Page 10 of Follow Your Instincts (Fairview City Omegaverse)

Maggie

I was avoiding my fellow Omegas.

“I have no idea how to cook,” I told them. “But i’m going fucking crazy with nothing to do.”

Austin, let me help with making dough, chopping veggies, and deboning chicken all day.

“Well, you’re not completely hopeless,” they said, pulling the rolls I’d helped make out of the oven in time for dinner.

“Why, thank you,” I said and bowed.

“Smells good,” Jess said as she came into the dining room with the three other Omegas. “I’m so hungry I could probably eat everything myself.”

“Yeah, no way, you greedy little monster. Maggie and I have been slaving away all day,” they said.

I pulled off my apron and helped Austin carry the platters of roasted chicken and veggies to the table. They sat down with us to eat, as well.

Jess fake-pouted. “Fine, but I get to have the first bite.” She grabbed a roll off the top of the pile and crammed it whole into her mouth.

“If you choke and make me take you to the hospital instead of enjoying my dinner, I will never forgive you,” Austin said.

“This looks delicious, you guys,” the blonde Omega sitting on my right said.

She looked delicate and fragile, like a fairy.

Her scent was delicate too, like this floral liqueur Kira and I used to mix with Sprite back in college.

She was very thin, and her wide blue eyes gave her an almost ethereal appearance. “It’s Maggie, right? I’m Bridget.”

“Yeah, thanks. I was going crazy with nothing to do, so I figured I’d learn some new skills,” I said.

“It can get a little boring around here,” Bridget said. “But I’m in online classes, which helps.”

“What are you studying?” I asked and passed her the plate of veggies.

“Dietetics,” she said, and smiled at me. “There’s not a lot of dieticians that specialize in care for Omegas, so I figured I’d be one.”

“That’s awesome,” I said. “Do Omegas need special diets?”

“Kind of,” Bridget said. “It’s really interesting, actually, the way that Omegas metabolize food differently depending on where we are in our heat cycles.

There’s some great research out of Australia that shows we have differences in our organelles that could explain our unique biological characteristics. ”

“That is all way above my head. I did some science in college, but it was never my strong suit,” I said .

“Sorry,” Bridget said, wilting a bit. “I tend to get a bit overexcited about my research.”

“Don’t apologize,” I said. “It is interesting even if I don’t get it.”

“Steffi told us a little bit about your background,” Bridget said. “You were a cop?”

“I am a cop,” I said.

Jess gave a sarcastic laugh from across the table. “Sure, an Omega cop. That sounds like a shitty made-for-TV movie.”

Austin chucked a piece of roasted zucchini at her. “Stop being a brat,” they said.

“No, it’s fine,” I said. “I am a cop, and I will be a detective soon. Being an Omega doesn’t define my life.”

Jess laughed again. “I hate to tell you this, but it kind of does. Yeah, I’m an ‘artist’ or whatever, but do you think that’s what anyone sees when they look at me? The sooner you accept your limits, the happier you’ll be.”

I looked at her squarely. “You might have given up on doing anything productive with your life, but that doesn’t mean I have to.”

“You’ve been here for three days. Let’s talk in three years,” Jess said nastily.

Everyone was quiet for a moment.

“Well, that was fun,” Austin said. “Wonderful dinner conversation, ladies.”

Bridget and the other Omega laughed, but Jess just stabbed at her chicken.

“Ignore her,” the brunette sitting next to Jess said. She smelled almost too sweet, like cotton candy. Her green eyes sparkled with mischief, but her smile was kind. “She’s the one who rejects any pack she meets with. I’m Elizabeth, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said politely.

“Don’t get attached,” Austin said to me. “Little Elizabeth is moving out this weekend with her new pack and leaving us all behind. ”

“Congratulations?” I said. “Sorry, I don’t know the etiquette on this stuff yet.”

Elizabeth laughed. “Congratulations works. I’m really excited to see them. They’re out in Wyoming, so it’s taken a little while to coordinate everything, but they’re worth it.”

“Shit, that’s so far!” I said.

“Love finds a way,” Elizabeth sighed, and Austin mimed puking.

“How about you, Bridget?” I asked.

Bridget smiled sadly. “I’ll get there one day,” she said simply, and I didn’t press the issue. And I wasn’t about to ask Jess anything out of fear she’d stab me with her fork.

“Well, apparently I’m starting scent matching tomorrow,” I said. “Any tips?”

“Yeah,” Jess said and smiled evilly at me. “Bring a puke bucket.”

Jess had been exaggerating, but only a little.

“Oh fuck, no, get this one away for me please,” I said. The card was letting off a putrid scent like an overripe banana.

“So dramatic!” Andreas said and laughed. We were sitting in his office, and he was pulling cards out from a stack of sealed, plastic envelopes. He’d inputted my answers to the questionnaire and apparently these were the packs who aligned best.

We’d already set aside two envelopes for packs whose scents were pleasant, if not earth-shatteringly amazing. The reject pile was growing.

I sniffed hard at the cup holding a paper towel doused with descenter spray. “This is not fun,” I said.

“Finding true love is worth it, dear,” Andreas said in an uncanny impersonation of Steffi.

“Have mercy, please. I don’t know how much more I can take,” I said.

“You’ve got three more to go, and then we can stop for the day,” Andreas said, and I sighed .

“Okay, let’s get this over with,” I said.

As soon as I opened the next envelope, I pushed it away. “Ugh, fuck there’s someone in there that smells like licorice.”

“Aw, I like licorice,” he said and slid it into the reject pile.

I examined the next envelope. There were three cards inside, labeled with the Alphas’ identification numbers in the NON system.

As soon as I removed the first card, I wanted to squirrel it away and sneak it back to my room. It smelled like blackstrap molasses, the kind that my first foster mom used to use to make cookies, and cinnamon. Sweet and subtly spicy. My mouth started watering and I moaned.

“That good, huh?” Andreas said.

I didn’t bother replying, just dug for the next card. It was somehow even better. Juicy red watermelon and fresh basil, perfectly balanced and crisp. I wanted to lick it.

The last card was a heady mix of rye whiskey and tobacco, tipsy and smoky and dark. I got lightheaded and tried to rub it against my face.

Andreas caught my arm first. “Alright, stop contaminating the samples you horny devil,” he said and snatched the cards all back from me.

I whined when he took the scents away, then slapped my hand over my mouth to stifle the sound. My scent had flooded the small room, and I flushed in embarrassment.

“Okay, so, that goes in the yes pile I think,” Andreas said and smiled at me. “You alright?”

“I’m fine, that was just more intense than I expected,” I said.

“That’s true scent compatibility,” he replied and smiled. “It says here that the pack also has a Beta, but Beta scent cards tend to degrade over time, so no luck there. But, I think we can stop there for today.”

“I’d like to start meeting packs as soon as possible,” I said.

“Sure, I’ll set up some meetings for next week. Now get out of here, your perfume is about to choke me out,” Andreas said and laughed .

I rolled my eyes but still made a beeline straight back to my room. I was wetter than I’d ever been before in my life. All this from smelling some index cards , I thought. My skin was flushed and hot, and my core pulsed with desire.

“This is ridiculous,” I muttered and stripped off my leggings and underwear. Even the cool air of the room was almost too much on my oversensitive skin.

I touched my clit and bit my lip against a moan.

I stroked my clit slowly, the memory of those scents driving me higher and higher.

I gasped and slid two fingers inside my pussy, which was clenching around nothing, and sighed in relief.

And suddenly it was Soren’s face and scent that filled my mind; his thick dark hair pushed back and slick with sweat above me.

“Fuck,” I whimpered softly as I came apart, harder than I’d ever come before in my life. All because of some index cards and a fantasy about my coworker.

Maybe being an Omega could have its perks.