I’ve never been fond of sweet things, dessert or otherwise. But I was ready to drown myself in June’s scent: blueberry pie, brown sugar, and a subtle hint of spice.
My mind flashes back to her standing at the door. Big brown eyes holding mine. She hadn’t wanted to leave, and I hadn’t wanted to let her go.
Leaving her was agony, but I knew she was right. Grabbing her and stuffing her in my car would only make things worse for both of us. If I’d known she’d vanish without a trace, I wouldn’t have let her walk out of that room alone, no matter the trouble it might have caused.
My cell phone vibrates in my left pocket. I pull it out, glance at the text, and slide it back into the same pocket without answering.
As I move away from the center of the ballroom, I weave through the crowd to reach the opposite corner from the refreshment tables and the classical band. It doesn’t take long to find Callum and Archer. They, like me, have spent most of tonight hiding from a duty and responsibility none of us wanted.
Callum is scowling as I approach. “Where have you?—”
His nostrils flare, his eyes widen, and he practically tackles me, grabbing the front of my coat and sniffing me so hard that people turn to frown at us.
Haven Academy is a finishing school for young, wealthy omegas. Callum’s sudden, feral-like attack on me isn’t the kind of behavior they’re going to appreciate.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Archer grabs his shoulder to peel him away from me. That action brings him closer to me. And to June’s tantalizing scent.
His nostrils flare, and he knocks Callum aside to slam me into the wall, his eyes wild. “Where is she?”
Annoyed and frustrated, I grit my teeth and snap, "Fucking quit attacking me.” I push both of them away and start telling them about June when I notice we've become the center of attention. “Not here.”
Callum and Archer nod, but even as I lead the way out, they stick close behind. We’re pack mates and friends—have been for years. But their need to stay close to me, practically stepping on my heels, has nothing to do with me. It’s all about wanting to get close to her.
I don’t blame them.
I find a side room, a less fancy living room with just a couch, a painting on the wall, and little else. We all file in, and Archer closes the door behind us.
“Juniper Harrington,” I say, crossing my arms. “She’s our scent match.”
Their reaction to her scent confirms she’s as much theirs as she is mine.
Having an omega join our pack and bring us closer together never seemed like it would happen, and as much as I wanted that—more than anything—I was relieved it hadn't. I’m twenty-five, young enough for it to happen, with more than enough money to give our omega everything she could need and want, but there’s a reason we never went looking for her.
A big one.
And I told her precious little about me, Callum, or Archer.Fuck, I didn’t even give her my last name or mention that I have a pack. I had the time. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been enjoying myself tonight for the first time, teasing the beautiful omega who was secretly watching me as she pretended to study the paintings in the library. She’d been as attracted to me as I was to her, and she’d been doing a terrible job of hiding it.
“Where is she?” Callum demands, shaking me out of my daze.
“I don’t know.”
Callum gapes at me. “You don’tknow?”
I run a hand through my dark brown hair, pacing back and forth, frustrated. “She wandered into a library where I was hiding.”
Archer raises his eyebrow at that. “Hiding?”
I give him a pointed look. “And where were you exactly? Because I remember the two of you scattering and leaving me to my fate when a teacher dragged me onto the dancefloor.”
On the way, I’d spotted a blond alpha studying the girl and promptly nudged her toward him, slipping out of the ballroom and into the library to avoid any more attempts to get me dancing. I’d intended to stay there all night. Then June walked in and changed everything.
“And she found you in the library?” Archer asks, hazel-light brown eyes intensely focused.
“I thought he’d sent her in at first,” I say.
Callum and Archer exchange a glance and turn toward the closed door. I do the same, making sure we’re still alone.
“What was she like?” Callum asks.
