Chapter 9
Luna
My hand rests on the brass doorknob, my palm slightly damp as I’m caught in a crossfire inside my head.
The truth is, my body has been in a state of alert since I woke up. Proximity to three scent matches apparently does things to you that a cold shower can’t cure. I am, to put it mildly, incredibly horny, yet, a knot of stress is wound tight in my chest. It’s a weird combination.
Even through the door, I can smell a vague blend of delicious alpha scents. It’s thick and heavy, woven into the comforting scent of fried bacon and toasted bread.
My stomach gives a traitorous rumble. I haven’t eaten a real meal in what seems like forever.
Cool head, Luna. You can’t hide in the guest room forever. You can open a door.
So I do.
The hallway is empty, morning light pooling across the floorboards. Sitting right outside my door, perfectly centered, is a wooden breakfast tray. Bacon, eggs, toast, coffee. And a folded piece of white cardstock resting on the corner.
Sorry for being an asshole last night. Shout if you need anything else & take your time to come downstairs. - Deputy Dick
I pull the cardstock to my nose, closing my eyes as a scent of leather and coffee hits. It’s a sharp, aching pull that drags straight to the bottom of my lungs.
Oh God.
It’s him. The deputy, Bram. He really is my scent match, too.
A high-pitched whine vibrates in my throat before I can clamp my mouth shut. I gasp, suddenly lightheaded, my vision blurring at the edges.
My hand moves on its own, dragging the heavy cardstock along my jaw, closing my eyes as the scent wraps around me. I’m reveling in a warm haze when my foot twitches forward, making the cup of coffee wobble with a loud clatter against the tray.
The sudden noise pulls me right out of the trance. I snap my eyes open, my heart hammering as I grab the mug to keep it steady.
Shit, what the fuck am I doing?
I snatch the paper away from my face, my cheeks burning. If I’m already this far gone over a piece of stationery, what happens when I walk downstairs? What happens when there are three of them in the exact same room?
Cool head. Cool head.
I am not a slave to my biology. I can survive a conversation with three alphas... even if they’re gorgeous... and my scent matches.
I grab the tray and haul it into my room, devouring the eggs and coffee at the desk.
Hmm, pretty good.
Guess I’ll have calories to burn if I end up making another run for it.
***
The stairs creak under my sneakers.
The air grows thicker with every step I take down. Bram’s coffee-and-leather weaves into Ash’s cedar and chocolate. Reed’s woodsmoke and musk laces the edges, making my lungs ache for a deep breath.
I reach the bottom of the stairs and the space opens up before me.
Bram stands across the kitchen island, his features much clearer in the morning light. He has thick brown hair touched with silver at the temples, a neatly trimmed beard, and a heavy, stubborn jawline that perfectly matches the rigid set of his shoulders.
Reed hovers by the coffee maker in a worn t-shirt and sweats. Ash leans against the counter near the window.
They look, and their pupils blow completely wide, eclipsing their irises until their eyes are nothing but black.
“Morning, beautiful,” Reed husks, his voice entirely too low for this hour.
Ash pushes off the counter, his gaze tracking a slow, heated path down my body and back up. “How did you sleep?”
The air practically hums. Heat blooms low in my stomach, a heavy throb that makes my body desperately want to perfume, to flood this room with my scent and see what they do about it.
No. Stop it.
I swallow hard, locking the biology down.
“Morning,” I manage to scrape out.
Bram clears his throat, the sound a low gravelly rub. “Morning. Did you... get the tray?”
“I did. Thank you.” I walk forward, stopping safely on the opposite side of the island.
Bram meets my eyes. His gaze is intense, but raw. He steps around the island.
“Luna,” he says, his voice dropping. “I want to apologize for last night. I was a brute. I had just finished my shift, I was stressed about the orchard, still am, but there is absolutely no excuse for what I did. I handcuffed you in the dark while you were...”
He shuts his eyes, his jaw working as he forces down a swallow. When he looks back, the brown of his eyes is raw.
“I am so sorry. No one is ever going to make you feel like a criminal, or threaten you on this property again. Never.”
“I—apology accepted,” I say, the weight of his words sinking into my chest.
He takes a breath, his shoulders dropping. “I didn’t even introduce myself properly last night. I’m Bram.”
He extends his hand across the space between us. It’s broad, calloused. I place my hand in his. “Luna.”
The second our palms touch, a jolt of heat shoots up my arm.
I pull my hand back, my cheeks heating, and look toward Reed, who’s leaning against the coffee maker, a slow, lazy grin spreading across his face.
“Well,” he murmurs, his green eyes glinting.
“I’m personally quite satisfied of our introduction last night. ”
A heavy flush rushes up my neck, my ears burning as the memory of wrapping my legs around his waist and burying my face in his neck hits me in a vivid flash.
“You can stay here if you still need a place,” Ash says from the window, taking a step closer. “As long as you want. For free. We—”
“I appreciate the offer,” I cut in, my nails biting into my sleeves. “But I can’t stay for free. And before we get into anything else, I need to explain something.”
They wait.
I lift my chin, forcing myself to hold their blown-out stares.
“I just officially got out of a relationship. A toxic one. I am not looking to jump into anything. And while being scent matched means our biology aligns, it does not automatically mean our personalities do, or that our daily lives fit together.”
I drop my gaze, then force it back up. “I’m not ready to just assume those two things automatically go hand-in-hand.”
Ash’s expression drops entirely.
Bram looks away, the heavy muscles in his shoulders hiking up. “With the orchard’s finances where they are,” he mutters, the words dragged out of him like pulling teeth, “we can’t provide for you the way we’d want to, anyway.”
Reed stares at the floor, his jaw flexing. “Wait. Are you saying you don’t want to get to know each other? I know we’re not exactly rich, but—”
I uncross my arms, letting my hands fall to my sides. “No, no, I’m not saying that. I’m not in this for pampering and I don’t need to be taken care of financially,” I say, holding each of their gazes in turn. “You don’t need to feel insecure about that with me.”
The collective tension in their shoulders drops a fraction.
“But,” I add, “I can’t just stay for free. I can pay you.”
“We’re not taking your money,” Reed says, instantly defensive, the smoke in his scent flaring hotter.
“Then I’ll work for it.” I level a look at all three of them. “I was supposed to be sipping cocktails by a pool right now. But since my hotel got canceled, I have one more day before my yoga retreat starts, and I’d gladly help around the orchard.”
“A yoga retreat?” Reed repeats, his brows pulling together. “You’re leaving tomorrow?”
“Yes,” I say, the word feeling suddenly heavy in my throat. “But I have a few days left of my vacation after the retreat ends. I’d love to come right back and hang out, if you’re open to it?”
Ash shifts his weight by the window, his eyes softening as he looks at me. “Yes. Yes, of course. We’d love to.”
I offer a soft, tentative smile, fighting down a prickle of regret as the reality of leaving suddenly twists in my chest. “So, in the meantime... deal? Labor for room?”
Bram studies my face for a long heavy moment. He glances at Reed, then Ash. Both alphas give him a barely perceptible nod.
“Deal,” Bram says, extending his large hand again.
I reach out and place my palm in his. Bad idea, as the second we’re skin on skin, I am almost gone again. Heat rushes up my arm, short-circuiting every logical thought in my brain. My Omega is screaming at me to close the distance, to jump into his arms, to let him—
An electronic chirp cuts off the hum. I pull my hand away from Bram’s, and dig the phone out of my pocket.
“Sorry,” I gasp, looking at the screen.
I tap the notification.
Subject: Cancellation Confirmed — Serenity Ridge Wellness Retreat.