Chapter three
Lily
Ibarely make it out of the service corridor before it hits me.
Like, really hits me. One second I’m in the hallway, dabbing at my face and pretending I’m totally fine, just a normal omega who hasn’t spent the last twenty minutes feeling sorry for myself.
Then everything tilts and narrows down to one thing. His scent.
It’s like getting knocked flat on my ass, if I’m honest.
I lurch, grabbing the doorframe before my knees give out.
Everything goes bright and loud, way too much, like the universe is trying to pour itself into me all at once.
Cedar and smoke and something wild and dangerous underneath.
It wraps around me and won’t release. I go hot and tight, every breath soaked in him.
It’s overwhelming. I didn’t know I’d been starving until now.
My omega? She’s been small and quiet for years. Now she’s up and screaming.
Alpha. Mate. Mine. MINE.
That word rings through me. I can’t pretend it’s not happening. This isn’t like any of the little fizzles of interest I’ve had before, not even close. This is the kind of thing I always thought people made up to make themselves feel better about being alone.
Suddenly I’m slick between my thighs, so much I actually gasp because, wow, that’s not subtle. I’m not in charge of any of this anymore. I’m blushing everywhere, my nipples pebbling as the heat rushes up from my chest. I don’t know what I look like, but it’s probably embarrassing.
What is even happening to me?
I force myself to look up. He’s right there, just a few steps away, standing in the doorway of some office.
Gabriel Santos. The man I’ve been watching all evening, even when I told myself not to.
He’s gripping the desk so hard I think it might crack under his hand.
He and Mr. Gibbs, the registry director, are both staring at me now, but Gabriel—it’s like he’s forgotten anyone else exists.
For a second we just stare at each other. It’s hard to breathe.
He’s even hotter up close. The stubble on his jaw. His blue eyes, gone dark. Shoulders broad enough to lean on.
And that scent. God, it’s even stronger now. My omega goes all soft and desperate, wanting to crawl into his lap, bury my nose in his neck, let him mark me. I want every impossible thing all at once.
“Omega.”
He says it like a prayer, or maybe a curse. It’s rough, hungry, and just a little out of control. Like he’s trying to hold himself back and barely making it.
This is the bond. We’ve just imprinted.
People talk about it like it’s a fairy tale.
Even my mother who experienced it. I never thought it would happen to me.
Most omegas go their whole lives without anything close to it.
A lot of people believe we all have matches out there, but most just never cross paths.
I never expected to be one of the lucky ones.
Things like this never go my way. Not until tonight.
And this? This is real. It’s happening. After years of being the wrong fit, I’m someone’s scent match.
I’m somebody’s perfect omega. And I get it now.
I get why my omega shied away from other alphas.
Why she didn’t jump at the few who tried.
Somehow she knew. She knew this was waiting for me and she held us back. For him.
My alpha. His pack.
Director Gibbs is the first to recover. He’s a round little beta with watery eyes and the kind of comb-over you see on late night infomercials. Now he’s looking between us like he just hit the jackpot.
“Well,” he says, tone all bright and fake. “This is unexpected. Mr. Santos, it appears you and Miss Ashworth are—“
“I know what we are.” He says it through his teeth. He hasn’t looked away from me once, not even for a second. “I can smell it.”
“A scent match!” Director Gibbs claps his hands together. “How wonderful. You two imprinted immediately. How absolutely wonderful. In twenty-three years, I’ve only seen a true scent match a handful of times. This is a rare treat!”
He rambles on, but I tune him out. I’m locked onto Gabriel. He’s looking at me like nothing else in the room exists.
I move closer before I even realize I’m doing it. My body just… gravitates to him. Tears are still running down my face, but they’re different now. I haven’t felt this alive in years.
Finally. Finally.
I take a step toward him, hand outstretched, needing to feel him, to know this is real. My hand is shaking. I’m shaking. This is it. This is the moment I’ve waited for since I was old enough to know what an alpha is.
“I can’t.”
It feels like someone yanked the floor out from under me.
I stop, hand frozen in the air. He can’t mean that. He can’t look at me like this, feel this thing between us… and say no.
“I can’t,” Gabriel says again, and it sounds like it hurts him. He steps back, away from my hand, putting more space between us. It feels like miles. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t…” I sound like a mess. High and cracked and just this side of begging. “I don’t understand. We’re scent matched. We’re—you’re my—“
“I know.” His expression is raw. “God, I know. But I can’t.”
He’s quiet, like he’s trying to find a way to say it that doesn’t break me.
“I have an omega,” he says. “Miles.”
He stops. Tries again.
“Three years ago, he lost his pack. They…” He pauses, like it’s hard to say. “Miles watched a bunch of alphas slaughter them. When we found him, he was barely alive. Blood everywhere. We didn’t think he’d make it.”
Gabriel’s hands curl into fists.
“But he did. We helped him heal. Made him part of our pack.” He looks at me, desperate. “He’s ours even though he doesn’t wear a mark.”
He takes a shaky breath.
“I promised him,” Gabriel says. “When we took him in, I promised he’d never have to share us with another omega. That he’d always be our only one. After everything he lost… I told him he’d never have to be afraid of being replaced or unwanted.”
Ouch. Every word hits somewhere deep. Promised. Never share. Never be replaced.
“But we’re scent matched,” I whisper, because what else do I have? I thought that meant something. I thought it was supposed to be everything.
“I know.” Gabriel’s eyes are wet now, though he tries to act like they aren’t. “You think I don’t feel it? You think I don’t want…” He stops, jaw clenching. “It doesn’t matter what I want. I made a promise. Miles already lost one family. I won’t betray him. I won’t be the reason he loses again.”
My omega is howling, clawing at my chest. I don’t know how Gabriel can stand there and not move, not reach for me.
“Please.” The word comes out before I can stop it. I hate how weak I sound. “What about me? Please, you can’t just—you’re the first—I’ve been waiting so long…” I can’t even finish.
Director Gibbs chooses that moment to step in, clearing his throat like he’s the only adult in the room.
“Mr. Santos, I understand your commitment to your current omega,” he says, all business now. “But perhaps we should discuss Miss Ashworth’s circumstances before you make any final decisions.”
Gabriel’s attention snaps to him. “What circumstances?”
Director Gibbs looks at me, waiting for a sign. I just stay still and quiet, numb. He takes that as a yes.
“Miss Ashworth has been in the registry since she presented,” he says.
“She’s been unable to find a suitable pack for six years.
Her medical situation is… precarious. Prolonged heat suppression has had serious effects on her health.
She’s also touch starved from the lack of alpha contact. Her physician is deeply concerned.”
Gabriel takes this in. There’s a flicker of worry on his face, but he doesn’t move toward me. He just stands there, every muscle locked down, the pull screaming between us.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he says. And he sounds like he means it. “But I don’t see how that changes—“
“There’s more.” Mr. Gibbs is careful now.
“The Foster pack has been pursuing Miss Ashworth for a long time. Their lead has been especially aggressive about it in the past six months. Brennan Foster spoke with me tonight and strongly suggested we… encourage her to accept his offer. But I know Miss Ashworth is reluctant to accept their claim.”
Everything changes in Gabriel’s face. He goes cold. Dangerous. Even Mr. Gibbs steps back.
“Brennan Foster?” Gabriel’s voice is ice. “That pack is pursuing her?”
“Yes. They’ve filed several formal requests over the last few years. They’re persistent.”
“And you were considering what? Forcing her to accept?”
Mr. Gibbs looks nervous. “Of course not. The registry would never force an omega to choose a pack against her will. But given her health, and the Foster pack’s willingness to take her, we felt obligated to vigorously encourage her to accept. For her own good.”
Silence chokes the room. Gabriel is staring at Mr. Gibbs with open contempt.
“Brennan Foster,” Gabriel says, “is a predator. His pack has a reputation if you bother to look beyond surface value. And you were going to hand her over to them?”
“The registry has no evidence of wrongdoing by the Foster pack,” Mr. Gibbs manages.
“Because they’re careful. Because they know how to hide what they are.” Gabriel’s tone is rising now. “And you were going to give him an omega. A vulnerable, desperate omega with no other options. My omega.”
I’m dizzy, listening to all this. Gabriel Santos, the man who just told me no, is now defending me like I matter. Like I’m worth fighting for.
My omega wants to believe him. Wants to believe that maybe, just maybe, he cares.
“Mr. Santos,” Mr. Gibbs says, trying to smooth things over. “I understand your concerns, but—“
“I’ll take her.”
It hangs in the air for a second. I’m sure I heard wrong. But Gabriel doesn’t back down.
“I’ll take her,” he says again. “Temporarily. Just until we find a pack that will treat her well.”
Mr. Gibbs blinks. “That’s… unorthodox. Temporary placements aren’t usually—“
“I don’t care.” Gabriel isn’t asking for permission. “She’s my scent match, even if I won’t keep her. I won’t let Brennan Foster have her. She’ll stay with my pack until we find her a safe place.”
Hope rises in my chest, shaky and uncertain. It’s a long way from what I wanted. But I’ll take it.
“This isn’t permanent,” Gabriel says, turning to look at me. His eyes burn. “You need to understand that. It’s not a claiming. You’ll stay with us temporarily, as a guest, while we find a pack that deserves you.”
Deserves me. He thinks I deserve better than Brennan. He just doesn’t think he can be it.
“I understand,” I whisper. It’s not like I have better options. Brennan Foster is the alternative. Or the registry, which might as well be the same thing.
At least with Gabriel, I’ll be safe.
“Good.” Gabriel turns to Mr. Gibbs. “I’ll have to tell my pack about what happened. Prepare Miles.” His voice catches on the name. “I’ll pick her up from the registry in the morning.”
“Of course, of course.” Mr. Gibbs is already mentally shuffling paperwork, ready to get this sorted. “We’ll have everything ready. Miss Ashworth’s belongings can be packed tonight.”
They talk logistics. I barely listen. I can’t think about anything else. His pack. My mates.
He feels it too. It’s in how he glances at me, in the tension locked through his whole body. The bond doesn’t care about promises or other omegas. It just wants.
“Miss Ashworth.”
I actually jump. “Yes?”
“Mr. Santos will come for you in the morning. The vans will be escorting the omegas back soon so you may want to go join the other omegas. It’s been a long evening.”
Understatement of the century.
I nod and turn to leave, but Gabriel is already there, moving so fast it makes me dizzy. He’s close, so close, his scent filling my lungs. His fingers brush my arm.
“Wait,” he says, ragged. “I just—“
The bond flares so bright I make a sound—small, helpless, a little broken. For a second I can feel everything. The future we could have had. The life I wanted.
Then he’s gone, pulling back like I hurt him, and the moment is over.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
He leaves. I’m left in the doorway, wondering where the hell I go from here.
I glance back. Mr. Gibbs looks sympathetic, but sympathy helps no one. He was going to hand me over to Brennan, whether I liked it or not. I turn away and go find the other omegas. I need to be alone, to figure out whether to hope or let the hope bleed out of me.
The ride back to the dorm is a blur. I take the stairs when we arrive, not even sure why, passing other omegas without seeing them. My room is tiny and sad and all I’ve known for years. After tonight, I don’t know that I’ll ever see it again.
I should pack. I should do something. Instead, I just sit on my bed, still wearing the ruined dress, and stare at nothing.
I think about Brennan’s cold eyes. Jules’s sneer. The wine soaking into my dress.
Gabriel’s scent. His face when he told me no.
I know I should be grateful. Gabriel didn’t have to take me in. He could have left me for the registry and Brennan Foster. He’s giving me a chance, a safe place, and time to find somewhere else.
But it still hurts.
He’s my scent match. Mine. The only alpha in the world who could ever be solely for me, and he chose someone else. Even with the imprint, even with everything, he looked at me and said no.
Is it me?
That old question creeps in again. It must be me. Even my fated mate can walk away.
I curl up, knees to my chest, and let myself cry. No one is here to see. No one is here to care.
Tomorrow I’ll go with Gabriel. Meet his pack. Live in a house where I’m not wanted, next to an omega who will probably hate me. And I’ll pretend it’s enough. I’m out of time, out of options, with nothing left.
But tonight, I can just be sad.
Tonight I can grieve for the pack that was supposed to save me.
Tonight I can be broken.
I cry until I’m empty. Finally, I sleep.