“Come again, Charles?”
“I found my scent matches. Three Alphas.”
She blinks at me, and her mouth is wide open. “Say something.”
“I’m thinking, damn. That’s a lot of information to process. How long ago was this?”
“Only a couple of days. I know it’s fast. Like really fast. But it’s like a thread pulling us together, Piper. It’s like, sure, they’re basically strangers, but every fiber of me knows they’re mine.”
She blinks at me again and takes a sip of her coffee. Her fingertip swirls around the rim, and she opens her mouth to speak multiple times before she sighs. “How do you feel about it?”
I grimace. “Part of me is excited, the other part is terrified.”
Piper nods her head, knowing probably more than anyone my fear of abandonment.
“Are they still in school? What’s the plan?”
I shrug and grimace. “There is no plan.”
“What do you mean? You found your scent matches, and there’s no plan for when winter break is over?”
“They go to BU.” I keep it short, knowing that I have to explain the whole story, but I feel embarrassed. Maybe even stupid that I’ve decided to live in this bubble when everything will inevitably fall to shit.
“And…” Piper arches a sharp dark eyebrow at me.
“They’re hockey players.”
“So?”
“Like really good hockey players. Like getting drafted before they graduate kind of good.”
She just stares at me, I feel my cheeks heat. “Oh, Charles.”
I want to cry, but I hold it in. I’m sure as fuck not going to cry out in public. Crying is reserved for when I’m in the shower by myself and no one can see me. “I know.”
“But they all want to be with you?”
I tug on my turtle neck. “Fuck, is it hot in here?”
“Charles?”
“Eli and Anders are one hundred percent in. Mikael, not so much.”
“What’s his deal?”
“Well, he’s probably said a total of thirty words to me, so I’m not completely sure. But from what I’ve gathered, he sees me as a distraction.”
Piper shrugs her shoulder, and I gape at her. “What? You’re a very pretty distraction.”
“Piper!”
“What? I’m just saying. If I found my scent match Omega, I’m not sure I would go to medical school.”
It’s my turn to blink at her. “What?”
“You’re not mine, and I care for you so much, Charlotte.” She takes a sip of coffee. “If I found the one, I’m not sure I would feel comfortable spending all those hours away from them. That’s why I hope to fuck I don’t find an Omega until I’m already stable. But finding a scent match is rare. These Alphas would be stupid to let this go.”
“But they already have their futures planned.”
