Clarke."
Lexa gave her a nod and took a drink of coffee. "That's different."
"Yeah, I thought so too."
"Did you tell her you are dating the bartender next door, or is this going to be a side thing for you?"
"As if. Raven would have my hide. No, just getting the lay of the land, so to speak, for my so very unattractive, unattached best friend."
"Don't bother." Lexa indicated to Clarke, who had her arm around Bellamy at the end of the counter, talking with Octavia. "Seems she's already interested in someone else."
"She just friendly, Woods. Give her a break. And I don't know, but she genuinely seemed interested in you for some damn reason. At least, that's the feeling I got. Besides, you know that she's not Bellamy's type."
"People don't always tell the truth, Anya. You know better than that. Hell, where is she running from that she landed here?" Lexa winced at how that sounded like she had thought way too much about this stranger.
"Tell the truth about what? And why do you think she's running?" Lexa didn't have an answer and shrugged her shoulders but could feel the weight of Anya measuring her objection when she started again, "Since you've put a lot of thought into her, why don't you ask her tonight at the bar?"
Lexa paused and put her fork down. "Why should I? I thought we were going to hang out and shoot some pool later."
"I asked Clarke if she would like to join us, you mainly. Since she is new to town and keryon, why the fuck not? She seems nice enough." Anya stopped for half a second, then started in on her again, "Hey, listen, why don't you just stay home and watch TV while real people actually socialize."
Lexa looked down at her plate, continuing to eat, then murmured unconcern, "I didn't say I wouldn't go."
"Fine." Anya smirked.
Lexa ignored her stupid face. "Whatever."
"Is everything okay?" Lexa avoided Clarke's question directed to her.
Lexa kept her head down and continued eating when Anya answered for her, "Everything's great, Clarke. Right, Lexa?"
On the spot, Lexa looked up to Anya, who indicated with her head to the omega and leaned back against the booth to answer, "Everything is perfect. Anya said you want to meet up later. It sounds like fun."
It looks like you got a date.
Clarke filled her coffee cup again. "Yeah, it does. See you later, then?"
"I'll be there.
After Clarke left, Lexa dared Anya with a warning scent to keep quiet, which she promptly ignored. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
"Fuck you," Lexa drawled.
~
Clarke chuckled under her breath at hearing the alphas bickering and looked back to the cute one when she started to growl. Thinking, maybe it was a good idea to stop here. This local was pretty adorable and made her forget about her miserable life, if only for a moment.