Chapter 14
BLAIR
I have the most patient scent matches in the world.
I don’t know how they do it—frankly, I don’t know why I’m stopping myself from allowing more to happen with them.
But then, flashes of that night from two years ago come back to me, and I remember exactly why.
Ryland and Rowan look at me like I’m something special—like I’m someone worth knowing, even after what I confessed.
They don’t look at me like I’m responsible for the tragedy that took away three of my best friends.
Rowan stares at me like he’s starving and I’m the sweet treat he’s been waiting for. Ryland gazes at me like I’ve been lost at sea for years, and I’ve finally come home.
It’s all ridiculous, really.
I wonder if I look at them the same way, because it’s how I feel the longer I stay in their kitchen.
I wonder if this is how Piper felt when the scent match fell into place with her Alphas.
My best friend’s situation was different than mine, to say the least.
Poe, her pack leader, came into our rescue scowling and claiming he didn’t like cats. Piper couldn’t stand him at first.
But with Travis, I immediately saw beneath his cold, scary demeanor.
I saw the teddy bear underneath. I know the gentle giant with chocolate eyes that soften when he looks at me too long.
Now that I’m scent matched to the three of them, I don’t want to leave their packhouse.
But I need to.
Bagel finished, I hop off the barstool and take my duffel bag. “I have to get going,” I murmur.
My inner Omega screams in protest.
The brothers’ scents meld together perfectly—rain, sea, and earth.
My mating gland itches, longing for attention.
“We’ll walk you to your car,” Ryland supplies. Rowan steps off the stool and reaches for the duffel in my hand, his lip quirking.
“I’m not taking it away this time,” he promises. “Just helping you bring it to your car.”
I roll my eyes but let him carry it all the same.
When we pass the living room, Travis is still asleep on the couch. He looks younger when he rests, and before I can stop myself, I’m walking over to his sleeping form, drawn to him by his scent.
Smoke and wood curl around me as I crouch to run a hand through his hair. It’s softer than I anticipated, and he sighs deeply in his sleep at the touch.
“You could wake him up,” Rowan supplies.
But he looks so peaceful, in a way I’ve never seen before.
“Just tell him I say goodbye,” I murmur.
Waking him up will only prolong the inevitable.
I need to get home, check on my cats, then get ready for work.
Rowan opens the front door for me, and I step outside, surveying the aftermath of the storm.
One of the Alphas must have fixed the trash cans, which now sit right side up and look as though they were never disturbed. The air smells of wet pavement, and the driveway is still damp from the night of rain.
One of them also reparked my car in the driveway.
“Sorry about last night again,” I murmur, my face burning.
“No worries,” Ryland says easily. “There wasn’t much to clean up out here.”
I have a feeling he’s lying.
As I approach my car my muscles tense. I suck in a sharp breath, pushing through the anxiety, but I’m unable to move.
I don’t want to drive, but I need to leave.
Immediately, my inner monologue assaults me.
You idiot. You’re too old for this shit; you know how to drive. Suck it up and get in the damn car.
I can’t move.
“Babe?” Rowan asks carefully. “Blair?”
Get in the car.
Be an adult. Get in the car.
My fingers twitch on my key fob. My car is unlocked; all I have to do is open the door.
It’s not that far of a drive to my apartment. I could even take side streets if I need to and avoid the freeway.
“I’m fine,” I breathe, sounding anything but.
I need to get in the car.
I don’t have the option of not functioning.
“Hey,” Ryland says, and I look to him. There’s no judgement in his face. “How about one of us drives you, and the other follows?”
I swallow.
It’s embarrassing enough to knock over someone’s trash cans and freak out over rain.
But now that the weather is fine, I can’t even get into my car?
And if Piper knew or Maeve knew what was going on with me?
I’m better than this. I’m stronger than this.
I have to be.
“I can practically hear you beating yourself up,” Ryland jokes lightly. “Just let us take you home.”
Before I can reply, Rowan gently but firmly takes the keys from my hand.
“I’ll drive,” he says. “Ryland, you can follow.”
“I’m fine,” I croak out, shame threatening to eat me alive.
“Yeah, you are,” Rowan agrees wickedly, and it snaps me out of my embarrassment enough that I roll my eyes. Begrudgingly, I enter my passenger door, stripped raw and vulnerable with my fears.
The storm last night affected me more than I thought.
But once Rowan shuts my door for me and enters the driver’s side, I realize this may be worse than just a bruised ego.
Shut alone in my car, Rowan smells like a storm in the best way.
His scent fills the car, mixing with mine, and I dig my nails into my palms and shift in my seat.
This morning, I woke up aroused and wet with slick, but it was manageable.
But now, with just me and Rowan in an enclosed space?
I’m not so sure.
“Fuck,” he mumbles under his breath as he starts the car. I stare at his hand on my gearshift, my mouth watering as I imagine him touching me.
This close, Rowan is devastatingly handsome, and my inner Omega is desperate for him.
I left out a soft breath and dig my nails into my skin harder.
Even as he looks over his shoulder to back up out of the driveway, he’s breathtaking.
“I could get used to this,” he says, his voice rough.
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“Letting you be a passenger princess.”
I scoff. “I am not a passenger princess. This is a one-time thing only.”
But every second I breathe him in, the less that seems true.
“I don’t mind, babe.” He turns to me at a stoplight and grins, showing off his charming dimples. “I would be happy to take you anywhere you wanted. You want to drive around the city in the middle of the night to feed feral cat colonies? Let’s do it.”
I tilt my head in surprise. “Have you ever fed a colony before?”
“Nope. Read about it, though. Went down an internet rabbit hole at three in the morning when I was researching about fostering kittens.”
I smile back, my anxiety from earlier dissipating. “We’ve got a few around here. You ready to break some rules and trespass if needed to feed them?”
We haven’t had much drama in Luna County with feeding feral colonies, but there have been isolated instances of cats showing up on private property.
Those cats still need to be fed, though.
None of us at Furs or Purrs or our volunteers have gotten in too much trouble yet.
“Hell yeah. Give me a reason to break the rules. I’ll be your getaway driver,” Rowan says.
I bark out a laugh. “The life of a criminal.”
“I knew you were a badass,” Rowan adds fondly, and warmth fills my chest. “A cat superhero.”
“Sure.”
Rowan’s scent and his presence have helped calm me significantly, and before long, we’re pulling into my apartment complex.
Rowan, to my surprise, is a cautious, smooth driver.
Frankly, it feels good to be taken care of again.
Even if I’m not exactly ready for much more, there’s this inherent knowledge that Rowan, Ryland, and Travis will be there for me.
It’s exciting but terrifying.
“Thanks for driving,” I say, turning to Rowan when he puts the car in park. “Really. It would have sucked to drive home by myself.”
“Anytime,” he murmurs, his eyes bright with intensity. “I mean it.”
Ryland pulls up next to us, and I’m faced with a decision.
I could run up to my apartment and hide like a coward until it’s time for my shift at the rescue, with only Mervin and Marlin to keep me company.
I can try and run away from the fact that I’ve found my scent matches.
I can keep denying and pushing away reality.
Or I can just…deal with it.
“Do you and your brother want an apartment tour?” I ask, and Rowan’s genuine surprise and answering grin is worth the question.
Maybe the tour was a mistake.
My apartment, while nicely furnished, is small, and having Ryland and Rowan to myself in such an enclosed area will no doubt mess with my hormones.
Too late now, I think to myself. Come on, Adler, get it together.
Even walking up the stairs with the two of them is tortuous. I chat with Ryland while Rowan is behind me, and I have no doubt he’s getting a view of my ass.
I also have no doubt that he’s enjoying it.
And I’m enjoying that he’s enjoying it.
Which is okay. It’s fine.
They’re my scent matches.
This is allowed.
I don’t need to feel bad about it.
By the time I unlock the door to my apartment and let them in, I’m practically drunk on their scents.
Rowan is a stormy ocean while Ryland is the forest while it rains.
I never want to stop inhaling their aroma.
“This is it,” I tell them. “It’s not huge, but I like it.”
My apartment isn’t just a place I rent; I consider it a home.
The front area has a cream couch with a bookshelf against the wall, filled with books, movies, and photos of me and my parents.
Watercolor portraits of Marlin and Mervin hang proudly next to the shelves.
A cat themed calendar is by the fridge in the small kitchen, and pumpkin scented candles Maeve made me sit on the coffee table in front of the couch.
A tall, beige cat tree looms to the right of my television, which sits on a dark wood entertainment center.
My apartment is welcoming and comfortable.
It used to be Piper’s favorite place to go before she found her pack.
Rowan immediately makes his way over to my bookshelf, scanning the items that adorn it. “Cozy video games, huh?”
I forgot about those.
“Yeah. I used to play a little bit,” I shrug. “Not much, anymore.” I clear my throat awkwardly.
I haven’t played since the accident.
“Why not?” Rowan asks, holding the case to a restaurant simulation game I used to adore. “These are fun as hell.”