15. Chapter Fifteen
I climb into the back seat with the omega still cradled against my chest and pull the door shut behind us. The moment the latch clicks, she shifts in my arms, climbing fully onto my lap as though she can’t bear even an inch of space between us.
Her small hands fist in my hair, tugging with surprising strength, and she grinds down against me with a desperate whine that nearly short-circuits my brain.
Heat pours off her skin. Her bright strawberry and lemon and peach scent floods the confined space of the car, sweet and sharp and so potent it makes my mouth water and my pulse hammer against my ribs.
I have never reacted to anyone like this. Not once in my life.
My free hand fumbles for my phone while I try to keep my breathing steady. I hit Alex’s contact and press call, putting it on speaker so I can keep both arms around her. The line connects after one ring.
“Adrian.” Alex’s voice is calm and commanding, the way it always is when the pack needs him. “Talk to me.”
“She’s perfuming,” I manage, voice strained. “Strongly. I found her in the library stacks and she fell. The second I got close her scent blockers failed and now she’s in a full heat spike. I have her in the car but I’m barely holding on here.”
The omega whines again, louder this time, and rocks her hips against mine in a deliberate, needy circle. My grip tightens on her waist. I have to bite the inside of my cheek to stay focused on the call.
Alex doesn’t miss a beat. “Did you leave anything in the library? Hers or yours?”
“Possibly both. My bag is still on the table where I was studying and she had a notebook with her at least. I didn’t stop to check.”
“I’ll have Jamie call you in a minute for details. He can go grab everything. For now, stay in the car. Don’t move. I’m already on my way to you.”
Relief crashes through me so hard my shoulders sag. Alex is the apex for a reason. The weight that lifts off my chest the moment he takes charge is immediate.
“Thank you,” I say, the words rough.
The line goes dead.
The omega chooses that exact second to pull my face down to hers and kiss me again. Her mouth is hot and eager, tongue sliding against mine like she is starving for the taste of me.
I groan into the kiss before I can stop myself, one hand sliding up her back to cradle the nape of her neck while the other grips her hip, holding her in place as she continues to grind against me in slow, desperate rolls.
Every rational thought in my head fractures. All I can feel is her, all I can smell is her, all I can think is mine.
My phone rings again, Jamie’s name flashing on the screen. I answer on speaker, barely managing to keep my voice level.
“Jamie.”
His usual playful tone is gone. He sounds dead serious. “Is the omega the girl I have been talking to, Melody? Strawberry blonde hair, bright peachy lemonade scent, usually in a cardigan?”
“Yes,” I confirm, the word rough. “It’s her.”
Jamie exhales sharply. “I know exactly what her bag looks like. I’ll head to the library right now and grab both your things. Just tell me what floor you were on.”
I give him the details, voice tight as the omega, Melody, tugs at my hair again and nips at my bottom lip.
Jamie doesn’t tease. He simply says, “I have you both. Sit tight,” and ends the call.
I drop the phone onto the seat beside us and let myself sink back into her for one stolen second, kissing her indulgently and deep, letting the taste of her settle on my tongue.
Then a sharp knock sounds on the window.
I jolt. Melody startles in my arms with a soft whine.
Alex is already here.
I reach over and unlock the door. He slides into the driver’s seat, jaw tight, eyes flicking to the rearview mirror for only a fraction of a second before he starts the engine.
“I’m driving us home,” he says, voice low and controlled. “I’ll keep my eyes on the road. Just… try to stay focused back there.”
I barely hear him. Melody is already pulling me back into another kiss, and the rest of the world fades until all that exists is the sweet press of her body, the addictive taste of her mouth, and the overwhelming knowledge that everything is about to change.
The drive feels quick and hazy, like time has folded in on itself. One moment Alex is pulling out of the parking lot and the next the familiar turn onto our street is already sliding past the windows.
I lose myself in Melody again and again. Her mouth is insistent against mine, her small hands tugging at my hair, her hips rolling in needy circles that make my thoughts fracture into pure sensation.
Her scent is everywhere, bright strawberry and peach and sharp lemon zest wrapping around us until the inside of the car feels like a shifting storm.
I kiss her deeper, one hand sliding up her back to cradle her neck, the other gripping her hip to brace her.
Every soft whine she makes against my lips pulls another low groan from my chest.
Up front, Alex’s knuckles are white on the steering wheel.
I catch the tension in his jaw in the rearview mirror every time I manage to surface for air.
His scent, dark cedarwood and black pepper and heat-warmed skin, is bleeding into the car despite his obvious effort to stay controlled.
It’s the first time I have ever smelled him this close to the edge.
Melody notices too.
She breaks our kiss with a needy sound and leans forward, drawn toward the front seat like a moth to flame. Her nose twitches as Alex’s scent reaches her, and she starts to shift toward him.
I gently catch her chin and guide her back to me. “Stay with me, sweetheart,” I murmur against her lips. “I have you.”
She melts into the kiss again, but it happens twice more during the drive. Each time her attention drifts toward Alex’s scent, I pull her back with pretty words and deeper kisses until she’s whimpering against my mouth once more.
It takes every ounce of willpower I possess.
My body is screaming to give in completely, to let her grind against me until neither of us can think, but I hold the line. Barely.
When the car finally slows and the tires crunch over our gravel driveway, relief and dread twist together in my chest at the same time.
Alex cuts the engine and gets out fast, as though he can’t stand another second inside the scent filled car. The moment his door shuts, Melody whines, a sharp, heartbroken sound that tugs at something deep in my ribs.
The back door opens before the whine can even finish.
Alex leans in, his broad frame filling the doorway. His gray blue eyes are dark, pupils blown wide.
“You two smell incredible,” he says, voice rough and low. “It’s taking everything I have not to lose it right here.”
I manage a strained nod. “Same.”
Melody reaches for him instantly, arms stretching out with another needy sound. Alex doesn’t hesitate. He slides his hands under her and lifts her from my lap as though she weighs nothing.
She goes to him willingly, legs wrapping around his waist, nose pressing straight to the side of his neck. She scent marks him on instinct, rubbing her cheek along his skin with a contented sigh.
I climb out after them, legs unsteady, and follow as Alex carries her toward the house.
My mind is still spinning, trying to catalog every detail, every biological marker of what is happening to her. But one thing is crystal clear.
This is our omega.
And the pack is about to meet her for the first time.
Alex carries Melody toward the front door with long, purposeful strides.
I stay right behind them, my mind racing to process everything that has happened in the last twenty minutes.
Her scent is still blooming in the air around us, sweet strawberry and peach and sharp lemon zest mixing with Alex’s dark cedarwood until the combination makes my head spin.
“Alex,” I say, voice still rough. “She’s completely out of it. This isn’t a normal reaction. She’s having a heat spike.”
He glances back at me, jaw tight. “Explain.”
He knows all this already, but I think he needs me to confirm it.
I fall into the familiar rhythm of analysis even as my body still burns for her.
“From what I can tell, her heat blockers failed the moment she came into close contact with a scent match. A heat spike is a sudden, intense biological override. It’s not a full heat cycle.
It’s more like an emergency response from her body when it detects a true compatible match.
The pheromones become overwhelming, scent blockers lose effectiveness, and the omega experiences rapid onset of symptoms: heightened arousal, scent flooding, emotional dysregulation, and loss of lucidity.
It’s usually a one-off event rather than a prolonged heat, especially if it’s triggered by a pack’s scent match.
At least that’s what the biochemical literature suggests. ”
Alex nods once, processing the information with the same sharp focus he brings to everything. “And you are certain she is our scent match?” His voices carries a sense of hope, and I know that he can barely let himself believe that this is real and happening.
“Positive,” I say without hesitation. “There’s no other explanation for this level of reaction.”
We reach the front porch. Before Alex can even adjust his grip on Melody, the door flies open.
Chase stands in the doorway, nostrils flared wide. His massive frame is tense, shoulders bunched, deep brown eyes wild with protective instinct. The second he catches her scent, a deep growl rumbles from his chest.
“Bring her inside,” he nearly shouts, voice thick with alpha command. “Now. She’s not safe out here.”
He ushers us in with urgent movements, one hand on Alex’s back and the other gesturing sharply for me to move faster.
The moment we are through the threshold, Alex lowers Melody onto the large sectional couch in the living room.
She immediately whines in protest when he tries to pull away, her small hands fisting tightly in his shirt.
She clings to him like a lifeline, face buried in his neck.