Chapter 2 #3
I feel like we haven’t been outside in ages, which is why I plan to take any calls I have out on our porch swing. I need the sun and vitamin D. We’re all getting cranky without it.
Tipping my head back, I let the sun hit my face, getting a head start on enjoying being outside. Soon, the snow will steal away the sun, and we’ll only have very filtered sunlight to look forward to. So fuck it, I don’t care what it looks like, I’m going to soak it in.
“I’m booking us a vacation soon,” Felix murmurs as he watches me. “We’ll do some field research out at a cabin. No work outside of relaxing and enjoying ourselves.”
“Yes please,” I murmur. “We have managers that can take care of the ship, we just need to make sure we don’t schedule any meetings. I’m not asking for much, maybe like four days off.”
My eyes are almost closed at this point, my brain filtering out the sounds of the city so I can just bask in the sun. This means that I startle when the door is unlocked and pushed open.
Taking a deep breath, I open my eyes and find out the woman in front of me has blue-gray eyes. Shit, they’re absolutely stunning.
“Hi, sorry to make you wait,” she apologizes. “I typically lock the door at five and keep working.”
“We got this in the mail today,” Remy says, showing off the invitation. “Can we have a moment of your time to talk about it?”
“That is, if you’re Hollis Edwards?” Felix adds. As different as they appear, regardless of the slight age difference, they tend to mirror each other very well when they’re speaking.
“I am,” she says, pushing the door open further for us to pass through. “You’re Pack Ledger, the owners of The Naughty Tote, right?”
My eyes widen at the way she clocked that so well.
“I do my best to make sure I know everything about the packs I’m inviting into my space,” she says coolly.
Fuck, is it possible for her eyes to look like glaciers right now?
“That’s all well and good, but we don’t know you,” Remy reminds her.
Stepping back, she gives us the choice to follow her or not as she walks back into her office. Malcolm growls under his breath, following her in because we’re here to speak to her. I’m the last one in and I make sure to flip the lock closed.
“Everything was covered in the invitation, but if it’s not something you’re interested in, I’ll take that back,” Hollis says, pulling it from Remy’s fingers and tossing it into a basket on her desk.
It seems like a chaotic scene of paperwork, her laptop and cellphone working in tandem for her business. Is she the only one who works here? Why doesn’t she at least have a secretary for fuck’s sake.
I’m unsure why, but I’m beginning to get very angry and protective right now. It’s a very odd feeling when it’s not natural for me to feel that way outside of my pack.
What is it about her that’s making me react this way?
“I’ll mark you as declining the invitation, and remove you from my list of potential packs for the omegas who trust me to match them with,” she says. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Her hunter green dress has a slit up her thigh as she leans against her desk, waiting for our next words, in her mind completely at ease with the situation. However, I can feel that my pack is beginning to get heated.
Particularly Remy.
“Yes, what makes you think that what you’re doing is right?” he asks. “Mass mailing these cute little invites to packs all over the city is the equivalent of cold calling. That makes your omegas that you’re working with seem a little desperate, don’t you think?”
Taking a breath, Hollis draws my attention to her breasts, which are large enough to swallow my head and smother me. Swallowing hard, I shift my feet, hoping I’ll be able to adjust my growing erection.
“I wasn’t cold calling you,” she says. “If that’s how it felt to be invited to an event, then let me try again.”
Hollis holds her hand out to Remy who scowls at her instead.
“I’m Hollis Edwards, owner of Cupid’s Call.
While your company provides a service, so do I,” she says.
“Do you have any idea how dangerous the world is for an omega who is dating in this city? The other day, I heard a podcast about an omega who went out to a club and met what she thought was a nice alpha. Instead, he dragged her out into an alley when he thought she was too drunk to fight. His intent was to sell her to one of the auction houses so he could pay off his credit card debt.”
My jaw practically unhinges as it drops. Hollis shrugs, taking back her hand.
“Dating isn’t as easy as you’d imagine,” she sighs. “Omegas typically go into heat for the first time at eighteen years old, and some of them turn to me to help them find a pack. Sometimes that’s a permanent pack, others it’s just for their heat.”
“You’re an alpha pimp,” Felix says snidely.
Shit, this is taking a rough turn.
“Maybe,” Hollis purrs. The air is filling with her apricot and lavender scent, telling us all how the letter became scented. There’s a spicy scent to it as well, a clear indication of her growing anger.
Her scent is hitting me right between the eyes, and it’s intense. I’m struggling to understand what’s happening and keep my pack from losing the plot.
“Or maybe, just like how you donate sex toys to Omega’s Haven for their omegas who are going through their heats alone, I found an opportunity to help omegas before any of that was available,” she says.
“I’ve been doing this for ten years, gentlemen.
If you feel that I slighted you in some way, I can reassure you that wasn’t my intention. ”
“You know a lot about us,” I state. “We don’t really advertise our work with Omega’s Haven, because we don’t want it to turn into some kind of PR play.”
“I’m very good friends with Aisling and Wren, the founders of Omega’s Haven. I also work with them,” Hollis says with a shrug. “I wouldn’t ever speak out of turn. There’s a lot I know about my city, and the people within it. Unfortunately, it seems I misjudged you all. My apologies.”
“I—” Mal sounds as if he’s going to accept the apology so we can move on, but Hollis brushes her fingers over her chest. I’m sure she’s not trying to bring attention to her breasts, but I’m realizing that this is at least the third time she’s brushed her fingers over her skin there.
In fact, it looks like it may be a way to soothe herself.
Which means we are coming off as even bigger assholes than I thought and we’re making her anxious.
“On that note,” Hollis says, interrupting Mal, “my day is nowhere near over yet. If you wouldn’t mind?”
Not so subtly, she sweeps her hand toward the door where there are two alphas waiting at the door. Without realizing it, I growl under my breath, the inescapable feeling of jealousy clawing at me.
Mine. Go away.
“ Brice…” Malcolm whispers through the bond. “That’s not possible, is it? Why do I feel like shoving Hollis behind me to hide her from whoever is at the door?”
“ Breathe her in, Mal. She’s ours.”
My alpha shudders as he lets my words sink in. I’ve never heard of scent matching making alphas act like this. I want to pounce on her, Remy wants to continue to fight with her, Felix is gazing at her distrustfully, while Mal wants to kidnap her.
That’s just fucking perfect. All the while, Little Miss Glacier appears to be ready for us to go away. There’s no hint that she knows we’re her scent match, she just looks a little anxious.
The alphas at the door knock harder, the tall one with the glasses glaring at us as if he’s very close to removing the door so he can come inside.
Who the fuck are they? Does Hollis have a pack?
“It appears I have company I need to attend to,” Hollis says breathlessly, her heels clicking on the tile floor as she hurries away from us.
“Why do I hate that she’s walking away?” Felix grumbles. “We’re supposed to be maneuvering ourselves into being her knights in shining armor while putting her in her place. How did this go so pear shaped?”
Glancing at Felix, I see his eyes are almost glazed over with desire. He feels what we all do. His sweet scent of vanilla frosting is thick in the air, and while Hollis’ back is turning, I adjust my cock in my pants. It’s only slightly better now, but my pack is laser focused on her movements.
Maybe we should accept that invitation after all. Fuck, I wish we’d had a different kind of introduction to our scent match. I hate everything about her office, it’s too open to the street. It’s not safe.
My gaze focuses on the way the other alpha wraps his arm around Hollis’ shoulders, his lips against her ear. Are they her alphas? Fuck, wouldn’t that be a real kick in the teeth?