“Worthless omega, even mommy and daddy didn’t want you anymore.”
I gulp and zone out as Ollie starts one of her mama bear rants. She knew I ran, why I ran from Ohio, who I was hiding from, but she didn’t… she didn’t know how resourceful the Pack I’m hiding from could be.
“Kneel, and don’t fucking get up until I tell you to.”
“Ladies, is everything okay?” My head darts from Ollie to the group of men walking by. My eyes instantly connect with deep brown ones, the same ones I was staring into as I came with Thorne’s tongue between my thighs at the restaurant last night.
“Silas?” His name drops off my tongue like a secret, and my face flames with heat as I hear Ollie’s cough, as she must have recognized the name.
He’s carrying a full duffel bag, dressed in a hoodie and sweats, and my gosh, does he wear them well. He ventures off from the group of maybe four guys he was with as he jogs toward us on the sidewalk. I recognize Ollie’s mates and fellow Scented Scorpion players, Kane and Timber, who come rushing over too. Timber easily stands out, despite his best wishes not to. He’s tall and beefy, and there’s no hiding that constant scowl on his face. Kane is always nearby, and with his whole handsome Italian playboy energy, he’s also hard to miss.
Ollie and her Pack recently mated, so I’m sure they were scouting for a reason to come see her, maybe even parking down here, away from the arena, hoping they’d get a glimpse of her.
Who knew hockey players could be so romantic?
“Someone broke into Cozy Bear—” Ollie is quick to blurt out my problem, and by the instant face changes, from lighthearted to stern on all the alpha’s faces, this could go from bad to worse in seconds.
“Someonemight havebroken in, but we don’t know for sure,” I correct Ollie. Despite my nausea tempering down at the mere sniff of his scent, dragging Silas into my problems isn’t at the top of my to-do list this morning. I didn’t want to scare him off with the baggage I carried.
“So what are you both doing here, standing this close? Did you call the cops?” He doesn’t touch, but he hovers his hands by our arms, herding us even further away from my store, and my hackles rise even though I know he has the best intentions.
That’s my store. Mine. I need to get inside and make sure it’s safe. My blankets, my workshop, all of it — I need to know it’s okay.
I nod my head in answer to his question as I drag my eyes away from my store and back to them. They both look at me as if I’m crazy for not calling the cops, but they don’t know.
They can’t know.
“Would you check the back just to make sure no one is there?” Ollie asks, her arms wrapped tight around me. Silas instantly nods and heads inside. I grab his arm.
“No, I can go in?—”
“Absolutely not.” Silas instantly interrupts me, shaking his head. “Stay right here; it’ll only be a minute.” His lips drop down onto my forehead, rendering me shocked as I watch him slip away from me and inside Cozy Bear.
Timber follows Silas as Kane wraps his arms around Ollie. Pulling her away from me, but Ollie doesn’t let go of me completely, taking my hand in hers. “Are you okay, sweetness?” he murmurs to her.
“I’m fine.” She rolls her eyes but leans into him as he kisses her hair, and for a moment, I see myself in them. I can visualize myself and the Gray Pack, but that euphoric feeling doesn’t last long.
My fear keeps me rooted in place next to Ollie, who holds my hand as we watch Silas and Timber search my store through the glass windows.
Kane is murmuring questions in Ollie’s ear, and she turns to talk to him as I tune them out, watching Silas’s figure look around my store. If it were a person, they’re probably long gone, so we should all stop worrying so much.
I’m sure it’s fine.
I’ll just get better locks? Cameras? Maybe there was never anyone in here. Maybe we are overreacting.
“I think that was a—um, like a watered-down rosemary scent. It was spicy.” I hear Ollie whisper to Kane as I completely freeze. Like a dam breaking in my mind,it releases all the memories associated with the smell, and I can’t believe I didn’t catch it earlier.
Rosemary. I could never forget that scent. How could I not recognize it? My feet move faster than my brain as I rip my hand from Ollie’s and dart inside. The bell rings, but all I can focus on is the smell of rosemary.
Jackson Fallon smelled of rosemary.
Rosemary. A scent many liked, but I hated. I couldn’t stand the smell, even before I met Jackson, the lead alpha of the Fallon Pack.
Oh, no. “Silas.” My voice carries through the empty store. Not a light on or soul in sight. I hear Ollie calling after me, but she doesn’t come. Maybe Kane stopped her.
I don’t look back to find out. Silas comes running from the back, panic in his eyes, and my heart drops.
“What? What’s wrong?” he asked as his arms came up around my shoulders, and he hugged me close to his chest. His dark coffee scent floods my system as my nerves instantly soften in his presence.
