10. Scent Matches & Scent Mixes
Chapter ten
Scent Matches & Scent Mixes
What a difference a day makes.
Staring up at the ceiling, I slowly turn my head to the right. Jonas’s head is close to mine, eyes closed and mouth parted. Liam’s arm is wrapped around my waist, his breathing a low huff in my ear.
On Jonas’s other side, Carter’s eyes are lined with exhaustion. “You didn’t sleep.”
“Neither did you.”
He’d watched me. I’d watched the ceiling, silent tears soaking the pillow beneath me. And neither of us had said a word.
I wriggle out of Liam’s grip before he can say anything else. Every horrific thought I had through the night sticks to my skin like oil. I hear the bed shift as Carter follows me, and nearly manage to close the door to the bathroom before he grabs it.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I can barely look at him. “I said I’d try.”
“I know.” Carter follows me inside, easing the door closed and leaning against it, folding his arms. He looks as shit as I feel. A brief glance in the mirror tells me the deep circles beneath his eyes match mine. “I meant what I said last night, Ro.”
And I can’t think about that. “I’m not splitting our pack apart. We can’t leave, Carter. Are you honestly telling me you’d give up the Titans so easily? Playoffs? The Cup? Everything we’ve built here? You’re still under contract.”
We couldn’t leave if he wanted to. When he hesitates, I shake my head. “I need to get ready.”
I need to build myself up, piece by piece. Carter’s jaw works, but he nods. “Can I…touch you?”
He’s never asked before.
I step into the circle of his arms, and his sigh of relief brings the tears back. I swallow them down. “Tell me I can do this.”
“You can.” He strokes down my spine, his words quiet but determined. “I don’t want her, Rosie.”
But we both know he might not have a choice. If Liam and Jonas fell first, he’s going to follow. It’s only a matter of time.
I pull away before he can say anything else. “Make me a coffee?”
I don’t want her name in my home. I don’t want any part of her at all.
Carter kisses my head before he slips out. I stare at the door until it wavers, backing up and dropping onto the closed toilet seat before I cover my face and let the cries I held in all night free.
They’re louder than I thought.
Hands gently peel mine away. Liam crouches in front of me. He scans my face closely and inhales. “Oh, baby.”
Sniffing, I reach out and run my fingers over the dark scruff on his neck. He turns his face, lips brushing my palms. “One step at a time. Shower first.”
I watch him flip the shower on, twisting until steam mists the glass cubicle. He pops his head out, drops of water snaking down his neck and his t-shirt soaked. “Hot as Hades, the way you like it.”
I don’t argue when he takes my hand and pulls me in, still dressed. Liam crowds me against the wall until my back is pressed to the cold tiles and tips up my chin.
“I’m going to get you through this,” he says. Water pulses down over us both, soaking his tee, and he leans in until his lips are at my ear. “You and me, we’re a team. We’re going to keep our pack together. Together.”
“I can’t do it without you.” His lips press against my cheek. “I don’t want to.”
My head thuds against the wall. “I don’t know if I can have her here. Even the thought… It hurts.”
That’s the kicker. In the end, it doesn’t matter what any of us say. Whatever my intentions might be, or theirs.
We can’t escape our own biology. And mine is going to fight the presence of another omega until only one of us is left standing.
He rescues my aching scalp, massaging it. “That’s when you lean on me. I can help you, Ro. Alphas aren’t there for decoration. We’re designed to give you what you need. The pack dynamics are going to change and we can’t stop that. But I can help you adjust to them if you let me.”
I consider his words, hating that we have to talk about them. But when this discussion ends, I have to go to the Furnace, and that’s going to be so much fucking worse.
Essentially, my life has turned to shit overnight.
I suddenly have the urge for wine. Lots of wine.
He presses my nose lightly. “You’re thinking awfully loudly.”
I search for the words. “This all sounds so formal.”
Formal isn’t a word I’ve ever associated with my pack.
“I suppose it is.” He reaches for the showerhead and tips my head back, soaking my hair with water. “A bit more traditional than we’re used to, for sure. There’s going to be a lot of feelings, and that comes with more discipline within the pack to make sure everyone gets what they need.”
“It’s a pack,” I mutter. “Not an army reserve.”
He laughs quietly, dolloping shampoo into his hands and massaging it into my hair, pressing his thumbs exactly where he knows I like it.
I feel my legs wobble. “For the next few months it’s probably gonna feel that way.
But it passes, Ro. I promise. By the end of the season, everyone will find their place. ”
His lips find my neck, and I stretch it to give him more access. “This feels like a sneak attack.”
“It absolutely is,” he murmurs into my damp skin. “You’re always far more amenable when you’re clamped around my fingers.”
“I find that insulting to all modern omegas everywhere.”
I want to forget all of it. Everything waiting outside. Just for five minutes, I want to pretend that this isn’t happening.
Said fingers seem to be creeping between my legs. I shift, inhaling—
“Stop.”
Liam’s fingers pause. “Rosie?”
I yank myself away, strands of hair tearing painfully from his grip as I shrink back against the wall. As far as I can get.
My throat grows thick and tight as we stare at each other. Liam breathes in, his nostrils flaring. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “Oh.”
Her scent hovers, barely present, but there.
His scent match.
Which is not me.
And it’s already getting between us, because right now, all I want is for him to leave. Twisting, I reach for the soap and avoid his gaze. “I’m going to be late for work.”
He doesn’t say anything. My hand grips the soap. “Please. I—it’s the first day, Liam. It’s going to take time. Give me some time to get used to this.”
Don’t push this. Please.
I swallow. “I will get used to this.”
I try to make it convincing.
His face softens. There’s an apology there, but I don’t look too closely. “I’ll let it go today, then.”
“Thanks.” I almost—almost—keep the bite from my voice. “How magnanimous of you.”
Another sigh. I seem to be gathering a collection. “You said you would try.”
“This is me trying.” I yank my washcloth from the shelf, rubbing the soap into it and trying not to lose my temper.
“See this? This is me trying to get ready, so I can go to the place we both work at and spend the day getting to know my new boss—who is moving in with us tonight, by the way, because she’s scent matched to the majority of my pack.
That’s about as much trying as I have in me right now. ”
My voice rises. “If that doesn’t work for you, I’m perfectly happy to call in sick!”
He raises his hands placatingly. “All right. Point made.”
I’m not sure it is, but he gets out before I can respond. I glare at the empty space when the noise of the door closing sounds. My voice cracks over the shower.
“And I was promised a damn coffee!”
What a brilliant fucking start.