Page 16 of Follow Your Instincts (Fairview City Omegaverse)

All the Alphas growled - a low, predatory sound that only ratcheted up the sudden madness of desire that was sweeping through me.

I wanted them all in that moment, their skin and scents on me and in me.

I choked back a whine and clenched Ben’s hand harder, like a lifeline in a storm. My perfume was going wild.

“Enough of that,” Steffi said sternly, but she was smiling. I’d completely forgotten she and Andreas were in the room. “May I suggest a subject change? Or maybe we could take a short break before things get out of hand.”

“Sorry,” I said, releasing Ben’s hand and sitting further back in my chair.

“No need to apologize, Maggie, we’re the ones with bad manners,” Lucas said. Lachlan was gripping the back of the couch so tightly I thought he might rip a chunk off. “You just smell very, very good. ”

“You all smell very, very good to me, too,” I said.

“That’s quite enough chat about scents, dears, let’s move on,” Steffi reminded us briskly.

“So, work, Lucas, what do you do?” I said desperately.

Lucas shook his head, as if clearing it. “I’m retired, actually,” he said.

“Aren’t you a bit young for retirement?” I asked.

“Lucas is doing his false modesty bit,” Ben said. “He wants you to know he’s a multi-millionaire software developer who sold his company for a shit ton of money, but he’s too polite to say it like that.”

I laughed again. “Congratulations! So did you take up golf or sailing?”

“Cooking, actually,” Lucas said, unfazed by Ben’s snarkiness and still smiling at me. “I was going stir crazy with nothing to do after I sold my company. They kept me on the board, but that doesn’t mean anything. And I was feeling useless, so I started learning to cook.”

“I just started learning too, here at the Center, for similar reasons,” I said. “Not the millions of dollars part, the stir crazy part. But I seem to be gravitating more towards baking than anything else.”

“I’m a terrible baker. Maybe you could show me some tips?” he asked, and even though the question was casual, I felt an unspoken weight behind it.

“Yeah, that would be great,” I said, smiling.

There was a brief silence where Ben, Lucas, Soren, and I just smiled at each other. I decided to ignore Lachlan completely.

“Quick work question,” Soren said. “You heard from Geta Heitzig? I can’t find her. I want to ask her some more questions.”

“No, but I gave her my cell,” I said. “She’s missing? She didn’t seem like she was doing well.”

“No, not really,” Soren agreed.

“There was one thing, though, that I thought was weird. The perp busted all the cases, but they only took something from one, right?”

“Yeah, they almost cleared out one of them, but didn’t take anything from the others,” Soren replied.

“That’s weird, right? He took the time to break all the cases, but he only took something from one? Why not try to grab everything?” I asked.

“Good questions,” Soren said. “And yeah, that is weird.”

“Jesus, I almost just fell asleep,” Ben said, calling my attention back to him. “Can you two please have your meeting of the minds on your own time?’

“Oh, shut up,” I said, laughing, and pushed him good-naturedly on the shoulder. Ben snatched my hand and interlaced our fingers together with a mischievous smile.

“It worked, though,” he said and brushed his thumb across the back of my hand. “I get to hold your hand now.” I smiled back at him and felt lighter than I had in a week.

“How about you, Lachlan?” I asked after a moment, just to be polite.

“I own a cybersecurity firm,” he said, still holding onto the back of the couch. His eyes flicked to where Ben was holding my hand, then to my eyes. His eyes darkened with an emotion I couldn’t read. “It’s… rewarding work.”

There was a pause.

“Lachlan is our pack leader, he brought us all together about five years ago. He and Soren grew up together, but we met at a tech conference and hit it off, so I joined the pack. And then Ben showed up one day to train Lachlan and just never left,” Lucas said, his dark eyes sparkling.

“I remember it differently,” Ben said, still stroking the back of my hand. “I remember them begging me to join so they wouldn’t die of boredom from being so adult and responsible all the time. I’m the fun one in the pack.”

“‘Fun’ is one word for it,” Lachlan said dryly, surprising a laugh out of me.

“Is he always like this?” I asked him.

He met my eyes again, and the unscarred corner of his mouth tipped up. “Worse. This is him on his best behavior.”

“I hate to be the party pooper, dear,” Steffi said, looking at me. “But we’ll have to conclude the meeting here.”

Ben gave me his megawatt smile. “So, obviously, we’re going to be seeing you soon, Maggie. I’ll be here for our morning run tomorrow. You and Soren have to discuss the jewelry cases or whatever, and you have to teach Lucas how to bake, so you’ll need to come to the house this weekend.”

“Don’t push,” Lachlan said, scowling again.

“That sounds… great,” I said, surprising myself a bit. “I’d like to get out of the Center for a little while.”

“... And spend time with us,” Ben prompted me.

“And spend time with the four of you, yes,” I said. Definitely three of them. Lachlan seemed like he’d rather not be in the same room with me, but he hadn’t openly objected.

“Perfect,” Ben said, grinning.

I shook my head and squeezed his hand before sliding mine out of his grasp. “It’s been great to meet you all. And see you,” I said to Soren.

Ben, Soren, and Lucas stood up when I did.

Before I could get awkward, Ben pulled me into a hug. “I’m going to behave myself for the sake of the rules,” he whispered in my ear, and I shivered. “But I don’t want to.”

He moved away quickly, and Lucas took his place, opening his arms to me questioningly. I stepped into his embrace, and his sweet scent brought a rush of calm and comfort. I took a large inhale, my face buried in his chest.

Lucas released me gently.

I was already aching, my core clenching and wet, when I turned to Soren. He stood, unsure, and rubbed the back of his neck. I closed the distance and gave him a fierce hug, a fraction of what I wanted. “Thank you,” I breathed into his neck.

His arms closed around me, and I felt his nose brush across the shell of my ear. “For what?”

“For being there and stopping that asshole,” I said, horrified when my voice quavered. I shoved down the emotion as best as I could.

Soren’s arms tightened around me. “Always.”

I stepped out of the hug, breathing heavily, before I did something truly insane like lick him up the side of his neck. He looked a bit dazed as well, and Ben cleared his throat.

I started softly and turned to Lachlan. He was scowling harder than ever and once again refusing to look at me.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know you,” I said, extending an olive branch.

Lachlan nodded and met my eyes. “I look forward to that, too,” he said stiffly. Ben pushed him in the back until he stepped towards me, hand extended.

As soon as our palms touched, his dark, smoky scent washed over me, and the desire that had been slowly building inside since they walked in the door exploded in a conflagration.

I whined involuntarily and stumbled into him, still holding his gaze, when my knees went boneless.

Lachlan growled and caught me, pulling me into his chest, and wrapped himself around me in an almost punishing grasp.

I pushed my face into his neck and inhaled his scent until my head went light and I whined again, trying to get closer to him.

I felt feverish and desperate. Mine , a small voice sounded in my head. All mine.

“Shhhh,” he soothed and rubbed his jaw against my temple. I whined again and rubbed myself shamelessly against him.

He didn’t push me away. “It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he said in that gravelly voice and stroked down my back. A softer growl, almost a purr, sounded in his chest, and I pressed my ear to his shirt, the vibration calming the instincts that told me I needed to claim him as my Alpha right now.

As my blood calmed, mortification took the place of the temporary madness. I stiffened in Lachlan’s embrace, and he stepped back, the vibration in his chest cutting off abruptly.

“Oh my fucking god,” I said, and I couldn’t look any of them in the eye. “I’m so sorry, I don’t…” I stepped back and hugged my arms tightly, missing the feeling of Lachlan’s arms around me .

“I’m sorry,” he said awkwardly. He seemed sincere, which was strange because I was the weirdo who attacked him. I looked away from his intense gaze.

“Please do not apologize,” Ben said, and pulled my chin up gently to meet his gaze.

“We’re going to go because I’m pretty sure Steffi is about to kick us out anyway for making you perfume like crazy,” he said, and a mortified laugh burst from me.

“But I will be here in the morning for our run,” he promised. “What time?”

“I usually go at 6, but that just seems cruel. 7 AM?” I asked and laughed at his expression of horror. “Still too early for you?”

“No, it’s perfect,” he said and moved back to join his pack. I still couldn’t look at the rest of them.

“We’ll see you soon, Maggie,” Lucas said as Steffi walked them to the front door.

Andreas stood up, and I shook my head. “Don’t even start with me,” I said.

His smile was too innocent. “I have no idea what you mean,” he said.

Steffi bustled back into the room, beaming. “What lovely men,” she said. “So, what were you saying yesterday about making up your mind and never changing it, dear?”

“I hate you both,” I said, but I smiled and gave them quick hugs before retiring to my room, where I could reflect on the meeting at length. Alone. Maybe in the shower , I thought, my blood still singing with pent-up sexual tension.