I open my mouth to speak, but Mikael pushes his thumb between my two lips, groaning, before he grabs me by the shoulders and pushes me just beyond the barrier of his door. The last thing I see before he shuts the door are his furrowed brows and his towel, hardly hiding his erection.
This is too much. I need to clear my head. I walk back down the hall, unable to look Eli or Anders in the eye.
“Eli, can you drive me home?” I ask while I stare down at my feet.
“Uh.” Eli sounds just as confused as I feel.
“Charlotte, can we talk?” Anders’ gentle voice asks.
I clear my throat, still looking down. “Is it okay if I go home for the night? I’ll give Eli my phone number, and we can talk tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Anders says softly. “I’ll grab your things.”
I can hear the disappointment in his voice, and I feel it too. As badly as I want to stay here, explore this and figure it out, I need a moment to fucking breathe, to take in all this information and to just think clearly without the hazelnut or campfire scents drowning me. I look over at Eli, not fully having scented him. I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad thing.
I glance up as Anders hands me my belongings and gives me a tight smile, his face full of worry, and I feel guilty for putting it there.
Eli leads the way out to the garage and opens the door before he opens the passenger door for me. I have to really climb to get into the seat. He stands sentinel, making sure I don’t fall. Once I’m fully into the truck, Eli rounds the front of the vehicle, looking just as confused as Anders. I think we’re all confused. At least Eli and Anders seem to want me around to figure this out. Mikael seems like he wants nothing to do with me.
Once Eli is in the driver’s seat, he grabs the steering wheel, glances at me, and reverses the truck out of the garage. My house is only a few blocks away, the drive will be short. The silence is deafening, and I want to explain myself. But I don’t know how to. Finding your scent match is a near miracle, and I have two! Two scent matches who live nowhere near me and are both on career paths that will keep them far away from me.
“Did I miss something? Did we do something to make you uncomfortable?”
I sigh, and point to the left for Eli to turn down my street. “My house number is 671. No, it’s not that.”
Eli huffs but doesn’t push me any further. As soon as we’re in front of the house, he pulls his phone out of his pocket and hands it to me. I put in my phone number and hand it back.
“Does it have to do with the way I’m feeling?” he asks, his voice soft.
“How do you feel?”
“Like I just met you, but you’re mine. Like my sole focus is to please you and make you comfortable. Like I’m craving fucking pancakes and maple syrup.”
I bang my head against the headrest and wince. Eli’s hand is wrapped around the back of my head, and he gently rubs the juncture of my neck and skull.
Looking into his deep green eyes, I ask in a whisper, “Can you make your scent stronger?” Needing to know, is it even possible to have three scent matches? He looks confused, but nods as his thick pine scent fills the cab. I moan, and his eyes widen.
“We’re… you’re all my scent matches.”
“We’re what?” Eli asks, confused.
“You don’t know about scent matches?” He shakes his head and sighs. His hand hasn’t left my skin, and I just want him to rub harder. I want his hands on me always, his scent as strong as it is now.
“I didn’t really get a lot of Alpha and Omega education. My parents are both Betas.”
I lick my lips and nod. His gaze is tearing into me, and I want to curl against him but run as far away as possible at the same time.
“Alphas and Omegas are already meant to be attracted to each other physiologically. Each of our scents are alluring to each other. It’s rare, but your scent match is basically your best match. It doesn’t get any better than this from a physical standpoint. It’s like it’s meant to be.”
His mouth gapes open, his eyes roaming all over my face to my mouth.
“And this scares you?”
“Doesn’t it scare you?” I ask. How can it not? He shakes his head, and I furrow my brows. “We just met. This is a lot to take in.”
His hand leaves my neck. I whine, and his eyes are wide. “I… I don’t really know what I’m doing when it comes to an Omega. Tell me what you need?”
“Honestly, right now, I don’t even know. I think I just need to lie down and take some time to decompress. I promise we can all talk tomorrow.”
