3. Bailey-Rose
Hooolllyyy shit.
Ulysses Ford was a scent match.
My mind whirled as I tried to process that information as he stared into my eyes with his green gaze that had a ring of copper around the iris, making them mesmerizing to look at.
Growing up, I’d looked at them a thousand times, but it wasn’t until I’d turned sixteen and he’d come home for the summer that I realized I had a major crush on him.
In retrospect, it made sense now, but with my condition, I was kept on medication to keep me from going into heat, so it took longer for my scent to come in strong enough for an Alpha to notice it.
Now here I was sitting on Lysse’s lap, rolled up like an armadillo, mouth hanging open, and realizing I hadn’t showered in a week.
The poor man just shoved his nose into my nasty, dirty hair, huffing it like it was the best drug he’d ever taken.
I’m pretty sure a chunk of Peep was lost in there somewhere, if not honey from the various cups of tea I’d made over the past few days.
This was my worst nightmare come to life.
The man I’d secretly been pining over for years was tenderly cradling me in his arms, and I was cosplaying as a trash panda.
Panic took over my mind as all these thoughts slammed into my head at once while being assaulted with the most divine combination of rich, decadent milk chocolate with cheerful notes of orange to cut the sweetness for the perfect taste.
Part of me wanted to lean in and lick him to see if he tasted as good as he smelled.
Before that could happen, everything came to a screeching halt as my monitor registered the riot of emotions happening in my body.
“Shit,” I swore, trying to look at my wrist, but Lysse was already gripping it and checking at the number.
“What’s your limit? It used to be ninety… has it changed?” he asked, his tone all business even as he held me tenderly and pulled me closer to his chest.
“I shouldn’t go above eighty, but eight-five is the I-need-to-go-to-the-hospital-now number,” I answered, unsure if that was the answer he was looking for.
“Thank fuck, it only hit seventy-seven.” He sighed, resting his head on mine.
Not having seen Ulysses in years, I’d forgotten how big he was.
I felt like a child all bundled up on his lap with his arms easily wrapping around me.
His light golden brown hair was long enough to pull back into a ponytail.
A short beard covered his jaw, giving him a slightly rugged appearance that I found incredibly sexy.
Lysse had always been a fan of the outdoors, going hiking, camping, biking—all the things I couldn’t.
However, I’d been glad that he’d managed to be one of the few people who could talk Crew into leaving for a day or two for them to go camping.
The man had a silver tongue and knew how to use it to get his way, no matter how set in our ways my brother and I were.
Then a realization hit me, and I was wriggling out of Lysse’s arms, to which I got a disapproving noise, but he let me go.
Grabbing the closest pillow, I hurled it at Crew. “You promised,” I yelled, snatching up my next weapon.
Crew dodged the first but didn’t see the second one coming right after, and it biffed him in the face. “Lou—”
“Don’t you LouLou me, you liar,” I shot back. “You said you’d let me be, and I could wallow without you trying to fix things.”
One after another, I chucked whatever I could grab until a hand wrapped around my wrist and another my waist causing me to freeze.
“Rosie, you need to calm down. You’re setting off your monitor again, and it’s taking everything in my willpower not to wrap you up like a burrito and make you settle down,” Ulysses whispered in my ear, his beard brushing against my neck as I felt the heat of his breath being so close.
My whole body locked up. Honestly, I’m not sure if I was even breathing as I registered how his entire body was pressed against my back. The stuffed, fluffy, smiling cloud fell from my hand, and I melted against the Alpha behind me like I no longer had bones.
“Good girl,” he said with a purr.
And this is how I die the happiest woman of all time.
“How did you do that?” Crew asked, the awe in his voice snapping me out of my daze.
I glared at my brother. “Don’t you even think about changing the subject, mister. How could you break your promise to me?” I demanded.
“How dare you accuse me because I one thousand percent did not,” Crew countered. “If you remember correctly, I said I wouldn’t try to fix things the moment you told me what was going on. It’s been two whole days, LouLou. Tell me, what part of that is breaking my promise?”
“Damn you and your contract skills,” I muttered.
“Technicalities aside, why in the world would you drag poor Lysse into this while he’s just visiting?
I’m sure he has far better things to do than deal with someone impersonating a cave troll.
” Taking a breath, I looked up at the man in question.
“You really should keep your distance. I haven’t showered in a few days. ”
“She means a week,” Crew interjected, which earned him a scathing look and a middle finger from me. “What, you think that’s what’s going to gross him out? LouLou, the man is an avid backpacker, trail biker, and camper. He’s gone a week without showering many, many times.”
“Crew,” Lysse cut in as he turned me to face him. “I got this, man.”
Dropping to one knee, he cupped my face with a tenderness that I’d only gotten from my family.
He took a moment to tuck some hair behind my ear so it wasn’t falling in my face anymore, making me blush.
“Rosie, I smell nothing but a sweet, pure scent that tells me that you’re mine.
As for what Crew did, I don’t blame him for being worried about you.
Seriously, though, I’ve never seen a man with a bigger little sister complex than him. ”
That got me to smile, which he returned readily.
“I think it’s safe to say that neither one of us expected me to stop by and find myself uncovering the Omega my pack and I have been looking for over the past year and a half,” Ulysses explained.
“Setting that aside for just a moment, I want to clear up a few things first. The most important of them being that I’m not just here visiting…
I’ve moved here permanently. My pack has already been here for six months.
I was the last to join them, but I’m back for good. ”
My brain started to short-circuit at this. How could no one tell me he was back? I glanced at Crew, who remained a safe distance away but grinned like a fool from where he sat on the stool in front of my vanity.
“No, don’t look at him like that,” Lysse chided, turning me around to face him. “I asked him not to tell you, to keep it a surprise.”
His hands slid from my face to glide down my arms and take my hands. “My hope had been to find a way to rebuild our friendship because I missed having you in my life. Although it looks like that’s not going to be much trouble now, is it?” He winked.
I fidgeted in his hold, painstakingly aware of how much of a hot-mess express I was right now. Everything in me just wanted to curl up against him and breathe in his scrumptious scent, but I just couldn’t let myself relax, knowing I’d been living in these clothes for a week.
“Lysse, I’m beyond thrilled that you’re back, and trust me when I say I would love to discuss what just happened between us.
But I really need a shower,” I explained.
“Give me fifteen minutes to clean up and make myself more presentable. Then you have my undivided attention for as long as you want.”
Crew snorted but wisely didn’t speak about the underestimation of showering time needed on my part.
“Okay, maybe I’ll need thirty minutes, but I promise to hurry. I’m guessing with how you’re dressed, you have dinner plans with your family, and I don’t want you to be late,” I amended.
“Bailey-Rose, if you think I’m still going to my parents’ house for dinner, you’re delusional. I’m not going anywhere you’re not,” Ulysses stated, making my fluttering heart melt.
Chewing on my lip as I tried to hide my grin, I lost the battle against my blush, feeling my cheeks heat. “Still…”
“Shower,” he finished. “I hear you, Rosie. Shower it is.”
Rising to his feet, Lysse stepped out of my way, and I hurried to the giant walk-in closet.
I grabbed a simple T-shirt dress, undergarments, and spandex shorts to wear under the dress.
I was never one to risk flashing people because I always forget I’m wearing a dress.
When I got in the zone while painting, I sat in odd ways and didn’t always remember what I was wearing in those moments.
Turning to head to the bathroom, I crashed into Ulysses, who’d followed me into the closet.
“Oh shit,” I swore as I bounced off him, but he instantly caught me. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you’d joined me.”
“Don’t be sorry. I didn’t make myself known. It’s not your fault,” he assured me, tucking me against his side as we exited the closet.
Having no clue what to do with this situation, I let him guide me over to the shower and turn on the water for me.
To my shock, he searched the bathroom until he found the closet with extra towels and sheets.
I watched as he pulled out a fresh set of towels in a soft mint color and set them on the stool next to the shower door.
Ulysses noticed me watching him, and he raised a brow. “What?”
“Um…” I started, confused at his confusion. “I’m waiting for you to leave.”
He frowned. “Leave?”
“Yeah, so I can take my shower. I kind of need to get undressed, and the shower is all glass,” I pointed out.
“I’ll turn around, but I’m not leaving. Your monitor went off twice really close together, and I remember that time you passed out from the heat of a hot shower. I’m not taking the chance that something happens and you split your head open or worse,” Ulysses answered.
Letting out a sigh, I walked over to the sink and set my clothes off to the side before facing him.
“Look, I get you’re fully aware of my condition and all that goes with it, but you only remember what it was like for me as a kid.
Yes, my heart-rate threshold is lower, but I’m really good at managing my illness.
I’ve been doing it for twenty-five years now.
I promise I’m going to be fine. If I get lightheaded, there’s a bench in the shower for me to sit on. ”
His fingers brushed along my jaw as he stared intently into my eyes. “I can’t bear the thought of anything happening to you when I just found you, Rosie.”
“It’ll be fine, I promise,” I assured him. “Now get out so I can once more become human and shed this trash-panda look I’ve been rocking.”
“Trash what?” Lysse questioned.
“You know, a raccoon… because they like to dig through the trash yet are still cute and cuddly-looking,” I shared, trying to stifle my laughter. “Guess an old man like you wouldn’t know the cool kids’ lingo.”
He gave me an unimpressed look. “Five years doesn’t make me old, Rosie.”
“We’ll see about that,” I countered as I started to shove him. “Out you go. Go on, git.”
Reluctantly, Ulysses complained, and I shut the door, twisting the lock just to be sure. Seconds later, it was unlocked and opened just enough so it wasn’t latched.
“I’ll stay out here, but I’m going to sit just outside the door so I can hear if you need me,” Ulysses informed me.
Blinking at the door, I didn’t quite know what to make of the situation, but I decided it was rather adorable for him to be that worried.
After a moment, I snapped myself out of the daydream and got to the matter at hand.
I needed to redeem myself for that terrible first meeting with a man I’d yearned for and somehow magically ended up being and would spend the rest of my life with.
In a flurry, I stripped out of my clothes and hopped into the shower, letting the scalding hot water burn away the last remnants of my wallowing.
Crew was right—Randall wasn’t a great catch.
Yet when the world, outside of your family, tells you you’re not good enough to love—part of you starts to believe it.
It was beyond rare to find your scent match by chance since they could be anywhere in the world.
In come the Scent Matchers, who built a central database to find each person the perfect Alpha or Omega.
Giddiness bubbled up inside me as the reality of what just happened registered. A little squeal of joy burst out of me as I danced under the water. The dream I’d been wishing and hoping for just became a reality, and with a man I’d always pictured kissing me good morning and goodnight.
What would the other members of his pack be like? How many were there? Were they all the same age? All I really knew was they’d been matched up and together for a little over two years and only because Crew told me.
Then a thought hit me, What if they didn’t feel the same way Lysse did and decided they didn’t want a broken Omega?
Some of the excitement dwindled, but I decided to give love and the chance of having a pack one more chance. If this didn’t work, then I knew it was a fruitless effort, and I could find a peaceful life on my own.