“That explains it, then.” Kady points at me with her French manicured nail. “Your omega instincts have gone into overdrive from being surrounded by all these new pheromones. Movinginto a house with different omegas can set your cycle out of whack too.”
How hadn’t I thought of that? As a health botany student, I should know better, but I’m relieved to find a logical explanation for my reaction today.
“I got you a few things from the pharmacy that’ll help.” Kady puts several items on the table including an extra-strong scent blocker spray that doesn’t leave a weird lingering smell, deluxe scent-blocking panties with liners, scent-blotting wipes for quickly freshening up, as well as sparkly bottles filled with pleasure enhancer lotion.
“Oh, I’ve never tried this one!” Sabs reaches for a bottle named, “PussyPow: An Omegas Pleasure Heightener.”
“They’re for Faye!” Kady slaps her hand away. “You probably have a lot of this already, but it doesn’t hurt to have extra supplies.”
“You didn’t have to.” I reach for my purse. “Tell me what I owe you. This must have cost a fortune.”
Kady flicks her wrist dismissively. “It’s a gift!”
“I can braid your hair, if you’d like?” Delilah offers, sitting next to me. “It’ll dry all wavy.”
“Sure.” I spin to face away from her then throw my long hair over my shoulders.
Delilah gets to work. She takes her time, brushing my hair with her fingers before dividing it into even sections. I find my anxiety melting away with each gentle tug as she weaves my hair into a fishtail braid. Is hair braiding some kind of omega wizardry I wasn’t privy to before?
“I remember when I had a heat spike at my high school graduation.” Sabs sprawls out over the sofa, resting her feet on my lap. “I ran offstage before I picked up my diploma, and my brother’s pack almost got arrested for breaking three alphas’ noses for running after me. It wasn’t our finest moment.”
“I had a spike at one of my father’s business dinners.” Kady recoils. “The less I say about that the better.”
“I’m sorry for texting over nothing.” I chew on my lip. “I know you were all looking forward to your day in Forestville.”
“Don’t apologize. Besides, we already bought our costumes, and that’s all we really wanted.” Delilah secures my braid, her sweet, cookie batter-like scent wrapping around me like a warm hug. “We’re glad you messaged! We’re sisters now, remember? Heat spikes happen to all of us. It’s scary when it happens for the first time, especially when it happens unexpectedly and in public.”
“Thank fuck for scent blocking panties,” Sabs declares. “Whoever invented them is a savior!”
I giggle, already feeling much better. “Thanks for being so understanding.”
“Do you want to talk about what happened?” Sitting in the armchair opposite me, Kady poses the question with a gentleness that warms my heart.
“It could have been worse, I guess,” I sigh. “I was in a secluded area of the greenhouse collecting putri flowers.”
“Putri flowers?” Kady raises her eyebrows. “But that’s a poisonous plant, especially for us!”
“Only when handled incorrectly.” I neglect to mention that Professor Grub assigned it to me out of spite, and that I did intentionally mishandle it.
“Who cares about putri-something?” Sabs rolls her eyes. “This isn’t a plant lesson!”
“I’m going to look into Professor Grub.” Kady makes a quick note on her phone as a reminder to do it later. Over the past few days, I’ve noticed she makes a lot of notes to herself and sets a crazy amount of reminders on her calendar. “I don’t approve of his methods.”
“He’s a genius,” I insist. “I’ve read all his books.”
Kady drums her fingers against a cushion, frowning while she’s deep in thought. “If you say so.”
“You said it came on when you were in the greenhouse?” Delilah asks me.
I nod, omitting the part about meeting Ren. “I just ran out without saying a word to Professor Grub, almost crashed a golf cart into Margie because I didn’t know how to drive it, then I got back here and found an alpha?—”
“That’s my fault.” Sabs hides her face behind her hands. “I’m so sorry, Faye! Laz was dropping something off, and I thought we’d all be out.”
I freeze. “Wait, you know him?”
“He’s my brother, the one whose pack is very protective and tore up my graduation. Alphas aren’t allowed in OV, but Laz got special permission. There’s a family exemption clause in the rules and he had something to drop by. We usually meet at his pack house or somewhere on campus, but I just thought it’d be quicker?—”
“Oh no.” I cup my head with my hands. “I’m pretty sure I called him an omega predator.”
