“I wasn’t honest with any of you and I’m really sorry about that. Especially you.” Hunter motions to Madeline. “I should have never brought you here under any circumstance without giving you all the details about this trip, so you could make an informed choice. I acted beyond selfishly, not considering how you would feel or react.”
She doesn’t accept his apology. “This is a matter of my safety, Hunter. Yes, I know Zach and Alric, but what if Ihadn’t? What if I didn’t want to be near them? What if they weren’t the upstanding gentlemen you thought they were? Do you understand how terrifying that would have been for me? And unless there’s another boat here or a helicopter you can charter, I’m literally trapped here. I agreed to a vacation with you and you alone.”
He twists his hands together. “I’m so sorry. I fucked up. I was just so blinded by the possibility of you joining our pack.”
“You’re right about that.” Everyone looks at me. “You’re perfect for us. We need you as our omega, we’ve all been drawn to you since the start.”
“We would give you the best life an omega could ask for,” Zachary adds softly.
She rises from the couch, as does my hope that she will want to be part of this pack.
“Did any of your delusional asses stop to think that maybe I don’t want to be in a pack? That I don’t want to play nice little omega to three alphas who haven’t stopped for one fucking moment to consider what I want or need?”
Lightning flashes above us, as if the gods themselves are angry with our hubris.
Shit.
Like the selfish bastard I am, I hadn’t, and by the looks on my friends’ faces, they hadn’t either. She’s right, we should have considered what she wanted. I thought all omegas would eventually want a pack. Why wouldn’t she? Three alphas absolutely devoted to her, endless travel, and all the money she could possibly want would be at her fingertips.
I hate that she is angry at me, at us. Shame curls in my chest. We really fucked this up.
“Look, I’ve had a lot of fun with you all this year, but that’s it, it’s what you paid for. I never date clients for more than a year. Alric.” My name on her lips has my heart skipping a beat,even if she glares at me. “Friday night was a breakup. I clearly stated we were over, which is why you were blocked. In case you’ve all forgotten our first date, where I said I can end any agreement at any time, for any reason. Only one of you even knows myrealname. I’m sure there’s an omega out there who would love to be yours, but I have no desire for a pack.”
Something shifts in the air. A new scent swirls with the smell of rain and firewood.
The blooming scent of summer blackberries, sun-ripened on the vine, fresh jasmine, and mouth-watering vanilla. It hits me like a truck, altering the inside of my brain.
I knew there was a reason I could never get her out of my mind, that there was never enough time with her.
“Blackberries,” I whisper.
“Jasmine,” Hunter follows in a low tone.
“Vanilla,” Zach murmurs in his softest voice.
Madeline’s real scent.
I’ve never encountered anything so irresistible, so delicate, so perfect.
The scent I’ve waited my entire life to experience.
The atoms around me rearrange, until she’s the center of the universe.
Mine.
Chapter 10
Madi
Istart to shake, my eyes burning with tears.
Rich bergamot, dark chocolate, and tempting orange blossom reaches me, followed by decadent caramel apples. Sweet and savory with swirls of sugar, mixed with a glazed donut and creamy coffee scent.
I don’t know what scent belongs to whom, but my mouth waters. They smell like heaven, but this feels like hell.
My omega side screams to go to them. It wants me to beg them to scent mark me. To bite me. To bond me. To let me rub my body all over theirs so we don’t know where their essence begins and mine ends.
No, this can’t be happening.
