Chapter 12
Wren
My eyes blink open, the soft lighting of the room immediately making me feel at ease. Am I…am I…dreaming?
That’s the only explanation. I must be dreaming.
I probably fell asleep, crying on my threadbare mattress, and now I’m so pathetic I’m dreaming of comfy nests and…
am I wearing different clothes? The unbearable scratchiness of the dress I was wearing before is nowhere to be found.
Instead I feel as if I’ve been wrapped in a cloud of silk and softness.
The scents floating around the room make my omega happy, lime and bergamot especially prominent in the mixture of decidedly citrus scents.
Like I said. Dreaming.
Maybe I can stay in this dream a while, where it’s soft and comfortable, far from the abrasive and suffocating atmosphere of Pack Caruso.
But then, something twinges on the back of my hand as I try to touch the soft material covering me. Frowning, I look at the source of the discomfort.
…What? An IV? I wouldn’t dream of…
The memories come back to me in a series of flashes. Being drugged by Pack Caruso. Running through the house in a desperate bid to escape. Stabbing Jasper.
Almost making it to freedom, and then Victor catching me.
Being choked, my airway cut off.
And then…two figures…falling to the ground…the scents of leather, vetiver, blood orange, and lemon filling my lungs as I gasped for air…
Being scooped into safe, caring arms. My eyes fluttering open briefly, being met with the gentlest expression I’ve ever seen. Kind, brown eyes, dirty blonde hair, and a strong nose…my voice calling out without my permission, “Mine.”
I sit up with a gasp. “Fuck!”
There’s no way I’m dreaming. But as I blink around the room, my eyes catching on the makeshift nest surrounding me before landing on the figure in the corner, startling awake at my outburst.
It’s not Teddy.
I don’t recognize this alpha at all.
And Teddy would never just leave me with a stranger.
Maybe Beatrice really did betray me after all.
Which means…was I kidnapped again?
Someone trying to ransom me for my parent’s money, I’m sure.
But fuck no. I am not doing this a second time.
With a frustrated scream, I hurl the nearest pillow at him. “Who the fuck are you?” I’m surprised at the venom in my tone. I do not speak to…well, anyone like this.
But, weirdly enough, I feel better than I have in gods-know-how-long, and it’s like something in me has awoken.
That fucking lime and bergamot is making me feel things I have no business feeling right now.
“Woah!” The man—alpha—has a voice that sends goosebumps across my flesh, and, unfortunately, I don’t hate it. “Wren, it’s okay. It’s—”
I scramble to my feet on top of the mattress.
For some reason, the sound of my name on his lips fills me with…
feelings. “How do you know my name?” My voice is shrill, even to my own ears.
“Are you trying to ransom me? Or did Pack Caruso set this up? Did my parents send you?! Where the fuck is Teddy?!”
The door slams open, and Teddy stands there, wide eyes and heavy breathing. “Dove!” he shouts, bounding into the room, stopping at the edge of the mattress and looking up at me. I’m so short, and he’s so tall that this puts us almost at eye level.
I choke on a sob as I fall into his arms, and his head buries into my neck as his arms wrap around my back and he starts rambling. “‘Holy fuck, Dove. Never do that to me again. I was so fuckin’ worried…”
When I take a gasping breath, it hits me. Teddy’s scent. English Breakfast Tea with cream and sugar, but…different.
I’m pretty sure his scent never sent slick straight to my panties before. And why…why is it screaming that it’s mine? “Teddy?” I whisper.
“Fuck, you’ve been out for three days and I was worried I’d have to take you to the ‘ospital—”
“Teddy!” I say louder, pulling out of his grasp and looking at his face. He doesn’t…he doesn’t look any different. But…there’s that undeniable alpha musk in his scent that would normally make me gag. “What…how…are you an alpha?”
“Oh, right.” He gets this sheepish look, rubbing the back of his neck.
“After I tried to go back for you and found you missin’, I di’n’t take it too well, and I uh…
presen’ed. Poor Ethan,” he throws a thumb over his shoulder at the man I assaulted with pillows only moments ago, “got the brunt end of a bark I di’n’t realize I ‘ad.”
A late presenting alpha? I’ve never heard of that before. Though I suppose it shouldn’t be too surprising, considering I’m a late-presenting omega. And plus—
My hands fly up to cover my mouth. Ethan. His roommate. “Oh my gods.” I cover my face with my hands before looking over Teddy’s shoulder at my victim. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know—”
The alpha merely smirks, walking over to stand next to Teddy. “Don’t apologize, Little Bird. You have surprisingly good aim—if those pillows had been actual weapons, I’d be very, very wounded.”
Little Bird? You throw a couple of pillows at a guy in a completely out-of-character explosion of rage, and he gives you a nickname.
But then I realize that the lime and bergamot has gotten considerably stronger, and not only is it doing weird things to my insides, but that same mix of voice and feeling whispers in my mind, mine.
I choke, looking between the two of them. Neither of them seem to realize the effect they’re having on me, and I don’t seem to be inciting any sort of alpha-like response from either of them.
“What—how—”
“Surprise?” Teddy gives a pained smile, glancing at Ethan. “Guess it’s a good thing I di’n’t introduce you to Ethan earlier, otherwise you mighta scent matched wiff him and left me behind.”
I shake my head at the ridiculousness of his words. Even if I had found a scent match, I never would have left Teddy behind. “What? No—” then I realize what he just said. “You mean, you can scent it too?”
They both look at me like I’m crazy. “O’ course we can, Dove. It’s takin’ everyfin’ in me to not claim you ‘ere and now.” Teddy runs a hand over my hair.
“But you’re not acting surprised,” I whisper, my cheeks flushing when I meet Ethan’s assessing gaze, and I quickly look back at Teddy.
“That’s because you’ve been unconscious for the last three days, and we’ve had some time to get used to your scent,” Ethan says gently.
Three days?
Then he holds out his hand. “May…may I?”
Biting my lip, I look back and forth between the alphas in front of me.
Teddy as an alpha is going to take some getting used to.
But, there’s no apprehension. None of the dread or suffocating feeling that usually comes up when I’m around alphas.
I know I can trust Teddy. He didn’t change personalities just because he changed designations.
And Ethan…
I glance at Teddy, who gives me a nod, and I sidestep so I’m in front of Ethan. Now that he’s closer, I can see that his eyes are green. Like the forest. I take the hand he’s holding out, doing my best to ignore the butterflies that immediately erupt at his touch.
I completely fail in that endeavor when he presses a kiss to the back of my hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Ethan—what’s your name?” I know he’s doing this whole introduction thing to make me more comfortable—he already called me by my name after all.
“Wr—Wren,” I choke out, my face flushing as my perfume swirls around us. This is so embarrassing. At least when I perfumed around Teddy before he couldn’t really tell because he didn’t have as strong of a sense of smell.
Ethan’s eyes darken. But he releases me, and I huff stepping back.
A harsh voice startles me, calling out from the doorway. “Why is she standing?”
The stranger’s tone has me dropping to my ass on the bed, my stomach turning with anxiety. I don’t know who that is, but I hate it when people are mad at me.
There’s a brief “oof” sound, and then there’s another alpha next to my bed, looking at me appraisingly as he rubs his side. He looks to be in his early thirties, with close-cropped brown hair and a deliciously thick torso and arms.
Deliciously thick? What the actual fuck is wrong with me?
Right. Maybe it’s the way my head swims when his leather and lemongrass scent reaches me.
I choke. “Are you fucking kidding me?” The words burst out of me, and daddy-vibes-hot-alpha raises his brows, a slightly amused smile on his face. “Another one? Just how many true scent matches do you have hidden in this house?”
“Um, just one more.” A-fucking-nother alpha comes into view, and yeah. Vetiver and blood orange. These are the two who confronted Pack Caruso.
This one is just as infuriatingly handsome as the rest of them. Dirty blond hair, those same brown eyes that looked at me with warmth as I was carried out of Pack Caruso’s house.
“Oh my gods.” I throw myself back, staring at the ceiling. Four true scent matches. How the hell did I go from a beta who could hardly speak to anyone to an omega with four hot-as-fuck alpha mates?
“Did we break her?” The wording itself is amusing, but the daddy-vibes alpha has nothing but concern on his face as he leans over me.
Then Kind-Eyes.
Then Ethan.
And, lastly, Teddy.
So many eyes are on me, and despite the fact my gut tells me that I’m safe with these alphas, the urge to bury myself in the comforter and hide away from their scrutiny rides me hard.
Groaning, I give in to the urge and pull the blanket over my head. “I’m sorry, I need a minute.”
“Oi! Arse-wipes, give ‘er some space!” Teddy’s voice, combined with the sound of shuffling feet, tells me he’s ushered everyone away from the bed.
“I need to remove her IV!” The voice of…I think it’s the daddy-vibes alpha, argues.
“Fine. Maverick is allowed near the bed, but you two—give ‘er space.”
Maverick?
Something about the name, combined with his scent, has me peeking my eyes out from under the covers.
“I’m afraid I haven’t introduced myself properly,” the alpha says, sitting on the edge of the bed. His voice is still gruff, like he’s not quite used to talking to omegas hiding from him. He looks at me—well, he looks at my eyes and forehead—softly. “I’m Maverick. Can I take your IV out?”
From the safety of my blankets, I observe him for a moment. He has a few gray hairs at his temples, even though he can’t be older than his early thirties. A set of dog tags hangs from his neck, and his rough demeanor from earlier seems to have all but disappeared.
He’s actually pretty cute.
Even more so as his cheeks start to redden under my stare. Never have I had an alpha blush for me. The sight gives me a little bit of confidence.
Taking a deep breath, I sit up, letting the covers fall into my lap. “I would like to know your qualifications, please.”
Maverick’s brows shoot up. “My…qualifications?”
I nod. “What qualifies you to provide medical care to omegas?” How he reacts to this will tell me everything I need to know about this alpha.
“As I’m sure you’re aware, omega-care is so drastically different from caring for a beta or even an alpha, doctors are required to take an entire extra year of schooling if they wish to include omegas in their client base.
” It’s not even that I think he isn’t qualified—Teddy wouldn’t have let him set me up like this in the first place if he wasn’t—but I’d like some insight on these men I’ve been fated to.
Teddy snorts a laugh, and there’s a soft twinkle in the still-unnamed alpha’s eye.
“Well…” Maverick rubs the back of his neck. “I was in the Marines for ten years, where I was trained as a medic for special forces. After I got out and started my business, I enrolled in omega-specific courses so I would be properly prepared if we happened to be assigned an omega for extraction.”
My throat goes dry. “Extraction?”
“We save people from bad…home lives,” the blonde one chimes in, “removing anyone—men, women, alphas, betas—from abusive situations and helping them start new lives. Sometimes we’re contracted to help the police, but mostly we’re hired by the victims’ family members.
Petrov Recovery Services—headed by our very own Maverick Petrov. ”
Maverick gives him a dirty look at the interruption before turning back to me, his face softening again. “So, rest assured Wren, I am fully qualified to remove your IV.” He holds his hand out, a request for mine.
My hand is shaky as I nod, reaching over and placing it in his. Something like lightning shoots through my veins at the contact, and I wince at the way my fingers flinch.
“Shhh, it’s alright,” Maverick soothes, gently running his palm over the back of my hand. “You need to be still. Will you be a good girl and stay still for me?”
Well, fuck.
My perfume blooms in the air at the words “good girl”, something I did not see coming. Pained groans sound around the room, and all I can think is how damn embarrassed I am.
“I’m sorry,” I stammer, moving to pull my hand away. “I don’t—”
“No.” Mavericks voice has me freezing, and I look up to see his dark eyes peering right at me. “Never apologize for having a reaction to us. Fuck knows we’re all having the same kind of reaction to you. Okay?”
With my parents, or with Pack Caruso, I would have put my head down. Apologized. But with Maverick? Something keeps my chin tilted up as I keep my eyes on his. “Yes, Alpha.” The words that Pack Caruso tried to force on me come naturally, and that ashen taste doesn’t burn my mouth.
Instead, the words feel right.
So right, that a sound starts rumbling in Maverick’s chest, and his eyes widen briefly before he clears his throat. Did he just…purr?
“I, ahem. Sorry, I—”
Before I can stop myself, the words fall out with a small smile. “Never apologize for the reaction you have to me.”
His lips tilt up as he shakes his head. Maverick’s smile is a beautiful thing. “Yes, Omega.”
And shit, there goes my perfume again.
Before anyone can react, I’m sitting up a little straighter. “I’m ready for the IV to come out.”
And then we need to talk about the one thing nobody has actually mentioned yet: what the fuck this all means.