5. Scentmatch
Scentmatch
Emilia
"We're having someone to dinner tonight, so can you make enough for an extra person?" Jake sounded excited on the phone.
"Of course. I was planning on making stir-fry and potstickers, is that okay?"
"Perfect. Oh, and grab a bottle of wine to go with it, please."
"I will."
As I prepared dinner, I wondered who was on their way over. We hadn't had any visitors since I'd arrived. The men didn't seem very inclined to have guests and that was fine with me.
I set the table for six and set out the wine glasses. Daryl had been out on a flight today, but he'd texted to let me know he would be home for dinner.
Sure enough, at six, all three of them walked in the door. And behind them was a beautiful woman with long dark hair that cascaded down her back, perfectly setting off her warm red coat over a darker red dress. She was stunning and I was shocked when the scent of geraniums reached my nose.
She was an omega.
"Hi," I greeted the woman, my stomach already churning. Why was there an omega in my home?
"Em, this is Candace." Jake didn't even look at me when he introduced her.
"Hi, Candace."
I stood frozen, watching as the men all rushed to help her off with her coat. They were smitten, I could tell from their scents filling the room. That and the fact they didn't even look away from her.
"Dinner is on the table when you're ready."
No one heard me, it seemed. They were giving Candace the tour.
I wandered back into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of wine, throwing it back quickly. This couldn't be what I thought it was. They wouldn't just replace me when I was still right here, would they? A growing hollowness in my belly warned me of bad things to come.
Finally, they came downstairs, laughing and talking, as if they'd known each other for years.
I followed the group into the dining room and sank into my seat.
Daryl pulled out Candace's chair for her and then sat on her left.
Jake sat at the head of the table to her right and Rory took his place beside me, sitting across from the woman they all seemed to be obsessed with.
"Does this have shellfish in it?" Candace asked, looking at me with crystal blue eyes.
"No, just beef. The dumplings have pork."
"Oh." She pursed her lips. "I don't eat pork."
"That's fine," Jake assured her. "Have the stirfry tonight and Em will make sure to cook what you want in the future, right, Em?"
I stared at him. "Uh, she's coming over again?"
"I'll give you a list of what I can and cannot have," Candace told me.
"She's moving in next week," Jake said.
The room suddenly seemed very hot.
"Moving in?"
"She's our scentmatch!" Daryl looked so happy I almost felt bad for my own reaction.
"I… I thought…"
"It's not their fault. It's biology," Candace told me earnestly. She gazed adoringly at the men. "It's not something you can explain until you've had it. It's irresistible."
"Don't worry, you can still stay," Daryl told me, while still gazing at his new omega. "We would never put you out."
I sat in frozen horror, barely able to breathe around the tightness in my chest. They'd replaced me. This was why they'd never bitten me and bonded me into the pack. They'd been waiting for her.
"Excuse me," I got up from the table.
Daryl gave me a curious look as I walked into the kitchen, but didn't stop me.
Once there, I leaned on the counter and focused on sucking in air through my nose and blowing it out slowly through my mouth.
This couldn't be happening. I was losing my second pack just a year and a half after the first.
My heart splintered and a stifled cry broke from my throat. No one heard it.
I went to my room and sat on the bed, trying to stop the tears that poured down my face and soaked my blouse.
I'd even dressed nicely tonight, wanting to impress whoever they brought home.
And then they'd done this. No warning, no sign that my entire world was going to be turned upside down again for the second time in less than two years.
It was after 10 when I heard the front door open and shut. The house settled into silence, but this time it felt like the silence was mocking me.
Since it seemed they'd all left to take Candace home, I went out and cleared the table, then scraped the plates and put them in the dishwasher. It was a simple task that kept my hands busy, but not my head. My mind was spinning over everything that had happened tonight.
I was just finishing up in the kitchen when the men came home. They sounded positively joyful when they walked through the door.
"Emilia, thanks for dinner tonight. Just remember, no more pork," Jake called as he headed upstairs. "It was delicious, though!"
Wiping my hands on a dish towel, I folded it carefully, blinking hard to stop any more tears from escaping.
"You okay?" Daryl asked. I looked up to see him leaning in the doorway.
"Not really."
"What's going on?" He crossed the room and gathered me in his arms. His warmth enveloped me and for a moment, I could pretend everything was back to normal. Except for the scent of geraniums on his clothes.
Pulling back, I wrinkled my nose. "You smell like her."
He gave me a lopsided grin. "Yeah, I hugged her goodbye."
"And kissed her." I could scent her on his lips just above me.
"Well, yes. She's our scentmatch. She belongs to all of us."
"Where did you meet her?" I stared into his eyes, silently begging him to tell me the truth.
"At the grocery store. Well, Rory did. He said it was like getting hit by a freight train. He introduced himself and told her he had a pack. We met the next day for coffee to make sure it was the real deal."
"When was that?" I tried to remember if I'd smelled her on them before.
"Three days ago," he told me. "Hey, don't worry, okay? I know this is kind of awkward, but we don't want you to feel left out. You're still welcome to stay here. We love your cooking."
"What about heats?" I asked. "Or just… being together?"
"We'll work it out. Lots of packs manage two omegas easily and there's plenty of us to go around," he said. "She'll take the pack bedroom with the nest and you can share our beds like we've been doing. We'll figure out a rotation that works for everyone."
It sounded like it would work. I leaned against Daryl's hard chest and sighed. "Just don't stop caring for me, please?"
"Never," he promised, catching my chin with his finger and thumb. He tilted my face up and kissed me with lips tainted in geranium. "I love you, baby. You're going to be part of our life no matter what."
"Okay."
"Come on, you can sleep with me tonight," he said with a grin. He scooped me up in his arms. "I'll shower, you can shower with me, and I'll fuck the worry right out of you."
He did exactly as promised, bringing me to climax three times before he exploded deep inside me. Then he curled around me, laid an arm over my body, and fell asleep.
I lay there, feeling more settled with Daryl curled up to me. The two alphas hadn't even spoken to me and I knew we would have to talk about what was happening. There was about to be another omega in the house and I needed to know how it was going to affect us.