Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
There’s nothing better than a night in, especially one with your eclectic roommate that starts celebrating Halloween two months early.
For the past month, our house has been one big cottagecore display mixed with haunted house elements.
My acclaimed movie posters are still plastered all over the wall, but everything else has a touch of Opal in it.
Pumpkin-scented candles, decorative autumn leaves, fake cobwebs.
There’s even one of those trickster candy bowls with the skeleton hand that grabs you when you reach for a Reese’s Cup.
I’ve gotten my hand stuck in it one too many times recently.
I’m definitely not complaining, though. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and now that it’s almost October, it’s officially time for spooky movies of all sorts.
Opal informed me that she’s not the biggest horror buff, but that she’ll try anything once.
Although, she’s specifically asked me not to play The Terrifier .
Instead, we’re watching a cult classic, and as Bette Midler finishes I Put a Spell on You , my voice is hoarse and in need of some much needed water .
“So, what’s up with the cute beta that was over today?” Opal asks and I almost choke on my water.
I peer over at her to see she’s already looking at me, looking smug as she eats popcorn from the pumpkin shaped bowl in her lap.
“Oh, you know. He’s the Romeo to my Juliet, so we were just running lines.” I shrug. “Also, he’s not a beta. He’s an alpha.”
Opal smirks. “You didn’t deny that he’s cute, though.”
I flip her the finger and steal a piece of popcorn.
“He didn’t leave any smell behind. He must be on blockers, too,” she says. “I’m thinking about going off of mine.”
My head whips toward her. After that awful blind date Cindy set her up on, Opal decided to go on scent blockers.
She wouldn’t say much, but the guy apparently said some weird things about her scent and it made her feel vulnerable.
The blockers are definitely effective, too.
There isn’t a single hint of her lychee scent in this house.
The fact that she’s thinking about going off of them and letting her scent back out is huge.
“That’s wonderful, Opal! Why the change?” I ask.
She shrugs, but there isn’t anything light about it. “I just don’t fully feel like myself. And I have to get over what happened sooner or later. I don’t want to hide behind blockers forever.”
I give her a proud smile. “Are you nervous?”
“Kind of,” she responds, finally letting out a grin. “It was nice to be invisible for a while. Betas really just walk around without anyone knowing their emotions or if they’re horny. What a freaking dream.”
I let out an embarrassing laugh, because it’s true. “It’s difficult, having everything on display all the time. I was a beta until I was eighteen, it took forever to get used to my new scent and how it changes.”
“I agree, but I miss my scent. It might sound weird, but it was like a beacon even to myself. I was never confused by how I was feeling, I just followed my own scent to understand myself. That sounds odd, but it’s true.”
I scrunch my brows in a bit, because I’m not sure I relate. At times, it feels like my omega and I are at odds. I’ve never noticed that other omegas don’t separate themselves from their designation. Is she trying to say what her omega feels is what she feels?
Instead of going down that rabbit hole, I divert the conversation. “I’m just glad you’re putting those awful dates behind you. You deserve to be fully yourself, all the time.”
“Yeah…” She trails off and sets the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table. There’s nervousness seeping into her features. I’ve seen it there before, when she told us that she wasn’t going to date anymore.
“Opal, is everything okay?” I ask.
She looks at me, gnawing on her bottom lip. When she speaks, her tone is hesitant. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
I nod, waiting for her to continue.
“I have a scent match.”
The world stops for a second or two, then her words hit me.
“What?!” I clasp my hands together in front of me, reveling in the excitement. “That’s amazing! When did this happen? How? Who are they? I have so many questions.”
She scrunches her face in a guilty wince. “I’ve known about them since May, before summer break started.”
I rear back. That was almost six months ago. Ironically, that was the same time I hooked up with Dax and Everett .
“Before summer… what does that mean? Are you dating? Is that why you’re not going on blind dates anymore?”
Opal gulps. “Partially. I really don’t have the capacity to go on anymore blind dates, but I also can’t bring myself to do it any more after finding out.”
“That makes sense.”
“They don’t know we’re scent matches, Rory. We’re not dating, we’re not anything. I wouldn’t even say we’re friends.”
My eyes nearly pop out of my head as the realization settles in. “Holy shit… you met them after you started taking the scent blockers.”
She nods, still looking uncomfortable. I hate seeing her like this. My new friend is normally so cheery and giddy and optimistic. It’s strange to see this much affliction in her features.
“Why haven’t you told him? Or her?” I ask.
“Him,” she confirms. “Every day that goes by, it gets harder and harder to even think about it. And, Rory, I know this might not be ideal but we can’t tell Stacia. Please promise me.”
“What?” I blanch at the thought of keeping another secret from my best friend. “Why? Opal?—”
“I know .” A whine escapes her throat, and the sadness in it shoots straight to my heart. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner and I’m sorry that I’m asking you to keep this a secret from her, but you’re the only person that knows. Please. ”
I feel everything in me soften. “You’ve been keeping this to yourself? All this time?”
Her eyes are glossy now, and I can’t fight the urge to want to do everything I can to help her.
“Opal,” I start. “I understand this is uncharted territory for both of us, but I’m having a really hard time wrapping my mind around this. Why can’t anyone know? And what about this guy? Is there a reason why you don’t want to tell him? Is there something wrong with him? Is he an asshole? ”
She shakes her head, looking defeated. “My scent match already has an omega.”
I feel my heart break. Or maybe my own omega feels the statement so deeply that I can feel it, too. The twinge of pain stays, and I find myself reaching for my friend’s hand.
“I’m so sorry, Opal. Saying ‘it’s complicated’ seems like an understatement now.”
There are a lot of examples of packs with two omegas nowadays, but it’s still seen as a very taboo thing.
Not to mention, omegas are extremely territorial.
Most people don’t believe that an omega would willingly let another omega into their pack, so sometimes these packs are called liars.
I think biology goes a lot deeper than what we can conceptualize socially, but the majority of people still hate to stray from tradition.
Being that close-minded must be awfully boring.
“It’s Sam,” she blurts out, pulling me from my thoughts.
My head whips to her again. She’s going to make me break my damn neck. “What did you just say?”
Opal heaves a sigh. “My scent match is Sam.”
“Like… Alpha Xi president Sam?” I ask, which prompts her to nod.
My mind is blown. I’m convinced that I’ve somehow been transported into a soap opera where my friends are all going through crazy shit that only daytime television could possibly orchestrate.
I try to think back to all the interactions I’ve ever witnessed between my two friends and come up empty-handed.
“You’ve been avoiding him,” I state. “Anytime Stacia and her mates have plans and they mention Sam will be there, you conveniently have something to do.” I put my hands by my temples.
“Holy shit, he doesn’t know. Holy shit, he has an omega. ”
She nods. Her patience for me right now is exceptional. I’m having a hard time keeping up .
“I didn’t even officially meet him, I just smelled him. It was the day where everyone came over to help Stacia move out. I kind of panicked because I knew he couldn’t smell me. How was I supposed to bring it up? And in front of Stacia’s pack? It would have been mortifying.”
I consider that and realize I agree. I can’t imagine meeting your scent match in front of a group of people, especially when it’s one-sided.
“A few weeks later, Kendall said something about Sam’s new omega, the one he just met, his scent match , and how they were making plans to move in together and it threw a whole wrench into the gears.
I didn’t know what to do. I still don’t know what to do.
I mean, I don’t really know Sam. Do I blow up his life just because we’re scent matches?
That doesn’t feel fair to him or his omega.
” She keeps shaking her head, obviously at war with herself.
If I could smell her, her scent would probably be spiked with fear.
“I don’t want to mess up his life. That’s what they say, right? If you care about them, let them go?”
“Opal,” I whisper. My sweet, demure, kindhearted friend looks at me and her tears finally spill over. I don’t think, just react as I pull her into my arms to offer as much support as I can.
She has such a big heart, and she deserves to have love and a pack. She definitely doesn’t deserve to feel this way.
“I think only he can make that decision.” I hate what I’m about to say, because I know she’s afraid, but she can’t live with this guilt and what-ifs for the rest of her life. “You have to tell him, Opal.”
She nods. “It’s just scary.”
“I know, but if I had a scent match out there and they knew, I would want them to tell me. No matter what happens after, you have to figure it out together. You can’t make that choice for him.”
“You’re right,” she agrees, wiping her eyes with her sleeves as she pulls away. A few loose strands of orange hair stick to her wet cheeks. “I just don’t know how I’ll go about it. We don’t know each other. But I’m going off my blockers, so I won’t have a choice soon.”
I interlace our fingers back together. “That’s true. And by the way, I won’t tell anyone. Not even Stacia. You deserve to figure this out without others butting in, okay? I promise.”
She sniffles, but there’s a tiny smile now flitting at the corner of her lips. “Thank you so much, Rory.”
“That’s what friends are for. And we are friends.” I give her a grin. “You know, I always knew Stacia and I were meant to be a trio. I’m so glad it’s with you.”
She playfully pushes my shoulder. “Oh, shut up,” she says even though I see fresh tears in her eyes. I grab the bowl of popcorn off the coffee table and hand it back to her.
“Now, let’s watch another movie. Your choice this time, anything you want.”