9. Sterling
STERLING
A loud, excited knock jerks me awake, cutting through the haze of sleep.
I blink, disoriented, my brain sluggish and heavy. I glance at the clock beside my nest.
Another sharp knock rattles the door, making me jolt so hard my knee hits the wall.
“Sterling! You better not be dead in there!” Daisy’s voice carries through the house and into my room, loud and unapologetic.
I groan, rubbing my eyes, trying to force my brain into gear. Leave it to Daisy to be early. She’s always early. And loud.
“Coming!” I call, my voice thick with sleep.
I stumble out of my nest, cursing as I trip over a stray pillow, my limbs feeling clumsy and heavy because I somehow managed to tangle myself up in their clothes while I slept.
Their scent is all over me, clinging to my skin, making my pulse thud in that needy way I can’t seem to shake, and my stomach drops as I realize I’m positively drenched in their scent, their essence soaked into the fabric, into my skin.
I peel off my sweatshirt, toss it to the side, and smooth down my hair, trying to pretend like I’m not a complete mess.
My heart pounds as I shove the evidence of my stalker behavior back under my pillows, and then smooth my hands over my shirt.
Like that’s going to somehow erase the fact that I spent the afternoon wrapped in their clothes and in their scent, sleeping the day away.
Daisy’s pounding on the door again.
“Hold your horses!” I yell, shuffling toward the door. And praying she doesn’t notice my blushing or their scent.
I take a deep breath and rush to the door before Daisy can kick it down.
Daisy stands there, grinning, blonde curls shining in the porch light, two oversized treat bags in her hands, and behind her are two other Omegas I didn’t expect.
One I recognize from the outdoor club, and the other I don’t.
Their noses twitch slightly as they step inside.
Any hope the Alphas’ scent would go unnoticed is quickly dashed.
I try not to panic.
“Finally, girl!” Daisy announces, brushing past me like she owns the place. “I thought you were dead in here.”
“Not dead,” I say quickly, voice way too high. “Just…unexpectedly napping.”
“I hope you don’t mind. I brought these two with me.” She points over her shoulder.
I make way for them to come in. I really don’t mind. I like people, even though I’m not good at meeting them. I’m truly happy that Daisy has taken it upon herself to welcome me with such open arms.
“Hi,” I say. “Of course, the more the merrier.”
“I told them we were watching Can’t Buy Me Love , and when they said they hadn’t seen it, I informed them their attendance was mandatory,” Daisy says with mock seriousness, tucking an errant curl behind her ear.
She gestures to the petite Omega beside her—fair skin, waves of copper hair so vibrant it makes me instantly envious, and the cutest freckles I’ve ever seen.
“This is Gentry, she’s new to town, too,” Daisy introduces, and Gentry offers me a warm, easy smile.
“Hi!” she says, her voice friendly, open. With a very noticeable southern lilt. “But I’ve been here for three years already.” She nudges Daisy and gives her the side eye.
“Like I said…new to town,” Daisy laughs.
Then Daisy puts her arm around the shoulders of the other Omega who is holding a bottle of wine.
“And this,” she announces, grinning, “is Lily. A local, my baking buddy, and responsible for these.” She jostles the treat bags.
The brunette next to her snorts, shaking her head.
“And it’s also a much needed night away from my little one,” Lily adds, wiggling the bottle. “Hence the wine.”
I laugh, already liking them both.
“Come in. The kitchen’s through there and everything else is…well, here.” I gesture awkwardly around my small house. “Bathroom is through my bedroom. Kind of weird, but, you know, don’t worry about it.”
“I was going to make cookies, but I guess I was more tired than I thought and accidentally fell asleep. But I have copious amounts of salty snacks to make up for it.” I force a laugh, making my way into the kitchen and rummaging through the cupboards.
First I find four mugs, because I definitely don’t have anything fancier, and then a bottle opener. I pull out a bag of popcorn and a half-crushed bag of chips, dumping them into mismatched bowls before heading back into the living room.
Lily, Gentry, and Daisy are already settled on the couch, their heads bent together like they’re conspiring. The second I walk in, all three of them look up at me at once. Yep, definitely conspiring.
And that’s when I notice it. My bedroom door is still wide open, my nest fully visible from where they’re sitting.
It’s a mess of blankets and pillows tangled up with Cass’s sweatshirt and JP’s jacket on full display.
It seems I didn’t hide them as well as I thought.
Their scents are thick in the air like I marinated myself in them.
Daisy’s eyes narrow slightly, her gaze flicking from the open bedroom to me. She inhales deeply through her nose, the corner of her mouth twitching with a knowing, mischievous grin.
“Napping, huh?” she says, winking with all the subtlety of a freight train.
I nod, trying to swallow past the embarrassment clawing up my throat. “Yep. Totally, super tired.”
She doesn’t buy it.
“So…” Daisy drawls, glancing at the nest she can see through the doorway and then back at me.
My stomach plummets.
“Wanna tell me why it smells like a certain pair of Alphas were in here?” Daisy asks, not even bothering to look at me as she nonchalantly rifles through the bakery bags she dumped on the coffee table.
She pulls out a pastry, takes a massive bite, and flops back onto my couch like she owns the place.
“Nope.” I place the bowls I’m holding onto the coffee table and sink into the chair opposite the couch, my cheeks already burning.
One of the things I absolutely love about Daisy is her directness.
For someone like me—someone who’s spent most of her life feeling awkward in her own skin—Daisy’s easygoing confidence and laid-back nature are like a balm.
She breezes through town like nothing can touch her, like the world is hers to conquer, and sometimes, just being around her feels like permission to be bolder than I actually am.
“I mean,” she drawls, grinning like the devil himself, “if I didn’t know better, I’d say someone’s been scenting a nest.” Nest scenting?
That’s only something you do when you’re going into heat with your pack.
The word gives me a full body shudder. Pack?
I can’t even imagine myself having one or anyone wanting me enough to have the opportunity…
The other Omegas exchange looks, their gazes flicking to the open bedroom door where the mess of blankets and borrowed Alpha clothing is still very much visible.
No one says anything outright, but judging by the conspiratorial, downright devious expressions they’re giving me, they don’t need to. They’ve already pieced it together.
Heat floods my cheeks, even though—objectively—absolutely nothing has happened. Daisy, however, is having a field day.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I force myself to keep eye contact for about two seconds before my gaze drops to the stray thread I’m picking at on the arm of the chair like it’s the most interesting thing I’ve ever seen.
“Oh, yes you do.” Daisy’s voice is pure smug satisfaction. She pauses for dramatic effect, like a cat playing with a mouse. Her smirk stretches wide as she watches me squirm.
“Buuuuut,” she continues, drawing the word out just to torture me, “why would a certain Omega be scenting a nest unless…maybe two very fine, very grumpy, very available Alphas caught her interest?”
She lets the question hang, eyes sparkling with mischief. The other Omegas exchange glances, grinning and giggling like I just handed them a gift-wrapped piece of gossip on a silver platter.
I groan, covering my face with my hands. “I was not?—”
“Oh, but you were,” Daisy sing-songs, kicking her feet up on the coffee table. “Come on, babe. You’re practically marinating in their scent. And unless they both rolled around in your bed like a pair of puppies?—”
“Daisy!” I squeak, my voice shooting up an octave. “Nothing is going on and I wasn’t scenting anything!”
“Well, it definitely smells like something happ?—”
I throw a pillow in her face and glare at her, but she just laughs, completely unfazed.
“I wasn’t doing anything.”
“Oh, babe.” She leans forward, resting her chin in her palm. “You absolutely were.”
“It’s not—” I try, but Daisy is already laughing.
“I’m just saying, you might as well own it.
” Her eyes are gleaming. “Cass and my brother looked like they were on the edge of murder yesterday when you walked away. I swear, you were like two minutes away from being scooped up and carried home like some fairytale damsel. And believe it or not, Cass or JP would have done it without a second thought.”
She pauses, lifting a brow as she jerks her chin toward the open doorway, where the disaster of a nest is still clearly visible.
“And judging by this…” She makes a lazy, sweeping gesture toward the mess with one pastry-laden hand. “You might not be so against that idea.”
The implication lands and sits heavy on my chest, my cheeks burning so hot I’m half-worried they might actually catch fire. Oh. My. God. I groan and hide behind a pillow. Daisy just grins, completely unbothered.
“I can’t blame them, though. Even I smelled you, and you smelled really good—like her cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven.” Daisy says, gesturing at Lily, and leans back against the couch with a blissed-out expression.
I toss a pillow at her, hitting her square in the face. “Shut up.” But I know what she means.
Omegas are affected differently than Alphas by scent. Usually, when I catch a compatible Omega’s scent, it feels comforting—like being wrapped up in the coziest blanket while sinking into a warm bath. Safe. Familiar. Easy.