Page 1 of Petals & Promises

one

Yun-Sun

Leaving Bailey-Rose at her studio was harder than I ever thought it would be. Gareth got behind the wheel and dropped his head to it, unable to even start the SUV. Eventually, he managed to pull himself together and get us to the Scent Matchers’ headquarters for the city of Windermere. The organization was located on the top three floors of a skyscraper in the central downtown area like you’d expect from a company that molded people’s lives every day.

When we walked into the lobby, the security was intense, requiring us to step through metal detectors before reaching the building services desk. Once we showed our summons, two armed men escorted our group to their offices, ensuring that we were supposed to be there. Satisfied we weren’t a threat, the security left, and we were ushered into what looked more like a living room than any meeting space.

“Can I get any of you something to eat or drink?” the receptionist asked.

“No, thank you,” Gareth stated. “How long until someone is available to meet with us? I’m not trying to be a dick, but we really need to get back to our Omega.”

The woman smiled at us as if she found the situation adorable. “I understand… the first few weeks with your Omega is something quite special. One of the Matchers should be with you shortly. I promise this is a matter they take quite seriously.”

Gareth grunted as he leaned back into the sofa. “If that were the case, they never would have pulled us away during our leave.”

Her response was another smile before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

“You know that was the dumbest thing you could have done,” Warrick grumbled. “If you pulled that shit at my restaurant, I’d make you wait longer just for being an ass.”

Gareth leveled Warrick with a look that warned me a fight was about to break loose. Before I could step in, Vili was way ahead of me, shooting to his feet.

“No,” he barked out. “We all upset, on edge. This is no time for fighting.” Narrowing his eyes at the others, Vili lowered his voice. “I bet they have cameras, listening, watching, studying us. Do not give them a reason to take our kitten.”

Having put everyone in their place, Vili took his seat, and the room fell silent. Why none of us had considered the fact they were probably watching us shows how unprepared we were for this meeting. Thankfully, it only took another five minutes for a woman to knock on the door before entering.

I instantly knew she was an Alpha, not because we Alphas recognize each other, but by the way she presented herself was a dead giveaway. The woman looked like she’d just stepped out of a designer magazine with her matching skirt suit and gaudy jewelry. I wasn’t one to focus on women's hair or makeup, yet I had to wonder how much hairspray she used to keep the style from moving even an inch. The other thing that made it impossible not to stare was the color of the lipstick she chose—it was so pale it practically made her lips vanish off her face.

“Hello, gentlemen, I’m Mira Chambers, Head Matcher for this location,” Mira introduced herself.

We all stood to shake her hand and introduced ourselves like the proper Alphas we were raised to be.

“Thank you all for coming to meet with me. I know it was short notice and during your leave of all times,” Mira offered as we took our seats. “I hope you understand this is a rather unusual situation with Bailey-Rose. Since it’s our duty to ensure the health and happiness of future generations, you can understand why we removed Miss Thatcher from the database.”

The stormy look on Ulysses’ face told me he absolutely didn’t see their reasoning. So before he could rip this woman apart, I took the lead.

“Mrs. Chambers, as a lawyer, I can see why the Scent Matchers have the rules they do. If we can eliminate a problem for many, a few might need to suffer. However, you will have to understand we are Bailey-Rose’s matches, and it’s hard for us to listen to someone speaking ill of her.” I held up my hand to stop her from speaking, already knowing what she was about to say. “Forgive me for cutting you off, but even if you tell me that wasn’t your intention, as an Alpha yourself, you understand that’s not how it works. Your Omega becomes your everything, and we are a pack who hasn’t had the chance to bond, making our tolerance lower than most.”

My brusk manner seemed to throw her slightly off-kilter, almost as if she was a little surprised to have gotten such a strong reaction. “You make a valid point, Mr. Lee. I will choose my words more carefully from now on.”

I inclined my head, not feeling a verbal affirmation of human decency needed to be offered.

“Mrs. Chambers, your summons said further information was needed. What questions can we answer for you?” Warrick asked, falling into the role of a prominent mogul’s son.

It was the perfect move, though, as she responded well to his tone and slight smile, which she returned. “Oh, well, thank you for bringing it up, Mr. Shaw. That makes my job easier. There’s never a great transition into digging into people’s personal lives.”

I can’t see why you’d have an issue with that when it’s your entire purpose.

“Miss Thatcher is from a high-profile family, as are each of you,” Mira pointed out as she opened a leather padfolio, looking over something before pulling her pen free. “Could you tell me how you and Miss Thatcher were introduced? I’ll also need to know if her genetic condition was shared upfront or if you discovered this information another way.”

Catching Ulysses’ eye, I gave him a look to see if he was up for answering her questions. With a subtle nod, he cleared his throat and shifted forward. “Crew Thatcher, one of Bailey-Rose’s older brothers, is my best friend. I’ve known the entire family for many years and was well aware of Rosie’s condition. In fact, I’ve spent many days in the hospital keeping her company. After I graduated college, I took a job that had me traveling until now. When I went to visit and let everyone know I was back for good, I discovered Rosie was my Scent Match. So, to answer your second question, her situation has never been a secret to us.”

The slight widening of Mira’s eyes told me that was the last thing she expected to hear. “Well…” she said, then let the words drift off, unsure where to take this next.

A nagging feeling had my skin itching as I sensed this woman expected us to want to dump Bailey-Rose and not fight to keep her. My suspicions that none of this was making sense grew the longer we sat here.

“Are there any further questions, or was the concern we were kept in the dark the true purpose of this meeting?” Gareth challenged, his tone snide as he crossed his arms.

Mira looked down at her papers, shuffling through them as if searching for anything else she could use. “No, there are no further questions,” she admitted, turning her gaze back to us. “However, I would like to warn you that if you plan on having children with her, they won’t be brought into the program. As you so eloquently said, we try to prevent what we can from being passed on. Which means not aiding in the procreation of children who could only add to the problem.”