In the living room, I find Ezra tending to his cacti, giving them a light spritz with water. He freezes as soon as I enter the room.
I halt. “I can come back, if you’re busy?”
“No.” He straightens up. His pants have mud over the knees from where he must have been crouching in the dirt. “It’s fine. I’m almost done here anyway.”
“Can I take a look?” I slowly dare to approach.
He shrugs. “If you’d like.”
I peer through the vivarium glass as he carefully puts it back in place. I point at one of the cacti that has small pink fruit. “Cute color.”
“It’s a prickly pear cactus,” Ezra explains. “It’s high in antioxidants and can help with things like reducing cholesterol, diabetes, and...” When he talks about plants, his voice becomes more animated, filled with his passion for botany. Catching himself, he rakes his hand through his thick waves. “Sorry, you didn’t ask for a lesson.”
“I like learning new things,” I protest. “Maybe you can teach me something that Faye doesn’t know yet so I can impress her.”
Perhaps I shouldn’t have reminded him that one of my best friends is his student. He probably doesn’t even want me here.
I step away from him, pulling my sweater tighter around me to hug myself, as if a cold breeze has just whistled in.
“Did you find something good in the forest during your walk?” I focus on a subject that will hopefully make him feel more comfortable.
“A few things here and there.” He doesn’t make eye contact, closing up a bag of fertilizer. “I’m looking for some plants for next week’s classes. I’ll have to look again tomorrow. Alone.”
I hadn’t even offered to go with him, but he obviously wants to make it clear that I’m not welcome. I nod as I sit on the sofa. “Got it. You’re a lone wolf.”
I reach for the nearest book on the table. Unfortunately for me, it’s one of Riven’s coding books that’s filled with equations that may as well be another language. I thought I could readpractically anything, but this seems to be the one thing that I can’t understand.
Instead of leaving, Ezra sits opposite me in an armchair. I don’t look up, but I can feel his eyes boring into me as I hear the others joking around in the kitchen. The tense atmosphere has me sweating.
After a few moments, Ezra sighs loudly. I ignore him. It’s obvious that he doesn’t want me here.
“Kady?”
I look at him over the edge of my book. “I’m reading.”
“About R coding?” The corners of his mouth quirk up. “I didn’t think that was your kind of thing.”
“Well, I’m learning,” I bark, pulling the book up to cover my face.
“I’m sorry.” To my surprise, he sounds sincere. “About just now. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
“It’s fine. I get it.” I peer over the top of the book again, seeing him rest his elbows on his knees before resting his head in hands. “You don’t want me here. I get that. I’ll stay out of your way, and you can act like I’m not even here.” I put the book back up. “I won’t bother you again.”
“It’s not that I don’t want you here.” He blows out a long exhale. “It’s just?—”
“You don’t believe in scent matches, and you don’t want an omega,” I huff, plopping the book on my lap and sitting up. “You don’t have to keep saying it, Ezra. You’ve made your wishes perfectly clear. And for the record, you don’t have to worry because I’m not planning on bonding with your packmates.”
“You know they’re really serious about you, don’t you?” He pinches the bridge of his nose, like he’s suddenly got a headache. “This isn’t a joke or an experiment to them. They truly believe you’re their scent match. You’re the first girl we’ve ever broughtinto our home. Do you know how big a deal that is? I don’t want you to hurt them.”
I let what he said sink in. “Is this your way of asking me to leave? If you are, I’ll call a car and be gone in ten minutes.”
“I didn’t mean?—”
“Well, what do you mean? What do you want from me, Ezra?” I don’t bother trying to hide my frustration. “You don’t want me here, you do want me here.” I throw up my hands. “I’m not a mind reader. If you have something to say, just come out and say it.”
“I don’t know, Kady.” He presses the heels of his palms to his eyes. “I don’t know what to say. You’re just everywhere. Your scent. It makes it hard to think!”
I applied extra scent blockers, so I thought I smelled pretty neutral, but I must be due for a top-up.
