Chapter 4 - Faye #2
Kady’s blonde hair shakes as she laughs. Although she has a serious air about her, her giggle is infectious, so I chuckle too. Like this, she appears to have let go of whatever heaviness she’s carrying inside.
“You do have a floral scent, but I’m also a writer for the Valley Voice, which affords me some privileges,” she explains.
“Although, I didn’t pry. I only checked what you were studying.
I know I come off as a control freak know-it-all—okay, I kinda am—but privacy is important.
When you grow up in a family like mine, privacy feels like the most important thing sometimes. ”
I nod in understanding, recalling what Sabs said about Kady not wanting to talk about her family.
Kady arches an eyebrow. “You know that I’m a Sinclair, right?”
“Sabs may have mentioned it.”
“Does it bother you?”
I frown. “Why would it?”
“Not everyone would like rooming with the daughter of a guy who is one of the world’s biggest assholes.”
From what I’ve read, Richard Sinclair is a ruthless businessman who puts profit above all else. He’s been involved in various scandals over the years—none of them good.
“Trust me, what the media prints is not the worst of it,” Kady continues.
“Being here gives us some much-needed distance. SVU has been a fresh start for me.” Her eyes mist over, letting me get a glimpse of the softer side she hides underneath her self-assured, guarded exterior.
“What about you? What’s your family like? ”
Even though I knew this question would come up, I’m not sure how to answer it. Thankfully, Sabs dances in to save me, wearing a silky cami and shorts.
“The party’s here!” She dives into a pillow of cushions on the floor. “What did I miss?”
“We’re just getting to know each other.” Kady cracks open her soda.
“Starting without me?” Delilah arrives, hair tied up into two adorable space buns and wearing a button-down, pinstripe pajama set. She flops down on my other side then scowls at her chipped nails. “I really need to stop biting them.”
Our evening passes in a happy blur of laughter, pampering, and music. Even though I’m new to the group, it doesn’t feel that way, and I already feel like I have a place here. I’m quiet, but they don’t judge me for it or expect more. Instead, they’re accepting, putting me at ease.
“Now for the best part of the evening!” Sabs claps her hands. “To the cuddle den!’
Delilah pulls me to my feet. “You’re going to love this, Faye.”
After we race up the stairs, Sabs pulls down a ladder from the ceiling with a flourish. “Follow me!”
I didn’t know what to expect, but I never would’ve guessed what’s up there.
The attic is a total omega heaven, with sprawling pillows, cushions, and blankets as far as the eye can see.
Drapes hang across the ceiling, giving it a cozy feel.
Everything is in hues of peach, pink, and red.
Twinkling fairy lights wrap around the ceiling beams, and it smells like home.
Not Gram’s teashop but a new home. The smell of the person I want to be.
“This is the Stella sister circle.” Sabs plops down on a cushion, patting a plump velvet one next to her for me to join her. “We call it our cuddle den. This is where we formally make you one of our family, Faye.”
Kady and Delilah pull up cushions too, then we all sit in a circle. Kady retrieves a small, circular, golden box adorned with intricate etchings then places it in the middle of us.
“Ready?” Delilah asks, opening it to reveal a balm.
It has a distinct scent—cloves, sage, and amber—that smells familiar, but I can’t place it.
“This has been a Stella House tradition for decades.” Kady cradles the box. “We anoint all sisters with the sacred balm that’s been worn by every omega who came before us.”
“I know it sounds witchy as fuck, and you don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with,” Sabs adds hastily. “But it’s not all woo-woo, promise! It’s grounded in history, or so Kady says.”
“It’s very similar to a scent bonding ritual.” Kady ignores Sabs’s comments. “You may have heard that some omegas choose to do that with their bonded mates, but this is something different.”
“Stella House is about sisterhood.” Delilah takes my right hand then squeezes gently. “It’s about becoming a family. Sisters. Trust.”
“Before people really understood designations and there were laws to protect omegas, some omegas naturally came together in groups, vowing to protect and look out for one another,” Kady tells me.
“I’ve heard about that.” I nod slowly, recalling some stories from my gram’s history lessons. They’re not deeply binding, like an alpha bite that ties you together forever, but they’re more of an invisible marking. A sign of deep friendship.
“Whether we find a pack or not, this means we will always have each other, whatever happens.” Delilah’s lips curve up into a warm smile. “Scent sisters.”
Kady dips her thumb into the sacred balm then rubs it on the spot between Sabs’s eyes and says, “We are Stella.”
She passes the box onto Sabs who does the same, painting her own finger in the balm before swiping it across Delilah’s third eye. “We are Stella.”
She hands the box to Delilah who pauses. “Faye.” I meet her gaze. “It’s up to you if you want to complete the circle.”
I bow my head to let her know I want to do this. The heady smell mixes with my scent as Delilah gently dabs the mixture on my face then hands me the box.
I swirl my thumb into it. All of our unique scents seem to intermingle, the buzzing energy feeling deeply intimate and special. I turn to Kady to complete the circle, gently touching her head. An indescribable hum swims beneath my skin like an invisible force is attempting to bind us together.
“We are Stella,” I say.
Kady smiles, taking the box from my hands. A warmth blooms in my chest, erasing all my worries and filling me with the sense that I’m exactly where I need to be.
“The circle is complete.” She shuts the lid. “Welcome to Stella, Faye. Your initiation is complete. You’re one of us now.”
“That’s some powerful balm, huh?” Sabs nuzzles into my shoulder. “It’s probably just some old lady’s crusty Vaseline, but still!”
Delilah snorts but quickly turns somber as Kady glares at her in disapproval.
“I’m not saying it isn’t magical!” Sabs attempts to redeem herself. “I’m so glad you joined us, Faye.”
“So am I,” I agree.
Delilah lies back and looks up at the ceiling. “You know, I always feel like I’m floating on a pink, magical cloud whenever I’m in here.”
We all join her, sprawling out across the den.
I’ve never really been a touchy-feely omega, which is unusual for my designation, but being around these girls—vibing off their energy and their scents—makes me realize what I’ve been missing.
Their physical presence is deeply comforting.
In my bones, I know I could say anything, and it’ll never leave this room.
None of us speak for a few minutes. We lay here, the smell of the balm still lingering in the air.
“Dad had me spend the summer going on pack dates again,” Kady sighs.
“No way,” Sabs groans. “What were they like?”
“Unbearable,” Kady grumbles. “None of them even listened to what I had to say. They were all too busy trying to impress my father. Knot-heads. Dad’s obsessed with me bonding to a pack that will help the family business like a good little omega.
” Kady rolls over onto her stomach. “He doesn't care about me or what I want.”
“My family is the opposite,” Sabs chimes in. “My brothers want to kill any alpha who comes within a mile of me.”
“My mom and dads keep telling me that my scent match will come along because that’s what happened to them,” Delilah confesses. “But maybe they were just lucky? Scent matches are so rare. Is your mom an omega too, Faye?”
I come back to myself, remembering I’m actually in the room and not listening to characters in a movie.
“Yes, she was. And my dad was a beta. Both of them died when I was young, so I grew up with my gram. She’s a beta herself, but she helped my mom when she was younger, so she’s been there for me.”
The Stella girls have opened their hearts to me and welcomed me like a sister. I want them to get to know the real me.
They don’t say anything immediately. They don’t need to. It’s as if they can sense my pain, all sliding a little closer.
Delilah takes a strand of my hair and twirls it around her finger while Sabs snuggles into my chest. Their touch takes me by surprise, but I appreciate the kind gestures. Physical touch is one of an omega’s innate needs, but it’s been so rare until this point.
“I’m sorry about your parents, Faye,” Kady says. “I’m sure they’d be proud of you now.”
“I hope so.” I smile at her. “Gram says they would be, but…” I exhale deeply.
“I sometimes wish I had my mom to ask about stuff. Gram has done an amazing job and taught me everything she could, but she doesn’t fully understand what being an omega is like.
I… I… I feel like I’m not good at this. I don’t know how to be. Sorry, I’m probably making no sense.”
“You’re making perfect sense.” Delilah reaches over to clasp my hand. “But you’ve got us now. We’re here to help.”
“And make sure you don’t get accosted by weirdos like Kyro again,” Sabs adds.
I recall the handsome alpha I ran into last night and consider telling them about him, but I choose to stay quiet.
I know they’d understand and wouldn’t judge, but this is still only my second day here, and that was my first real interaction with an alpha.
Maybe a reaction like that is normal and something I’ll get used to.
Kady passes around blankets for each of us before dimming the lights. My eyelids grow heavy while Delilah and Sabs talk about what bands they want to see play this semester. I start drifting off, finally feeling like I could have a real chance at becoming the omega I truly want to be.