My stomach answers before my brain does, growling loud enough to echo in the hall, and compelling me to follow the aroma.
I turn the corner and stop.
The dining table looks like it’s auditioning for a brunch spread.
A tower of pancakes, golden and imperfect but beautiful. A platter of crisp bacon. A big bowl of fresh fruit. A small dish of whipped cream, a ramekin of chocolate chips. The coffee carafe sits in the middle like a crown jewel.
Propped against it, a folded piece of paper.
Naomi,
Eat. We went to check on our generator. Be back soon.
I just stare at the words, then at the feast.
They made this, for me.
I pull out a chair, sit down, pour myself coffee, and cut into the top pancake. It's still warm. Maple syrup waits in a little ceramic jug. I drizzle, take a bite, close my eyes.
Fluffy. A little lumpy. Slightly too much vanilla.
Actually perfect.
I swallow past a sudden thickness in my throat.
I wonder how much of the pantry they burned through to do this. The roads are supposed to be passable soon, but still. This is really, stupidly sweet of them.
I’m reaching for the whipped cream when the front door opens.
"—telling you, it's holding fine now," Silas is saying. "Could've waited."
"Better to double-check," Liam replies. "Last thing we need is an outage."
"You just wanted an excuse to poke at machinery," Felix laughs. "Admit it."
I stand up to greet them, smiling already—
And freeze.
So do they.
All three of them stand in the doorway, snow still clinging to their hair and shoulders. Their heads snap toward me in perfect unison.
Their pupils blow wide.
Their nostrils flare.
Then three overlapping, low, chest-deep growls fill the room.
A combined scent slams into my senses. Leather and amber… Honey and vanilla... Black tea and old books…
My knees actually buckle and I grab the back of the chair to keep from crumpling to the floor.
No. No, no, no.
I swallowed a DuoBlock yesterday. This shouldn't be happening. This can't be happening. And yet every omega instinct I've spent my adult life suppressing snaps awake and starts screaming in capital letters.
YES.
