Chapter Six
Sovann
The flower shop fit right into the ambience of Pleasant as though it had been here when the town was built.
It was tucked in between the library and the hardware store, and I thought of how smart that was.
Men could pick up a dozen roses to make their expensive purchase of a generator or some weird tool go over smoother with their mate or their omega.
A little bit smoother.
The architecture of the outside matched the town, and even the door had been kept vintage with a brass knob. Whoever ran it had painted it a lovely pale yellow, and it made the bouquets and gift offerings in the window shine.
The door was painted a bright white, and sheer white curtains were pulled back with ribbons.
The ambience made me feel welcome before I even walked inside. The woman behind the counter, the owner, I assumed, was gorgeous, and I stood in the open door long enough, gawking at her, to make Orin shove me inside with a chuckle. I was starstruck. Dumbstruck. Lovestruck. All of the above.
Her blonde hair bounced as she spoke to her customers. She made eye contact and was really listening to what the older woman wanted.
And maybe it was the flowers. Or the selection of scented candles, but something smelled incredible. Sunshine and daisies and a hint of summer. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what that meant, but it gave me the feeling of sitting in a field while the sun beamed down on me.
The owner, Hema, showed us around, but the second the wedding was mentioned, the omega’s entire demeanor changed. Now that I was near her, I knew the scent was all her. The omega’s perfume filled the place and complemented the flowers.
Until the word wedding left Orin’s mouth. Then the scent soured a bit. Almost smelled burned like a marshmallow toasted over the fire too long.
What happened? Did she not like arranging flowers for weddings? I thought events were the pinnacle of excitement for a florist, but maybe that was just an incorrect assumption.
Perhaps events were a pain in the ass for them.
Otherwise, I had no explanation for the omega’s swift change of attitude and scent.
Unless it was me.
“I haven’t seen the speakeasy yet. I honestly didn’t know Pleasant had one. Can one of you describe it, so I know what we’re working with?”
Orin’s turn. It was his business. “It’s dark. Blacks and wines, and it’s supposed to give off a dark, secret vibe.”
“I see. Well, we could go with that theme and keep things edgy. Do you think the omega, the bride, would like that?”
I nodded. “I think so. We were given free rein.”
“Okay. Let’s go with that, then. I have some ideas.”
She came back with a tablet and plugged in some words and before long, had an arrangement for us to look at.
A beautiful bouquet with dark-red flowers with hints of forest greenery.
I thought about Karissa with her lovely red hair and knew this would be perfect.
I sent a quick text to Poe, and he said it was fine.
They weren’t going traditional anyway. Her dress was black, one that he had picked out.
Not her usual thing, but they wanted dark romance.
Dark romance they were going to get.
“I think that’s perfect,” I said after texting Poe and then showing the guys.
“Great. Should I come up with some more ideas and then give you the price? I need to order asap and get to work.”
“Yes, please,” Altan said. His cheeks were slightly red. I was glad I wasn’t the only one affected by this omega.
In fact, I was more than affected. The more she talked, the more my wolf drooled over her. He actually called out mate. He’d never done that before.
“Give me a few minutes. Feel free to look around the store while you wait.”
I tried not to stare while Hema began keying in the order and our price. It didn’t matter what it was. This wedding was important, not only to our friends but for the speakeasy. And for the community. It was good to get together and celebrate.
She was hard at work, typing away, biting down on her bottom lip.
All three of us moved around the place, which was bigger than it seemed from the road.
She sold all kinds of things and even had some plants from another pack.
Flint was the one who propagated plants from their pack. Their omega’s name was Tawny.
In between arrangements and refrigerators units were other things. Tea sets. Candles. Knickknacks. Homemade items.
What a lovely shop she’d created for herself.
“Okay. Here we go. I didn’t know what name to put on the invoice. I usually use the bride’s name. What is it?”
The three of us shared a look. This all had to be done in secret. If there was even a chance Karissa would see the invoice, we couldn’t risk it. “Um, why don’t you put it under my name,” Orin said and wrote his name and phone number at the top.
He paid for the order and while he did, the omega’s scent soured even more. When she bid us goodbye, her eyes barely raised and her smile was forced. Not that she had to smile at us but it was lovely.
What had we done to make things go so wrong?
“How about lunch?” I suggested. “I think we need to talk.”
We went to the diner and sat down, ordering the special for the day, meat loaf and mashed potatoes, along with honey-mustard roasted carrots.
“Do I have to say it?” Orin pushed his drink to the side after the waitress left with our orders.
“I can’t be the only one.” Altan looked torn.
“She’s our mate,” I blurted. “Our omega.”
Altan blew out a long breath and leaned back in the booth, crossing his arms over his shoulders. “Then why did her scent completely warp the moment we mentioned the wedding?”
“I don’t know.” Orin shook his head. “I’ve gone over the encounter in my head. I can’t think of anything we said or did that was wrong.”
“Maybe we met our omega and she simply doesn’t like us. Maybe she’s mated.” Altan was giving up already, and I hated how defeated he was lately.
“No. There was no alpha scent on her. We’ll figure this out. We have to.”