“The other scent matches?”
“That’s us,” Nathan replied with a nod. “Come on up. Everything is chaos, but we’re figuring it out.”
A sense of a surreality swept over me as I stepped onto the elevator with them and rode it up to the top floor.
“How is she?”
Nathan shrugged. “Overwhelmed as fuck. She’s been in the nest with Jude since she called you.”
A hint of fruity sweetness hung in the air and had me searching for the source. When the elevator door opened again, I was hit with a fresh wave of it, drawn toward the door like a magnet was pulling me.
Madison opened it when I was halfway there and a veritable tsunami of sugared raspberry and buttery pastry crashed into me. My whole body tightened. She was in my arms before I could worry about scaring her.
I wanted to be drenched in her raspberry scent, and from the way her arms locked behind my neck when her toes left the floor, it seemed she was pretty cool with that idea too.
“I guess that means the scent match is confirmed?” Nathan said behind me, his voice a bucket of ice water reminding me that we had an actual reality to deal with right now.
I set Madison down and she stumbled away from me until she met the chest of what I assumed to be yet another potential packmate. I vaguely recognized him. “You’re Jude?”
“That’s me.” He nodded and looped a protective arm around Madison’s waist.
“Jax’s brother, right? I think you’ve been by the arena a few times.”
“Yep. We’ve seen each other from a distance, but never officially met.”
“What happens now?” I asked after forcing my tongue to cooperate in creating words.
How was this all supposed to work? Usually a pack had already formed when they found their omega, or the omega slowly built their pack over time. Having a whole batch of scent matches who didn’t know each other dropped on the same day was chaos incarnate.
“I don’t know,” Madison said quietly.
Jude tapped her stomach gently with his thumb. “Do you want to tell them what you told me, or wait?”
She burrowed deeper into his embrace. What I wouldn’t give to be him right now. Madison’s gaze struck each of us in turn. “I’ve always wanted a pack, but I gave up hope on it out of respect for Tyler. I don’t know how any of this works, and I have no expectations for anyone, but you should all know at least that much. Jude is one of my oldest friends, and if I’m going to give a pack a chance, he can’t be excluded.”
“Should we all take some time to get to know each other then?” I suggested. My instincts screamed at me to take this opportunity, and even if fate made a mistake, it was better to find out as soon as possible. “No one is allergic to cats, right?”
Madison paled. “How am I supposed to get my babies out of the house?”
“I broke into a car for you,” said Nathan. “I’m willing to break into a house, too.”
“Youwhat?” I squawked.
“He was holding all her shit hostage. If I thought he’d have given it to me, I would’ve asked instead, but I think we’re all familiar with the type of man Tyler is.”
I couldn’t fault that logic.
“But breaking into a house carries a much steeper punishment if you get caught,” I pointed out.
Madison’s shiny eyes instantly undid me. “Tyler doesn’t like my cats. I don’t think he’ll take care of them if I’m not there.”
“Can we guarantee he’ll be out of the house?” I didn’t relish the idea of breaking and entering, but I also hated the idea of Poppy and Pepper being subjected to Tyler. Did it still count as breaking and entering if the address matched Madison’s driver’s license?
She turned to Alve. “He’s the one fighting the OHI for land.”
Alve looked surprised for a second before determination settled on his features. “Another reason to dislike him. I’ll call him and ask for a meeting downtown.”
He didn’t waste a moment, pulling out his phone, calling the company I assumed Tyler worked for, and asking to be transferred to him. We waited awkwardly while Alve talked to him and set up a dinner meeting to discuss potential concessions if the OHI withdrew their claim.
