Between all of our scents, there is one stray wiggling its way in. I inhale the unusually fruity scent deep into my lungs for the first time. The sweet, light freshness of it sends my alpha intoa tailspin.
Is that what I think it is?
“Wait… You’re—” I try to take a step forward but Sam’s body is suddenly there, blocking mine from descending on the omega whose smell is tugging at me like a magnet.
He gives a warning growl under his breath before whispering, “Now is not the time. We will discuss this revelation later, in private, as apack.”
As apack?My mind snags at the word, hope bleeding breath into me.
I don’t even have time to process what my prime is telling me, because the conversation continues around us while the rest of our friends and Kit discuss the horrible thing that Opal just endured.
“He knew about what?” Rory asks, looking between the two omegas. The latter shakes her head, obviously not ready to speak about the mystery thing she’s alluding to.
“I’ll tell you when I have the chance.” Nova moves to make room for Opal as she finally stands from the stool. “Right now, I need to confront her. While I’m still furious enough to do so.”
“Hell yeah!” Ciro says from the back of the group. A few patrons having nice dinners nearby shoot him nasty looks, but he persists. “You go, Opal! Stand up for yourself!”
The rest of the group starts to cheer, not giving a fuck that we’re in the middle of a nice restaurant or that the customers wish we would poof into thin air. The entire thing eases the tension, and my omega finally breaks into a smile that is blinding as all hell.
It’s glorious, so bright and soft at the same time. My body lets out its own tension, the surplus of anxiety that only my omega’s happiness could release.
“Will you take me to her?” she asks, her eyes trailing over all three of us, waiting as if we’re going to decline.
As if we’d deny heranything.
“Of course,” Sam decides. “We’ll be behind you the entire time.”
Opal’s relief is prominent, but her scent still holds onto sadness and rage. Kit grabs her hand, interlacing their fingers in a tight grip, then he smiles in a way I’ve seen many times before: unhinged and excited. “It’s time to give that beta a piece of your mind.”
The host from before walks up to us then, a new sternness on his face. “Nova, we’re getting complaints about your…friends.”
“Don’t worry, they’re leaving,” he says with a smile. “They have somewhere far better to be.”
FORTY-NINE
Playing: “t r a n s p a r e n t” by WILLOW
I am tremblingin anger as we ride in silence. Kit holds my hand, offering quiet support as I go through every moment of the past few years and still come up empty on where things went wrong. Cindy was supposedly my best friend, someone I have relied on for years to be there for me, but now it’s all kicked away like dust.
I can no longer try to see the good where there isn’t any, and that realization breaks me deeper than I ever thought possible.
My scent is out and growing. With every tumultuous emotion, there’s another bout of sizzling fruit that betrays how livid I am on the inside. I think the only other person whose scent can compete with mine in terms of rage right now is Sam’s.
“We’re coming up with you,” he says. “She needs to see all of us, as a unit.”
I nod, but realize he can’t see. “That’s fine. Just let me do the talking. I have a lot to say.”
“Of course, Pebble,” Kit whispers beside me, his thumb caressing mine. “We just want to be there for support. And I’m sure Sam just wants to stand there and look menacing.”
That earns him a laugh. “I mean, he does that so well.”
“Hey, I can hear you,” Sam says from the driver’s seat. “And I’m not menacing, I am intimidating. There’s a difference.”
Kit and I both giggle at our prime’s joke as we enter the neighborhood. Nerves roll around in my stomach, and I realize that there’s no coming back from this. Once I say what I need to say, my friendship with Cindy will officially be over. It’s for the better, but the pain still feels stormy. I wonder how long it’ll feel this way. I wonder how long I’ll spend mourning this companionship that I held so dearly.
After learning about what happened at the party, how she ran into Kit and told him about my ‘date,’ my sadness has morphed into wrath. Because it’s one thing to mess with me, but to mess with myscent matches? That’s just something I cannot forgive.
I go through the motions as we park and walk up the steps to Cindy’s apartment. My hands raise to knock, but then it opens as one of her roommates leaves. When she sees me, she only gives me a nod of recognition, leaving the door open as she starts down the stairs to leave.
