Chapter 14
14
RONAN
I wanted to come alone.
Fuck me, I almost got away with sneaking away undetected.
If Jasper hadn’t been so antsy to leave after practice, he wouldn’t have caught me on my way out of the arena.
We’re only a few days from heading off on an away game, and the only thing I want—the only person I want—is the beautiful omega waiting for me at her place.
Ever since her text appeared on my screen this morning, I’ve been fighting back the urge to ignore all my responsibilities and go straight to her.
But Briar has a job too.
She made it very clear that we would meet tonight, and I couldn’t risk upsetting her already.
I’m already hanging on by a thread; I can’t imagine how out of my mind I’d be if she didn’t want to see me because I screwed up.
Jasper was never a part of the plan, though.
He sits behind the wheel of his car, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel at a quick, off-tempo beat.
We’ve been lurching down the road every few minutes when he gets restless and presses too hard on the gas pedal.
If I didn’t hate driving in such a confined space, I would have kicked his ass out of from behind the wheel already.
“Tell me again what she’s like,” he begs, tugging anxiously at his hair before gripping the wheel with both hands again.
I swallow, staring straight ahead.
“Perfect.”
“That doesn’t help me. I want to know something about her. Something important.”
“I don’t know anything more than that.”
“You didn’t try to learn anything when you were texting? Please, Ronan. I can’t mess this up. I can’t.”
Sighing, I shift in the leather seat, making it creak.
I’m not lying to him.
Everything I know, I’ve learned from being a fucking stalker.
“She’s . . . tiny.”
“Tiny? Really, Ronan? Every omega is tiny compared to us.”
“Well, fuck. I’ve only seen her twice.”
Well, a few more than two.
Technically, I’ve only spoken to her twice, but I’ve seen her more than that.
Following her to and from work and everywhere in between has become a bit of a habit of mine.
It’s only so I can make sure she’s safe.
Protecting her is my job.
“That’s twice more than I have!”
“Let it go,” I grunt.
“No, I won’t let it go. This is my omega we’re talking about. It’s important that I don’t make a fool of myself in front of her today.”
“She’s our omega,” I correct him, not bothering to mask my growl.
“Semantics. My point stands.”
“You weren’t even supposed to come with me tonight.”
He whips his head to glare at me.
“That narrative isn’t helping at all.”
“Sorry.”
“I’m terrified, Ro.”
I ditch the scowl.
“Why?”
“What if she doesn’t like the way I smell? I’ve only smelled her on you, but even that was enough to make me sure about who she is supposed to be to me. She could feel differently, couldn’t she? Or she could hate the way I look. Or speak. Maybe I breathe too loudly, and she hates loud breathers,” he rambles, nerves bringing his tone up a pitch.
“You’re freaking out over nothing. I’m pretty sure it’s unheard of for only one half of a scent match to feel the pull. And you breathe quietly.”
His exhale is strained as he releases a hand from the steering wheel and scratches at his neck.
Anxiety doesn’t look that great on him.
The vein in his forehead is going to explode any minute, and I’m positive Landon’s would, too, if he found blood on the seats and had to get yet another vehicle detailed.
“Tell me what she looks like,” he says, his voice softer now.
I swallow. “You’re going to see her in two minutes.”
“Tell me anyway.”
“Her eyes are blue. Pale, like if you dropped blue paint on a plate and added too much white. There’s a tiny stud in her nose, and her hair is a deep brown, so dark it’s almost black like Landon’s. She only reaches my shoulders, but she pushes up on her tiptoes to try and appear taller every chance she gets.”
That’s something I’ve noticed by .
. . keeping an eye on her.
Yeah, I’ll go with that.
Fucking stalker.
“What else?”
“You can see for yourself. Pull over here.”
The car jerks to the right before he finds a parking spot along the curb.
The engine runs quietly while he shifts into Park and then grows still in his seat.
I unbuckle my seat belt and stare at him, waiting for a sign of life.
“You can’t meet her sitting in the car.”
He turns to me, eyes fear-stricken.
“This is the moment I’ve been waiting for my entire life.”
“I know.”
“Do you think she’s been waiting for us too?”
“I hope so.”
“You get out first. I need a minute,” he says, loosely flinging his hand toward the door.
“Thirty seconds, Jasper. You don’t need longer than that.”
Stepping outside, I hesitate to shut the door, worry bunching in my gut as I stare at my packmate.
He blows out a heavy breath and swipes his hands over his already perfectly swooped-back hair.
The shake in them doesn’t go unnoticed.
Before I can order him to stop fussing, he turns the vehicle off and pushes his door open.
In a matter of seconds, he’s meeting me on the sidewalk and locking the doors behind us.
“Do you need to text her first to let her know we’re here?”
“I was just going to buzz her apartment.”
He blinks at me.
“Yeah, that works too.”
I slip my hands into the pockets of my jeans and try to calm my own nerves.
I’m not as open with them as Jasper or Dash are, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.
At least I know that Briar feels the same about me as I do her.
That makes this a bit easier to handle.
Jasper has none of that reassurance.
With a slap of my hand to his back, I lead the way up the sidewalk.
Jasper fidgets with his hands the entire way inside before taking a deep breath and forcing himself to stop.
“You haven’t been in her apartment before?” he asks.
The wall of apartment numbers and their call buttons have his attention as he stares at them all.
For the first time ever, I don’t press on my mom’s.
The loud ringing of our call to Briar’s apartment fills the entrance as I say, “No. I haven’t.”
I’ve only seen her front door a million times.
Passed by it, unknowing as to who was waiting behind it.
Jasper nods, appearing relieved.
“Okay.”
The door in front of us buzzes when it’s unlocked.
I reach ahead of Jasper and pull it open, waiting for him to pass first.
“You’re Jasper Montgomery,” I remind him.
He glances at me, smiling softly.
“And she’s our forever, Ro.”
My throat grows sticky.
I don’t reply, not trusting myself enough to.
Instead, I zone in to what we’re about to do.
Her apartment door is almost visible from the entrance of the building, but it’s tucked slightly off-centre, keeping it a bit hidden.
From the street, you can’t see too far into the building, and I made damn sure nobody could see Briar coming and going from her apartment door.
Not like anyone but me has been perched on the street watching.
Jasper sucks in a few breaths and straightens his shoulders as I lead the way down the hall and to where the door to her place waits.
He tucks a finger into his shirt collar and tugs, trying to get some air beneath the fabric.
“You didn’t have to wear a dress shirt,” I tell him.
“I need to make a good impression.”
We stop in front of a wood door with the number 100 on it, and I bring my knuckles to it, knocking twice.
“You will,” I assure him.
He nods jerkily and stares at the door, waiting.
“She knows I’m coming, right? You told her it wasn’t just you?”
“Not exactly.”
He gapes, turning his entire body to face me at the same time the door opens.
Briar appears in front of us, eyes clear and bright, cheeks the slightest bit red.
Dressed in a pair of straight-legged jeans and a shirt cropped just above her waist with the hem frayed, she stares at the both of us, taking in our presence.
“Hey, Petal,” I rumble, keeping my hands hanging loose at my sides instead of reaching for her like I ache to let them do.
Brown lashes flutter as she tucks her lip in between her teeth and focuses on me.
The scent dampener in the vents hides the full blast of her lemon and cookies, but being so close to her home offers me a tease of it.
I breathe it in, relieved when I feel that same tightening in my gut that I did the first two times I was this close to her.
She rolls her lip, bringing more colour to it as she says, “Hi, Ronan.”
The hands she has folded in front of her are pressing hard into her belly.
A nervous tell, maybe.
Slowly, her eyes flick to the right before expanding in size.
Still the same beautiful blue shade, they focus completely on Jasper, raking up and down his body like she’s trying to burn him into her memory with only one glance.
“I’m Jasper,” my packmate exclaims, his face redder than a fresh burn.
He’s leaning toward her, stealing the space between them inch by inch, almost unknowingly.
“You’re Briar. Our omega—I mean, you’re an omega. My scent match.”
Briar drops her eyes for half a second, laughing so softly I almost miss the twinkling noise.
When she looks at Jasper again, she’s grinning at him.
“It’s nice to meet you, Jasper. I am an omega. And you’re an alpha.”
I press a hand to his chest when he rocks forward on his toes.
“Can we come inside?”
“Oh! Yes, of course,” she says, stepping back to make room for us to slip past her.
Jasper follows me, nearly tripping over my heels.
I’d laugh at his overeager attitude if I weren’t so on edge with the lack of Briar’s scent.
Being so close so soon after finding her and having scent blocker scratching at my nose unsettles me.
At Mom’s, the lack of scents doesn’t bother me.
But here? I want it everywhere.
Hers and mine. Jasper’s too.
It doesn’t feel fair that he’s meeting her without the same openness that I did, either.
They can’t smell each other properly yet.
I step into the small apartment and frown.
It’s cluttered with her furniture, not one specific piece having enough space.
They’re all high-quality, probably nicer than the stuff we have at home.
The fridge is old and yellow, and the tiles in the kitchen are peeling up at the corners.
It looks like she tried to DIY some renovations in the kitchen but didn’t finish entirely.
A strip of greenish-brown granite cuts through what should be a butcher-block countertop, and one of the silver knobs on the cabinets has fallen off, revealing the brown paint around the screw hole where the rest is white.
Colourful magnets hold up an assortment of photos and a brightly filled-in calendar on the fridge.
I want to read what she’s written on it, but I’m pretty sure that would cross me fully into stalker territory, and I’m already too close to that.
“I should have told you I wasn’t coming alone,” I say, twisting away from the fridge.
Briar rushes around the living room, picking up and fluffing all the thick accent pillows on the couch.
Her exhale is forced when she finally leaves the decorations alone and adjusts her shirt, tugging at it when it rides up.
“It’s okay. I need to meet everyone eventually, right? I’d prefer to do it now. Do either of you want anything to drink?”
Jasper’s swallow is audible.
She passes by us in a flash, her energy all over the place.
The intensity in the way Jasper stares after her is like looking in a mirror.
He hasn’t even gotten the chance to touch her, and he’s ready to hand her his heart.
“I’m okay. What would you like to drink? If you give me a tour of the place and tell me where you keep your glasses stored, I’ll get you something. You don’t serve us, Briar,” Jasper says, grabbing hold of himself enough to follow her.
My alpha demands I join them, but I don’t.
I grit my teeth and press my back against the wall instead, thinking of my packmate and what he needs.
I’ve had my time—for now.
He’s already here, anyway.
It’s only fair I share our omega for a few minutes.
JASPER
Briar.
Her name is as perfect as she is.
The way it falls off my tongue has my skin tingling and the hairs on my arms rising.
She spins to face me in the kitchen, causing a burst of lemon to pass between us.
I grip the countertop for balance as my knees wobble, balance non-existent.
“You don’t have to get me anything, Jasper. This is my house, and I’m capable of serving guests,” she argues with no real venom in the words.
“I don’t doubt that you’re capable of doing anything you want to.”
Surprise flicks across her face, and I think about that too much.
What did I say that was so surprising?
Has she been told the opposite?
“That’s nice of you to say,” she murmurs.
With my fingers still clutching the counter, I hold her stare.
“I know this is sudden. Really sudden. Ronan should have let you know that I was coming with him so you didn’t feel bombarded. You’ve already opened your home to him, and I don’t want to overstep. I’m a stranger to you.”
“I can’t smell you in here. Not very well.”
I furrow my brows.
“Do you . . . want to smell me?”
“Don’t you want to smell me? You’re just going off a hunch here, aren’t you? Hoping that you’ll like me because Ronan does?” she asks.
“I’m already familiar with how you smell, love.”
“How?”
“Ronan came home filling the air with your sweet lemon and warm cookies. I knew right away what you were to me. Who you were. The only thing I don’t know is if you want me the way I want you.”
I’m more than aware of how biology works for us.
Scent matches are a rare and beautiful thing, but omegas themselves are something precious.
An alpha will stop at nothing to be the one whom the omega decides is perfect for their pack.
Now add in a scent match, and there was never a chance I wasn’t going to declare this perfect, beautiful omega as mine.
I’ve spoken to her for five minutes, and I already can’t stand the thought of leaving without her.
How Ronan did it, I’ll never understand.
And how Dash can deny what I know must be there somewhere .
. .
Landon is something completely different altogether.
He refuses to accept her without even a single glance.
The past he’s tried so hard to forget is damaging his future, and I wish I knew how to shake some sense into him.
We need Briar, whether he and Dash are ready to accept that or not.
She’s the gravity that could realign our scattered pieces, and now more than ever, I worry what will happen if that shift doesn’t start.
Briar’s gaze is heavy, thoughtful as she stands across from me.
The silence is nearly too much with all the chaos in my head, but I’d suffer beneath it for hours if it meant I could stay this close to her.
“Do you want to step outside on the balcony with me, Jasper?” she asks, almost in a whisper.
“You have a balcony down here?”
“It’s not a balcony as much as it is a small dug-out patio, but I like to think it still counts. And there isn’t de-scenter out there.”
I nearly combust. “Yes, I’d like to join you on the balcony.”
“It’s this way, attached to my bedroom for some reason,” she explains, moving to slip by me.
I zero in on the lack of space between us as I forget to step back, blocking most of the walkway.
Briar notices too, but not until she’s already attempted to pass.
With her back pressed against the counter, she stares up at me, her throat slightly exposed.
My shoulder is right in her face as I accidentally trap her.
My heart jumps, lodging itself in my throat when she reaches out with a hand and lightly touches my back.
In a blink, all my blood rushes to press against the skin beneath her fingertips, making it come alive in a way I’ve never felt before.
She might as well be branding me, claiming me with a simple touch.
“Jasper,” she whispers, pressing her front closer to my side as if pushed by an invisible hand.
Her scent is trapped in the apartment, subdued but not invisible.
The ballooning of her pupils comes a second before a fresh wave of shortbread cookies hits me.
It’s somehow more decadent, sweeter.
Strong enough to completely cut through the scent blockers that I want to stop blowing into this apartment immediately.
My alpha snarls at her scent, knowing without a doubt what it is.
Our omega is perfuming for us.