Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
NOA
“What does one wear on a date with their scent match?” I ask Luke, Ollie’s twin and my model for my website. This was before he broke both his legs about two months ago, of course.
This date has been on my mind all day. I couldn’t wait to close the shop so I could come home and get ready. Ollie and Luke were already waiting for me as I rushed over to my house.
“It’s gonna be a cold one, too cold for one of those sexy little numbers,” Luke says as he swishes his finger at the mini dress I’m holding up. Ollie, who doesn’t have a single bone in her body that cares about fashion, scrolls on her phone on my bed, partially ignoring us.
Luke and Ollie are twins and truly look almost exactly alike, with short dark hair, pale skin, and hazel eyes.
Ollie is androgynous, so sometimes they look so alike it’s hard to tell them apart.
Especially back when Ollie worked for her mate Timber, before they got together, and she’d come see me after posing as her beta twin.
That was a whole story that worked out again, but Ollie still cross-dresses here and there, and I have to focus to tell who is who.
They are pretty different, despite being twins and sharing an incredibly similar appearance.
Luke likes to wear dresses and is the only one willing to model for my business.
From my personal side projects with the sewing machine to quilts for Cozy Bear, Luke is always down to model anything for me.
He let me use him as a dress mannequin so I could sew my first formal dress, which I gifted to Ollie.
Now I’ve picked up sewing alongside quilting and crocheting, as if I needed another hobby.
“Even with tights?” I ask. Luke and Ollie were born in Nashville but grew up mainly in Michigan until they turned 18 and came back down south. So they know the kind of winters we can handle.
“Even then. What if he takes you to an outdoor restaurant? You told him scents bother you.” Ollie murmurs her agreement as she gives me a once-over.
She sounds uninterested in my quest to find the perfect outfit, but I know they’d both crash my date with coats and scarves if they thought I would get too cold.
I smooth my hands over my hair, which is straightened with the ends curled. I spent far too long on my hair and makeup, and now I’m stuck on my outfit. This always happens to me.
Maybe a sweater set would be best? Cute and comfortable? Havoc doesn’t seem like a black-tie kind of guy.
“Okay, what about this?” I ask. I picked a light pink off-the-shoulder sweater with matching wide-legged pants. “Is it too comfortable?” I ask, adding some jewelry to make the outfit fancier. Sliding my hair up into a carefully messy clip, I pull strands out to frame my face.
“How about now?” I repeat. I’m so in my head, I don’t even know if they answered me or not.
“If he’s your scent match, I’m sure he won’t care what you’re wearing; he’ll probably be more concerned with how to take it off you.” Ollie winks, and I turn back towards the mirror so she can’t see my hopeful smile. There’s nothing I can do about my scent perfuming the air, though.
I try not to take scent blockers outside the store, since they aren’t the safest to ingest at such high quantities. Given how much I consume from being in the store day in and day out, I’m not sure my organs can take another hit.
“Girl, you need to play the game,” Luke says as he arches a brow.
“The game?” I ask.
“Oh, yeah, you need something way skimpier. Warm, but skimpier. Something that screams ‘Baby, I’m cold. Come light my fire,” he hums, and Ollie swats him on the arm.
“Ignore him,” she says flatly. “Why don’t you go for ‘hot and cold’? Hot enough that everyone’s going to be panting over you, but cold enough that you can score a thick jacket for your nest?” Oh my goodness, that’s genius.
“How many scent mates do you have again?” I ask, laughing as I throw the sweater off and go back to my closet.
“Too many,” Ollie laughs as Luke rolls his eyes. Luke hasn’t found his Pack yet. If he even wanted one.
So now I’m back at square one. I look at the temperature on my phone. Going back and forth, I eye the mini skirt calling to me. I—it should be okay.
I’ll be fine. Tights and a miniskirt are always a win.
I throw on my warmest tights and the skirt despite Ollie’s raised eyebrows. “I feel it in my gut. I should wear this.”
But that’s as far as my gut takes me. Now I need a shirt. But what shirt?
My mind whirls with the possibilities. What if he doesn’t like my outfit?
“Luke, pick a shirt for me, please,” I say, trying to hide the panic in my voice with an attempted smile. He nods, trying to get up, but Ollie and I stop him. Both his legs are in casts, for goodness' sake.
“Let me grab all my shirts,” I say, turning to my closet and taking out every shirt that I own.
This isn’t the first, nor the last time, I will ask Luke to pick out my outfits.
He knows his stuff.
“Oh, I hope you’re ready for the door you just opened!” he cackles as he digs through the pile of every top I own.
I step back at the whirlwind of fabrics flying in my room. Watching as Luke chatters to himself.
Ollie glowers at her twin and puts her arm around my shoulder. “We’ll clear it all up when you’re gone. Promise.”
He pulls out a long-sleeve shirt. And throws it at me. I scramble it on, thankful I have him to help me.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
“Alright, girlfriend.” Ollie purrs as she and Luke stand side-by-side, giving me once-overs. “Go get your hunk of a mate and get that man a phone while you’re out tonight.” Ollie winks as she and Luke leave my house with good luck and hugs. Once the door shuts behind her, I tingle with nerves.
I smell him before I see him. I’ve been waiting for the warm smell of white chocolate to reach my nose again.
His eyes meet mine, and I swear I melt a bit. “Hi,” I whisper as he gets closer.
“Noa, you look beautiful.” His words make me silently thank Ollie and Luke again as his eyes rake over me.
His eyes are a welcome warmth over my body, and I swear I see him nod in approval, which makes my omega preen.
His hand finds my lower back, and I swear I might be the luckiest omega ever as he walks me, not to his car but across the street.
The restaurant is within walking distance and one that I frequent, so the worry about finding something on the menu isn’t a problem I’ll have tonight.
It’s a small burger joint with bar-style decor. The lights are low, and I’m grateful, as overhead lighting has been straining my eyes and causing me headaches as of late. So much so that I’m thinking of changing the lighting at Cozy Bear.
Havoc opens the door for me, and heat blasts us as we walk inside. I smile a bit as Havoc guides me with a light hand on my back. I have half the nerve to lean into his touch more, but I refrain.
I’m not a desperate omega. I’ll be the perfect, most respectable date this man has ever been on. Keeping my hands to myself.
It’s warm in here with tan-colored leather booths and a long bar on one side of the room. People fill the seats, and for a moment, I think we won’t get seated. The hockey game ended not too long ago, based on the enormous crowds walking around, so it’s no surprise this restaurant is packed.
I smile at him, and as he guides me straight past the hosts’ stand, heading towards the back, and despite all the people here, I get a whiff of a scent I’d never thought I’d smell again. I smell them.
I smell them. Omg. Cherry and warm coffee blast my face. Turning my head slowly, I don’t want Havoc to catch on that I’m looking for my other scent mates while on my date with him. Still, I try to pin the scents, hoping I could catch a peek of them, but I can’t see with all the people here.
As Havoc walks me deeper into the restaurant, it gets stronger.
I can practically taste them now. My gut turns at the thought of scenting out two more potential scent matches while on a date with another scent match. How awkward is that?
I have to stop searching for them. This is Havoc and me time. Though he should know I have more potential scent matches.
“Havoc, I have to tell you something-” I begin, but am stunned when Havoc’s hand lands on a booth with two men already sitting in it. Not any two men, but Cherry and Coffee sitting in it.
“What’s going on?” My eyes land on Cherry first. His dark black hair is slightly curly at its ends and in his eyes as he shakes his head. His cheeks flush a light pink when we make eye contact, and I almost blush at the sight of him blushing.
He doesn’t seem the type, seeing his piercing green eyes and tattoos scattered around his body, fingers, and throat included. It’s hot, and while I would love to drool, I swallow the excess spit in my mouth and turn towards Coffee.
His skin is smooth and dark like mine, and so are his eyes and hair. He looks just how he did the other day when he… stood me up. His smile lights up a room, and yet the pit in my stomach isn’t ready to let go of the rejection I felt by his disappearance.
My smile dips as I turn to Havoc. His hair is down, brushing his shoulders, and he slides off his leather jacket, hanging it on the hook outside the booth wall.
“Meet my Pack mates, Noa. This is Silas and Thorne Gray.”
“Your Pack mates? Like you three are in a Pack? Together?” My words sputter out of me, but I can’t believe that the three scents I’ve been dreaming of since two days ago are all Pack mates.
“Yes, we are together, all of us.”
“Together together?” My face is hot as the question slips out, and I slide into the booth.
Why would I even ask this, oh my goodness?
My omega is all too eager to hear the answer, and I try to dampen the burning in my cheeks by distracting myself with the menu on the table.
Spoiler alert, it doesn’t work. I can’t drag my eyes away from Havoc as he slides into the booth chair next to me.