“She’s my fucking scent match,” Anders growls and swipes theCatanpieces off the table, and they clatter on to the floor dramatically.
I stare at him wide-eyed. “She’smyscent match.” This has just gotten fifty times worse. My heart is racing, and I rub the heel of my hand over my chest.
“What?” Anders growls.
“I knew when we brought her to the cabin. She figured it out when she opened the door to my room. I told her to leave.”
“You fucking told her to leave?” I’ve never seen Anders so pissed as he walks over to me and pokes at my chest. “She looked upset. I thought it was because she realized I was her scent match. But it’s because you were being a fucking asshole and scared her off.”
“It’s for the best, Anders. We can’t afford the distraction right now.”
He scoffs, pushing at my shoulder. It pisses me off, and I have to tame my temper. I love Anders, but if he thinks I won’t hit him, he’s mistaken. If he touches me again or pushes me further, he’ll force my hand.
“Do you not realize how fucking rare this is? How honored we should fucking feel? Who cares about how we make it work? You just made our goddamn scent match run home!”
The sound of the garage opening and closing alerts us to Eli being home, and Anders sighs and paces the kitchen. Eli looks confused at our stances and sighs. He tosses the keys to his car on the countertop and puts his hands in his pockets before he speaks.
“So we’re all her scent matches.”
“All of us?” Anders replies in awe. I glare at him. How in the fuck can they see this as a good thing? Right now it feels like a curse, the worst obstacle that couldn’t have come at a worse time. It’s been so fucking hard to get to where I am today, and life is just throwing her in my face to fuck it all up.
“Apparently. I didn’t even know there was such a thing until Charlotte just explained it to me. I still don’t understand.”
“It means that she would need to be the center of our lives. That hockey would be on the back burner. That there’s no way we can make this work if we all want to go pro. How the fuck can we take care of an Omega, let alone when we’re all living in different places throughout the country?”
“This is all moving fast,” Eli says, rubbing his head.
“You don’t fucking get it. Neither of you gets it. She will ruin our lives, everything we’ve fucking worked for.”
“Fuck you,” Anders says. His shoulder hits mine as he grabs his shoes and jacket. He slams the door as he leaves the cabin.
“This is all a lot of take in,” Eli says, pouring himself a whiskey. I give him a look, and he pours me a glass as well. We clink glasses and take our seats at the island. “It sounds like it’s fate. How do you dodge something like that?”
“By never seeing her again.” Why don’t they get that this could be so simple? We should leave now, go back to Boston, and forget this ever happened. These two are already talking like they’re planning on dating her. I need to convince them otherwise.
“I don’t think I can do that. How can you be so casual about this? I didn’t even know scent matches were a thing, but I can already tell that I’m attached to her. The thought of never seeing her again makes me physically hurt.”
I groan and stand up to pour another whiskey. “Hockey comes first.”
“Mikael.” He furrows his brows at me and acts like I’m the one being unreasonable. When these two are the ones letting a girl they’ve spent a few hours with throttle everything we’ve worked so hard for.
“I don’t want to hear it, Eli. If you and Anders want to ruin your life over an Omega, go for it. But you’re not taking me with you.”
“Can’t we just talk about this?”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I need hockey. I need this to work out. I don’t need an Omega.”
The whiskey burns my throat but helps soothe the sting of my lie.
“She’s coming back tomorrow,” Eli mumbles, staring into his glass like it holds all the answers. Like our lives didn’t get upturned by a blonde who’s barely five feet tall.
“Then I’ll leave.”
“Mikael, it doesn’t have to be like this. Maybe just spend some time with her. Like we plan to. Get to know her. I know that’s what I want. Maybe we’re scent matches, but we aren’t really a good fit. We should at least find that out.”
Eli’s ignorance must be fucking bliss. He doesn’t understand that now we’ve found our scent match, no one will ever compare. He doesn’t realize that if he lets her, she will become the center of his world, not the thing he has spent his entire life striving for. The sent of maple and pancakes will be his fucking downfall.
“I’ll make myself scarce.”
