Chapter 8
EIGHT
LUCAS
I stand up before anyone else can catch up, because I just have to touch her. Even with the dulling chemical edge of her suppressants, Trinity might smell better than any other omega I’ve ever met. Thanks to the meds, it’s hard to pin down completely.
She smells sweet, but also earthy. The scent is difficult to describe but reminds me of my earliest memories of drinking chai iced tea on the back porch of my parents’ lake house. She makes me think of summer and boyhood and a simpler time in my life I never expected to get back.
I just have to touch her.
I reach for Trinity’s hand, my fingers trembling slightly with anticipation. “Let’s see if we’re compatible,” I say, surprised by the huskiness in my voice.
Her hand slides into mine, small but surprisingly strong.
The moment our skin touches, electricity shoots up my arm.
Trinity rises to her feet with a grace that makes my heart stutter.
She follows my lead without hesitation, responding to the lightest pressure of my fingers like we’ve danced together a thousand times before .
Mine . The word thunders through my brain before I can stop it.
Those alphas—her exes—said she wasn’t omega enough? This girl? Who already sways forward into my arms at the lightest touch on her back. The thought ignites something primal inside me. How could anyone look at this woman and think she was lacking? It’s absurd. It’s infuriating.
I pull her closer, my arm sliding around her waist. Her body fits against mine perfectly, curves meeting angles like puzzle pieces finding their proper place. A small shiver runs through her, one she tries to suppress, but I feel it against my chest.
“You smell amazing,” I whisper, leaning down. “May I?”
She nods, eyes wide, pupils dilating. I brush my lips across the bend of her neck, just the lightest touch, and feel her shudder against me. The reaction is impossible to hide, and I fight back a satisfied smile.
Then I inhale deeply, filling my lungs with her scent. My eyes practically roll back in my head. She smells like fresh rain on warm earth, like sunshine through leaves, like home. The chemical edge of suppressants can’t mask the perfect omega sweetness underneath.
“Oh,” I breathe against her skin. “That’s...wow.”
I’m vaguely aware of Cash and Matheo watching us, but they fade into the background. All I can focus on is Trinity—the way her pulse jumps beneath my lips, how her fingers tighten against my shoulder.
“We can take this as far as you want. If we’re already at the limit, just let me know,” I murmur against her sweetly scented skin. “How believable do you need this to be? ”
She waits until I raise my head to look at her before she responds. The next word out of her mouth is more of a breathy omega whine than it is actual speech.
“More.”
I lean in, drawn by her consent and that single breathless word.
My tongue slides across the delicate skin of her neck in one long, deliberate stroke.
The taste of her explodes across my senses.
Her pulse hammers against my lips, and I have to physically restrain myself from sinking my teeth into that perfect spot where her neck meets her shoulder.
So mine.
The thought blindsides me. I’ve never felt this possessive instinct before, not with any omega.
The urge to mark her permanently is so overwhelming my jaw actually aches with the effort of holding back.
I don’t believe in scent-matches. Some people smell better than others, there isn’t anything mystical about it.
But I’ve never smelled an omega like this one.
Cash moves in behind her, his presence familiar and grounding.
Our gazes meet over her shoulder, and there is no hint of jealousy or hesitation in his gaze.
Betas don’t scent-match. He knows I’m in love with him, but there was always the possibility of an omega coming along and knocking me back on my heels.
He leans close to her other ear, his voice a gentle rumble.
“We’ll be whatever you need us to be, Trinity.” His lips brush her cheek in a kiss so gentle it seems almost reverent. “Whatever role you want us to play.”
Trinity’s scent changes, deepening with arousal as she melts against me—the unmistakable sweet-musk scent of omega slick. My nostrils flare as Trinity’s arousal perfumes the air around us. My alpha instincts roar to life, demanding I claim her right here, right now.
Trinity laughs, the sound slightly breathless as she pulls away. “I think that’s what we needed to know.”
She returns to her seat, crossing her legs primly even as her fists clench in her lap with the tension she can’t hide, but the movement only wafts more of her intoxicating scent toward me.
I grip the edge of the table to steady myself, fighting the urge to sweep everything off the surface and lay her out like a feast. I want to taste every inch of her, starting with the bit of slick I can smell between her thighs.
Matheo, always the composed one, extends his hand across the table. “It will be our pleasure to be in business with you, Trinity.”
When she places her hand in his, Matheo smoothly turns it over, bringing the back of her hand to his lips. The gesture is old-fashioned, almost courtly, but the effect it has on Trinity is immediate. A soft moan escapes her lips—barely audible but unmistakable to alpha ears.
Holy shit. If I had a recording of that sound, I’d never need porn again. That little noise contains more genuine desire than any fake performance I’ve ever watched.
Trinity jumps up suddenly, her cheeks flushed. “I’ll go get Amara for the contract signing.”
She practically flees the room, and I can’t help the satisfied smile that spreads across my face as I watch her go. Her hips sway as she walks, and I wonder if she even realizes how much her body is calling to us.
“She’s perfect,” I murmur once she’s out of earshot.
And I don’t just mean so we can file a pack registration and reapply to the adoption agency.
This has suddenly become about so much more than that.
“ I told you so,” Matheo crows as soon as we hit the sidewalk outside his mother’s agency. “She’s amazing, right?”
“Then why the fuck did you bring Kyren into this?” Cash explodes.
“Be quiet.” Matheo risks a glance behind him and hurries us around the corner. “He’ll sign the contract. Don’t worry.”
Cash glares back at him. “The contract isn’t what I’m worried about, and you know it.”
The so-called contract negotiation went by quickly because we basically agreed to everything Trinity asked for, including the non-disclosure agreement and mandatory STD testing.
In fact, I paid about as much attention to the discussion as I did the color of the walls in Amara’s office. All I could think about was that there is only one reason Trinity would want medical records.
She’s thinking about fucking us.
Even if she doesn’t want to admit it to herself.
The part of the contract normally reserved for discussing sexual limits during heat-breaking was deliberately left blank, even though there is nothing in the contract itself covering sexual content.
Technically, pretty much anything is potentially on the table.
Don’t worry, sweetheart. My dick and I are thinking the exact same thing.
The memory of her scent and the feel of her arms carried me all the way out of the building that we had to walk out of together because it would look weird if a pack left in separate cars.
Until these two idiots decide to ruin my high by getting into a pointless argument.
“Kyren isn’t the same asshole he was in college. This will work,” Matheo stubbornly insists. “Once I’ve explained everything, he’ll be cool.”
“Kyren is a walking disaster,” Cash continues, his voice tightening with each word. “He stole my girlfriend sophomore year and almost got me expelled when we were seniors, for Christ’s sake. And he constantly calls me insulting nicknames like we’re all still immature frat boys.”
“What girlfriend?” I ask, nudging Cash’s shoulder playfully.
Cash wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me closer. “Don’t worry about it, baby. She was no one.”
“If she was no one,” Matheo interjects with a triumphant grin, “then why are you still upset about it?”
“A cheating ex isn’t the point,” Cash’s gripes. “Kyren can’t be trusted. He’s never held down a job for more than a few months and no relationship of his has even lasted that long. He’s immature, impulsive, and?—”
“And exactly what we need right now,” Matheo cuts in. “Look, I get it. Kyren can be a lot. But he’s also charming when he wants to be, and Trinity needs three alphas.”
Cash adjusts his glasses, a nervous habit I’ve come to recognize when he’s frustrated. “There has to be someone else.”
“Fine.” Matheo crosses his arms. “Go back in there and explain to Trinity that we’re lying about both Kyren and being a pack. Tell her we’re just random guys who’ve been friends since college, trying to scam her.”
“Don’t you dare,” I interrupt, stepping between them. The thought of losing Trinity before we’ve even started makes my chest ache. Her scent still lingers on my skin, summer-sweet and intoxicating. “We need this to work.”
Cash must see something in my expression because his stance softens. I rarely put my foot down about anything, but this feels important in a way I can’t fully articulate.
“If you can think of any other alphas who might be available, I’m all ears,” Matheo adds, gentler now. “But we need someone immediately, and Kyren has never let me down.”
Cash runs a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly. “Fine. But any problems Kyren causes are your responsibility, Matheo. Every single one.”
“There won’t be any problems,” Matheo promises, relief evident in his voice.
I’m not sure I believe him, but I’m too focused on the memory of Trinity’s body against mine—the way she melted into my touch—to care about potential complications.
The contract gives us one week with her.
One week to convince her we’re a real pack and she belongs with us forever.
One week for her to fall for us the way I’m already falling for her.
“We should celebrate,” I suggest, trying to lighten the mood. “Our first pack outing. First round is on you, Matheo. Since you’re a billionaire and all.”
Matheo rolls his eyes, but doesn’t argue. A good sign.
“We’re not actually a pack,” Cash reminds me, but there’s no heat behind his words.
“Not yet,” Matheo says with a confidence I envy. “But we will be, at least for as long as it takes to convince Trinity that I’m not going anywhere. I get my chance with the most amazing omega I’ve ever met and you get your baby.”
His words put a pall on my excitement. Adoption is barely on my mind at all right now .
But it isn’t just Trinity who will need convincing that this is more than happenstance. Fate has brought us all together. Kismet. A unique alignment of the universe that we would be fools to ignore.
And I have exactly one week to keep these idiots from jumping right in their own way.