Chapter 26
“Everything isn’t fine.” Lauren crosses her arms over her chest, giving me a scrutinizing stare from the other side of the bistro table.
The breeze picks up, helping to cool me off as I struggle with what I should admit to her. My hair blows into my face and I brush it back behind my ear, letting out a heavy sigh.
“Okay, everything isn’t fine, but I don’t think we should talk about it.”
Lauren’s deep pink painted lips twist into a frown. “You know, saying that makes me think we absolutely need to talk about it.”
I groan and place a hand over my eyes. “It’s bad.”
“No shit,” Lauren replies drolly. “You came out of Mr. Marlowe’s office looking like you’d been through the wringer. What did he say to you? Because I swear if he gave you shit when you’re clearly working your ass off with DesigNation, I’ll go in there and give him a piece of my mind.”
Her fierceness pulls a small laugh from me.
“He didn’t say anything about DesigNation.
” I pause, a dull heat spreading across my skin as I remember River telling me I’m his best employee.
“He actually complimented me,” I add, trying not to betray how much that compliment impacted me.
It’s pathetic to be pleased that a man who doesn’t like me begrudgingly thinks I do a good job.
Lauren cocks a brow at me. “Then what happened? Did you tell him…” She glances around like someone might overhear us, despite us choosing to have lunch many blocks away from the office.
“I didn’t have to. He knows.” As soon as I tell her that, I grimace, knowing there’s no avoiding explaining how he found out. “Shit, I really shouldn’t be telling you about this. He’s your boss too, and I don’t want to do anything to put you in an uncomfortable position.”
She waves my worry away, scoffing. “Please. I can handle it. Unless he did something really awful or is a secret creep who is perving on you, it won’t affect my working relationship with him.”
When I hesitate, Lauren’s perfectly lined eyes widen. “Wait, is he a secret pervert?” She groans, rubbing at her temples. “Goddammit, even the alphas that seem decent end up being awful.”
“He’s not a pervert. At least I don’t think he is. He’s…” I take a moment to brace myself before continuing, hating to admit the truth aloud because that makes it all the more real. “You know how I went back to the omega clinic on Friday?”
Her brows pinch together, confused by what must seem like a strange shift in topic. “Yeah…”
“Well…” God, this is embarrassing, but after that conversation with River, I realize I’m so far out of my depth with this situation that I need another opinion.
Someone who knows about packs and has a healthy relationship with their inner omega would be ideal.
“The doctor I saw was one of the people who helped me with my heat.”
When I don’t continue, Lauren’s eyes widen. “Helped you or helped you?”
A furious blush erupts on my cheeks. “The latter.”
“Holy shit! Wait, what? Really? And they booked you an appointment with him? Isn’t that against professional protocol or some shit? How did he even end up working your heat?”
Her deluge of questions has my omega wanting to go hide somewhere. Preferably my nest, which, to my chagrin, I still haven’t made. Dammit, I should probably do that. Lauren and Rekha told me that would help regulate my new instincts, but I keep putting it off.
“Crap, sorry. Didn’t mean to overwhelm you,” Lauren says with a sheepish smile when I stare back at her like a deer caught in headlights.
“No, no, it’s fine.” I shake my head and take a quick sip of water.
“Long story short, I went to the omega clinic when I went into heat and he was the doctor I saw that confirmed what was happening. I thought it was just my heat hormones that were making me insanely attracted to him, but turns out, he’s my scent match.
At first, they only had one person available as a heat minder for me, but then I, uh, I begged for the doctor, Ambrose.
And he’d already realized he’s my scent match, so he couldn’t leave me while I was… in need.”
Lauren’s jaw drops more and more as I give my synopsis. “He’s your scent match? Camille, that’s incredible! You know how rare it is to find that, right?”
“I mean, I guess?” I knew it was a big deal to find a scent match, but assumed it couldn’t be that rare if I stumbled upon mine within hours of revealing as an omega. “It’s not that uncommon, is it?”
Lauren shakes her head at me in disbelief. “I keep forgetting how little you know about this stuff.”
When I wince at the reminder of how clueless I am, Lauren reaches out and places a hand atop mine to reassure me.
“That’s not a dig at you! Most betas not involved with packs pay little attention to this stuff.
Especially since scent matches are even rarer with betas.
Anyway, to give you some context, one of my clients is the head of an omega-led company that’s putting together a global database, a sophisticated algorithm, and some new scent emulation tech to find people’s scent matches.
Even with all that technology and research on their side, they have less than a 7% success rate for the people who are part of the pilot program.
They calculate the odds of running into your scent match on your own as 2-4%. ”
Now it’s my turn to gape at her. I’m starting to understand why River is willing to have his packmates court me despite all the issues it poses and his general dislike for me.
Ambrose finding his scent match is a huge deal, and from what the alpha doctor said about him, River is the kind of mate that wouldn’t want to keep him from something so rare and special.
“Wow, I didn’t realize that.”
After my harrowing morning and discussion with River, I was leaning toward telling them I’m not interested.
Now… I’m not so sure.
I’m not one to put stock in fate or destiny, but lately I’ve been defying the odds left and right. It’s hard not to see it as a sign pointing me directly to this pack.
Lauren sits back and takes a sip of her iced coffee, smiling at me. “You’re lucky! You should think about entering the lotto or something.”
I scoff. “I’m definitely not lucky. You haven’t heard everything yet.”
She sobers and sets her glass down. “Shit, okay. Continue.”
“When I went to my appointment at the omega clinic, Ambrose told me about our scent match. He also said he’d spoken with his pack and they wanted to court me. Turns out, my other heat minder is his packmate.”
A little squeal bursts from Lauren. She claps a hand over her mouth and gives me a sheepish look. “Sorry!”
I laugh, because it’s nice to have someone else react to how absurd this whole situation is. “I know!” I exclaim. “I thought it was a joke or something. But no, it was the truth, and Ambrose invited me over to have dinner with his pack and meet their third pack member.”
“You went, right? Please tell me you went!” Lauren’s eyes sparkle with excitement, clearly forgetting that the whole reason we’re discussing this is because I’m having a crisis.
My stomach clenches and the salad I’ve been picking at threatens to come back up. “I went. And I met their other pack member.”
I pause to take a sip of my water, and that’s all it takes for understanding to dawn on my savvy coworker’s face.
Her jaw goes slack. “No.”
“Yep,” I reply weakly.
I can practically see Lauren’s thoughts racing behind her keen eyes. She opens and closes her mouth a few times, eventually settling on a muttered, “Fuck.”
“Yep,” I say again, popping the “p”.
“That’s…” An indignant scowl forms on her lips. “That’s so unfair!”
I snort, shrugging weakly at her anger on my behalf.
“You meet a doctor who is your damn scent match, who just so happens to be in the same pack as the heat clinic worker who banged your brains out. And the third member of their pack is your smoking hot tattooed alpha boss who is completely off limits. Shit, no wonder you’re upset.”
A strange choked wheeze comes out of me at Lauren calling River “smoking hot”. Guess I was the only one who hadn’t noticed how appealing he was until today. Or maybe I did, but I’m not enough of a masochist to have a crush on someone who treats me like crap.
“What? Come on, he’s gorgeous. Plus, he’s got that whole slightly nerdy but also mysterious vibe. I may be mated, but I’m not dead.”
Lauren laughs when I sputter again and my cheeks grow furiously hot.
“He’s… fine.”
Lauren rolls her eyes at me, and I let out a frustrated sigh. “Okay, he’s gorgeous. God dammit.” Tears well in eyes as I admit it, and therefore also admit to myself that a part of me is upset that the gorgeous alpha doesn’t want me.
“So what was going on in his office? Was he asking you to quit so he can court you? I swear, I’ll go tell him off about it right now, if he had the nerve—”
“He didn’t!” I interrupt. “He’s not interested in me.”
Lauren scoffs. “I doubt that.”
“He’s not. When he arrived at dinner on Friday, he could barely look at me. I went to see him this morning because I was worried about him telling everyone in the office that I’m an omega.”
She opens her mouth again, undoubtedly to threaten yelling at our boss on my behalf, but I keep going.
“He said it’s not his place to disclose that.
Then, he told me his packmates wanted to keep courting me.
It’s a technicality I’m not sure I want to risk, but there are no rules against me being romantically involved with them.
Just him. So he wants to keep things as they are between us while I date Ambrose and Jackson. ”
“That’s…” Lauren lets out a low whistle. “Complicated.”
“Way to state the obvious.” I don’t mean to be so snarky, but luckily it makes her laugh.
There’s a minute of silence as Lauren’s laughter trails off and she takes some time to think now that she’s fully up to speed with my drama. The waiter comes with our checks and while we’re waiting for him to return, she speaks again. “So, are you going to try it?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” I sigh and scrub a hand across my face. “Would it be crazy if I did?”
I appreciate that she doesn’t reply instantly, taking a moment to consider things even more as she taps her bright acrylic nails against the side of her glass. “Maybe a little.”
My stomach sinks at her words, and she grins at my reaction.
“But I think that right there is your answer,” she says, gesturing to my deflated posture. “Life is a series of weird, random, and crazy shit. I say, go for it. What have you got to lose?”
“Other than my job, my dignity, and my heart?” I reply drolly.
Lauren shrugs. “Eh, you can handle losing those because you’re tough and experienced enough to find them again.”
Damn, she’s right. I’ve had my heart broken and dealt with embarrassment and job changes plenty of times. I’m not fragile, as much as my newly discovered omega likes to make me act weak.
Also, I don’t know if I can afford to not give this a try. I doubt there are more romantic opportunities anywhere near as good as this waiting on the horizon.
“Yeah. Okay. I guess it won’t hurt to try.” Or rather, it will, but I have to trust that I can handle the pain.
“That’s the spirit!” She taps a finger on her chin thoughtfully, and her smile takes on a cheeky bent. “Besides, I give it one heat before Mr. Marlowe ends up quitting so he can be with his pack’s irresistible omega.”
“What? No—he wouldn’t—he—”
My spluttered protest earns a giggle from her.
“Never underestimate the power of an omega. We’ve brought the toughest alphas to their knees with the bat of a lash.
Add in his pack getting a piece of you while he has to sit on the sidelines, and the fact that you’re stunning, and Mr. Marlowe will be begging at your feet in no time. ”
The image sends a thrill through me, though my omega “helpfully” replaces it with me at his feet instead, my hands going to his belt.
I shake away the pornographic thought and brush off Lauren’s flattery. “River won’t do that.”
“Ooo, is he River instead of Mr. Marlowe now?” Lauren waggles her brows at me.
I laugh to hide my reaction to her teasing. “We can bet on it, if you want. Odds have been in my favor, though, so it’s probably not a good idea.”
She shakes her head and chuckles. “Fair point. Alright, I’ll leave it alone. But just know that if you ever want to talk about things, River or otherwise, I’m all ears.”
“Thanks.” That feels like far too little of a thing to say when this is the second time my new omega friend has helped me while I’m spiraling. “Really. Thank you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she says, smiling back at me. “Just remember how nice I am when I need a huge favor from you,” she adds.
“Absolutely. Any time you need to bury a body, I’ll be there.”
We both laugh, and as we head back to the office, I feel lighter than I have in days.