Page 55 of Trick or Heat

Comfortable silence settles over us as we all breathe and rest our eyes. Elsie stays lying out in front of me, turned onto her side so she can continue to pet my wet hair.

“Fuck,” I start, emotion taking over me. “So, what do we do now?”

Elsie smiles. “We live our life.”

TWENTY-FOUR

Now that it’s further into November, it’s so frosty that it’s nearly unbearable. The cool crisp air of autumn is turning bleak and bitter now that winter is just around the corner. I don’t expect anything less of Maine, but I still pull my jacket closer to my face as I walk out of the English building.

I’m excited to be done with classes for the weekend. I have mates that I’d like to spend that time with, who are waiting for me right this second.

Still, there’s more to life than romance, so I dig my phone out of my pocket and find Mavin’s contact info despite my fingers bristling in the cold.

“Elsie!” She answers on the first ring, her voice so excited that I bite my lips to contain my grin. “It’s been like two weeks, what’s going on?”

“Can’t I have the winter blues, Mav?” I joke. “Your mate didn’t give me an ‘A’ on my term paper, so I’m calling to give you a formal complaint.”

Mavin laughs. “You don’t even have him as a professor this semester, he would have mentioned it.”

“You caught me. I just wanted to talk and see how you were.”

I can practically hear her smile. “You could just say that. You don’t need an excuse to call me.”

“I know,” I digress. “Anyway, what’s up? What are you guys doing for the holidays?”

She talks to me about her pack’s plans as I make my way to the parking lot, all while holding my jacket close to my neck to protect myself from the cold. She eventually begins to rave about her pack’s winter extravaganza because of the upcoming holidays, and it makes me giddy as hell.

“And Soren is just cleaning like a mad man, but I kind of love it. I don’t even have the chance to be ahead of schedule for cleaning because he’s already on it.”

“There’s nothing better than men doing chores before you’ve even asked them to.”

She pauses, clearly picking up my hint. “And when have you had men doing your chores? Last time I checked you were living alone and in a painful one-sided yearn for your best friend’s affections.”

At her assessment, I laugh and then clear my throat. “There may have been a few alphas at my place recently,” I say. “As well as a male omega.”

“Oh my god, Elsie!” Her screech nearly bursts my ear drum. “I knew you were hiding something from me. Fucking spill.”

“Well, again, I’m sorry I didn’t call you but… I had my first heat.”

She gasps dramatically. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Not fine, I’m great. It actually started at your Halloween party.”

“That explains why I didn’t see you. You texted me that you were there and then just vanished. Poof.”

I wince. “Yeah, Casey had to take me home.”

“And?”

“And… he helped me, first, which made me happy and confused, and then he told me to sign up for Heat Seekers.”

“Fuck,” she whispers, sounding on the edge of her seat.

“It’s okay though! We met a pack. They play soccer here at White Crest, and it turns out… they’re my scent matches!”

If I thought Mavin’s screech was loud before, there’s no coming back from the sound she lets out now. The high-pitched yell punctures me, causing me to pull my phone away from my ear. Still, I can’t help but beam at her reaction.

“You have fucking scent matches?! I am so happy for you!”