Chapter 4
BLAIR
“There’s glitter on Alvin,” Piper says from her seat at the front desk. She wipes at the cat’s head with her fingers, and he leans into her touch, pleased with the attention. “He looks like a disco ball.”
“Shit,” I murmur, opening a drawer and grabbing cat wipes. “Come here, Alv.”
Alvin trots his way over to me, knowing a treat is promised after he lets me clean him with special pet wipes.
Despite having the afternoon shift at the rescue, I still woke up late and slept through my alarm. I slept in my makeup, which Maeve has said is a mortal sin, and then took the world’s quickest shower before coming here.
Apparently, I didn’t rid myself of all my glitter from my shift at Scents.
I took my suppressants, which keep my Heats regulated.
But for some reason, I’m extra floral today.
Even with my scent blocking deodorant, my sweet violet fragrance emanates from my pores more than usual.
At least, to my nose it does.
“Hey, so I have a weird question for you,” I tell Piper as I wipe the sparkles from Alvin’s fur.
“No question is too weird. I live with Maddox, remember?”
I snort. Maddox is Piper’s unhinged packmate who always says outlandish things that have both Piper and me whipping our heads to him in shock.
“Am I…smelly, today?”
Piper swivels her chair to face me. “…smelly?” she repeats.
“Yes. Like…” I wave my hand in front of my neck and chest, “like a strong scent.”
She scrunches her face. “Like, body odor?”
I sigh. “No, I mean, am I perfuming?” I lower my voice to a whisper. The only other people in the rescue besides me and Piper are Maeve and Mari, but the latter would likely have something to say about my love life if she heard me.
Mari is an older single Omega who loves to be in everyone else’s business. Not in a malicious way, just a nosy way with good intentions.
Piper purposely sniffs the air. “I think you’re fine. I don’t scent anything different. You’re taking your suppressants, right?”
“Of course. Haven’t missed a dose and haven’t been late taking them.”
Which is why I’m concerned. Last year, Piper purposely abused her meds so she could put off her Heat—and one of the side effects was her scent would fill a room almost immediately.
It took her a while to find the right suppressants after that, and it had been painful to see my best friend suffer just so she wouldn’t have Heats.
I want to figure out why this this happening so I can nip it in the bud—no pun intended.
“I don’t smell you,” Piper says. “I think you’re fine, Blair.” She grabs her phone off the desk. “Let me check something for you, though.”
Before I can ask what she’s doing, Maeve walks in from the cat playroom, balancing cases of canned cat food in her arms. “Hey, look! We got more donations—oh whoa, it smells like a flower shop in here.”
I put my face in my hands and groan. “Shit,” I hiss. Then, I turn to Piper. “You told me it wasn’t that bad!”
Piper shakes her head. “I can’t scent you!”
“Damn, that’s the strongest you’ve ever smelled,” Maeve says nonchalantly, placing the cases on the counter. “Did you find your scent match or something?”
My chest aches.
“No,” I say slowly. “No, I haven’t.”
And I never plan on it, is the unspoken part.
“That could be a reason,” Piper says as she looks at her phone. “But uh, since you haven’t, maybe you’re just having an off day?”
But when Piper’s eyes meet mine, I can tell she doesn’t believe it.
I sigh. “Just say it, Pipe,” I murmur.
“Maybe being around Travis is triggering it?” she asks tentatively. “Have you thought of that? You spend hours with him every week, you two get along…would it be that far-fetched?”
I shake my head. “It wouldn’t,” I admit. “You’re right. I’ll reach out to my doctor if it gets worse.”
But for some reason, an overwhelming sense of loneliness washes over me.
My inner Omega wants Travis.
My body perfumes to make my scent more enticing for him.
With that realization, I’m just…unhappy.
Like I’m mourning something I’ve never had and never can have.
“I’m sorry,” Piper says softly, and I see the guilt etched onto my friend’s face.
“Don’t be, Pipe. I’m okay. I know the decisions I’ve made.”
She chews her lip, and I can tell she wants to argue with me.
Maeve remains silent, observing the both of us with curious eyes. She drums her fingers on the plastic covering of the cat food cans as she stands at the front desk facing us.
“I like your scent, Blair,” she mutters finally. “It’s not distracting or anything, and I’m sure it won’t bother anyone. I didn’t mean to be obnoxious about it.”
I give her a weak smile. “It’s fine, Maeve. Your honesty is appreciated around here.”
“And one day,” she adds, her attention suddenly focused on the cans of cat food, “maybe you can tell me more about why you’re so sad sometimes.”
I tilt my head curiously. “I’m not, Maeve.”
But her eyes meet mine, and she nods slowly. “Okay, Blair.”
I swallow.
Maybe I can share part of my story with her after all this time.
Just a portion, so she’ll understand more about why I’m this way, and why there’s no pack in the cards for me.
But then the front door opens, and a stranger walks in.
A few things hit me at once.
One, the man is attractive. He has a defined structured jaw, full lips, and subtle stubble on his tan skin. His dark hair is slightly mussed, and a lock of hair falls into his dark eyes.
Two, he’s an Alpha. It’s obvious in the way he carries himself, his height, and the way my body thrums with energy when he steps closer.
Three, he’s looking at me, and only me, as if everyone else in the building isn’t there.
What the hell?
“Hello,” Maeve chirps. “Welcome to Furs and Purrs.”
At Maeve’s voice, the mystery Alpha breaks his attention from me and gives her a genuine smile. “Hey there. I heard this was the best place to adopt a cat.”
His voice is low and warm, more friendly than Travis’s.
Not that I’m comparing him to Travis.
What the hell is going on in my head?
Yet something is strange about him. Something that I can’t quite place until he looks at me again, his eyes flicking to my lips then back to my face.
I glance at Piper, who looks between him and me, her brow furrowed. “Are you looking to adopt a cat?” she asks him. “We have a lot of cats that need homes.”
That’s when I finally catch his scent.
Moss.
Rain.
A forest during a storm.
A garden in winter.
I shoot back from my chair and suck in a breath while everyone in the room stares at me.
“Piper?” Maeve asks.
“Are you okay?” the Alpha asks, his brow furrowing.
Those deep eyes, so rich and amber, regard me with a care that resembles the way I catch Travis looking at me sometimes.
“Yeah,” I say breathlessly. “Yeah, I’ll just…I’ll be back.”
Moss.
Rain.
Alpha.
I catch Piper’s shocked expression as I head toward the bathroom, locking the door behind me and staring at myself in the mirror.
My face is flushed, my pupils are huge, and my chest rises and falls as I take in deep, gulping breaths.
I move the collar of my sweatshirt to the side to observe my mating gland, which is now inflamed.
“Holy shit,” I hiss.
I grip the sink, my knuckles turning white while I struggle to collect myself.
Oh, my god.
“Blair?” Piper’s voice calls from beyond the door. “Are you okay?”
I unlock the door and open it a crack. “Is he gone?” I whisper.
“What? The guy? I can ask him to leave, if you want. Do you know him?”
I shake my head.
“Blair, I love you, but what the hell is happening?” Piper demands, exasperated. “You look like you saw a ghost back there.”
I swing the door open wider. “Come in,” I hiss.
Once Piper is in, I shut the door and lock it. “Something strange is happening,” I whisper. “And I don’t know what to do.”
“Is it your Heat?” Piper whispers back. “Do you need to go home?”
“No, it’s not due for a while. It has to be something else,” I mutter. “His scent is doing something to me.”
The earth after it rains.
Cloudy nights spent looking under the stars.
Piper’s eyes widen. “Oh, Blair,” she whispers. “Oh, shit.”
I glance at our reflections in the mirror, meeting Piper’s sympathetic look.
“Oh, shit,” I repeat back, reality slowly sinking in.
“No way.” Piper looks dumbfounded. “Is this really happening to you, right now?”
I nod stupidly. “I think it is.”
Scent match.
“Oh my god,” Piper repeats. “Holy shit, you found your—”
“Don’t say it,” I hiss, stooping low and opening the cabinet door. I grab the bottle I’m looking for and, without overthinking it, spray it all over my clothing.
“What the hell are you doing?” Piper sputters. “Give me that.” She tries to reach for the bottle of pet odor eliminator, but I keep it out of reach and continue spraying myself, landing some on her in the process.
“I don’t want him to smell me,” I argue. “I don’t need to make this worse than it already is.”
“So, you’re spraying yourself with pet odor remover? I can pick you up other things to mask your scent with at the store! Have you lost your fucking mind?”
Yes.
Yes I absolutely have, because I cannot handle a scent match right now.
And what about Travis? a small voice asks.
Part of me, a tiny part that would never see the light of day, is slightly disappointed that it’s not Travis.
Then again, I’ve never been alone with just Travis. Other Alpha scents layer with his, even when I’m greedily inhaling him at the bar.
Finally, Piper yanks the spray bottle out of my hand and slams it on the sink counter. “This is insane. You’re smarter than this. You’re better than this.”
Shame colors my cheeks. “Am I, though?” I mutter. The chemical smell of the cleaner sticks to my clothes, and thankfully, most of the intensity of the Alpha’s scent has dissipated.
Piper sighs. “Yes, you are. You can do this. I can send him away. Send him somewhere else to adopt a cat.”
I frown. “That’s ridiculous. No. I won’t let whatever this is,” I point to myself, “interfere with the rescue.”
“You mean the fact that you just found your scent match?”
I nod slowly. “Yes. You’re right. I’m smarter than this.”
“Yeah,” Piper says, kneeling to place the cleaner back under the sink. “So, what’s the plan?”
I force my breathing to slow and sit on the toilet lid, putting my face in my hands. “I need a minute to think,” I admit. “To plan out what to do.”
As ridiculous as it is, the odor spray does help.
“It’s a gift, Blair,” Piper says softly. “Some people never find their match.”
“I know,” I huff into my hands.
Too bad this didn’t happen to Maeve.
Maeve is ready for a relationship and willing to find the right pack.
But me?
Blair Fucking Adler is not ready for a scent match.
“I didn’t think it would happen so soon after…them,” I whisper, placing my hands on my thighs and sighing.
“I know.” Piper’s voice is mournful. “I didn’t think so, either.”
I stare at the bathroom wall, formulating a plan in my head.
This wouldn’t be the first time life has caught me off guard.
I can either cry about it and hide, or…
March right out of the bathroom and face whatever it is.
“Wait? What are you doing?” Piper asks as I unlock the door. “Blair?”
“He came here for a cat,” I say simply. “And I’m going to make sure he leaves with one.”
Head held high, my clothes slightly damp with pet cleaner, I head back to the front, ready to help my scent match find his perfect feline companion.