Page 26 of Follow Your Instincts (Fairview City Omegaverse)

Maggie

W aiting for the pack to show up in the back room of the coffee shop was the definition of nerve-wracking.

Bridget and Kira had helped me pick out an outfit, dark jeans and a lavender sweater, and braid my hair into a coronet around my head. I thought it looked silly, but they both insisted it made me look regal, and since I was supposed to be the one in charge, why not wear a crown?

Jess had been distinctly unhelpful. I’m not sure exactly how she’d found out about the “packleader not being into me” detail of the story, but she was sure to comment on it.

“I don’t think you should get your hopes up. If the packleader isn’t interested, how can you ever expect to be a full member of the pack?” she said with faux concern.

Which sucked, because it was exactly what I was thinking.

But I was still willing to give it a shot. Mostly because the alternative, giving up my career, never finding another pack and dying alone, was too depressing to consider.

Steffi and Andreas had talked to the coffee shop about letting us use the back room instead of the reception room of the Center. I wanted everyone to feel like we were on neutral ground .

So here I was, tangling my fingers together with nerves and jiggling my foot to keep from pacing.

Of course, I smelled them before I saw them. The front door bell tinkled, and Ben’s watermelon scent hit me first, mostly because he came rushing into the back room.

He stopped in the doorway, and I stood up cautiously. Ben was wearing a jean jacket and the same navy baseball cap he’d had on when we first met. He looked so unsure that I took two steps forward unconsciously, ready to comfort him, then stopped.

“Go inside,” Soren said from behind Ben as he pushed him across the threshold. Soren was wearing his black leather jacket, and his beard was longer. In short, he looked hotter than ever.

Lucas followed him inside the room. He had on a pastel blue button down that emphasized his beautiful skin. His scent was stronger than I remembered and so sweet it made my mouth water.

And Lachlan came in last, looking severe and sheepish at the same time.

His hair had grown out past his collar, and it waved back from his forehead.

His green eyes were as intense as I remembered.

With the scar on his lip and his penchant for writing letters, he could have been the main character in a gothic novel.

“Hi,” I said into the awkward silence.

To my surprise, Lachlan stepped forward first. He held out a hand as if to shake mine.

As soon as I reached out, he gently clasped it in both of his hands and brushed a thumb over my palm.

It shouldn’t have caused a full-boy shiver, but it did.

“Before anything else, I want to apologize again for the other night. We wanted you to feel welcome, safe, and comfortable. I’m so sorry that I made you feel the opposite.

” Being locked in that intense stare was like being hypnotized by a giant snake.

“Thanks,” I said. “I, um, I appreciated your letter.” Understatement of the year. I had already read it multiple times that morning. That secret thrill hadn’t worn off yet .

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us,” Lachlan said. He finally broke our eye contact and dropped my hand. Embarrassingly, my breath whooshed out in a rush, but no one mentioned it.

“Now that that’s out of the way, can I please hug you?” Ben said.

“Shocked that you even asked first,” Soren grumbled.

“Yes, please,” I squeaked, but I didn’t have time to be self-conscious about sounding like a chipmunk before Ben had wrapped me in his arms. I bit back a whine and willed myself not to start perfuming. But he smelled so good .

“God, you smell even better than I remembered,” Ben mumbled into my hair, as if he could read my mind. His hands briefly gripped my waist before he pulled back.

I peered over his shoulder at Soren to find he was beaming at me.

I threw myself at him, and he let out an “oof” before stopping our momentum.

He chuckled and said, “Missed you too, baby girl.” I felt the vibration of his deep voice like a jolt right to the clit.

Maybe a public meeting was a bad idea after all.

I greeted Lucas a little more shyly, but I melted in his arms once his scent wrapped around me. It calmed me down enough to take the edge off the crazy Omega hormones that suddenly wanted me to start an orgy in a coffeeshop.

I knew better than to try and hug Lachlan.

“So, how have you been?” Ben asked as we settled at the large table in the center of the room. “Bereft without us?”

I considered scoffing and saying I hadn’t missed them at all, but then I remembered what Rosie had said. Communication. Right. I could do that.

“Well, I only thought about you guys about a hundred times a day,” I said casually, but my face burned with a blush.

Ben looked surprised at first, but then his face split into a grin that made me very glad I’d been honest. “I’ve got you beat, then, because I thought about you at least a thousand times a day.”

“Nonstop,” Soren said solemnly. “I might get fired. ”

“Luckily, I’m unemployed or I would have been very distracted, too,” Lucas said ruefully.

“Is it called being unemployed if you’re super rich?” I asked with a smirk.

“Probably not,” Lucas said. “But I’ve decided ‘retired’ makes me sound like an old man.”

I looked over at Lachlan, who was sitting as far from me as the table would allow. He looked stiff and uncomfortable, but when he caught my eye, he gave a little half smile. “It’s been a long two weeks,” he said dryly.

“Yeah, it has,” I agreed, then took a deep breath. “I just have a few questions I want to ask.”

“Ooh, is that your cop voice?” Ben asked.

I rolled my eyes. “What happened that night? Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Lachlan said immediately. “I… I don’t have a good explanation for my behavior. But I hope you’ll believe me when I say I would never hurt you.”

“I wasn’t scared of you,” I said. “I was just confused. It seemed like I had upset you by being with Ben. And if that’s true, we might have a slight problem.”

Lachlan shook his head. “There won’t be any problems. I swear.”

I nodded, then swallowed hard. “And you guys are still interested? In me?”

“Yes,” Soren said. “Absolutely.”

I looked at Ben. “Didn’t I just tell you I’ve been thinking about you one thousand times a day? I don’t think I can get more explicit than that. Unless, of course, I describe some of those thoughts in graphic detail-”

“Nope, not necessary,” I interrupted with a blush. He grinned wickedly.

Lucas cleared his throat. “My answer is yes, too. Just wanted to make that clear.” He slid his hand out across the table and intertwined our fingers loosely. We shared a smile.

“And you’re sure you’re okay with this?” I asked Lachlan .

“Yes,” he said firmly. He looked like he wanted to say more, but then he shut his mouth again and just nodded firmly.

“Okay then,” I said. “Can we try again?”

The next couple of weeks were fun .

Ben and I ran together a few more mornings, but my favorite evening with him was spent at a fall festival in Brookwood.

There was a carnival with games and rides, and his excitement was infectious.

After riding every ride at least once, he bought me a caramel apple and won me a giant pink stuffed octopus that he carried around for me the rest of the night.

He made me feel like a teenager again, even more so when we snuck off to make out behind the cotton candy tent, his hands wandering until my scent spiked. I convinced him to leave once I noticed some of the sharper looks from other Alphas. I tried not to let the sour ending piss me off.

Lucas took me to a fancy restaurant he had talked about, the place that sold the best peach cobbler in the city.

“I’m not sure if I trust your judgment in food after the bagel debate,” I teased, but he was right. It was delicious.

He also took me to walk around a farmer’s market uptown in the city.

It was mostly Hispanic and Black vendors selling fresh produce or prepared foods.

I ate until I was stuffed: plátanos maduros, jerk chicken, black beans and rice, and banana pudding.

Lucas was so easy to be around, and his height made me feel safe and protected, even around unfamiliar Alphas.

He never tried to kiss me, but he was still openly affectionate. I could appreciate taking it slow.

Soren and I went on long walks talking about the Heitzig case, along with older cases that I was curious about.

I’d sent the photo of Greta and her mystery pack to Kira. She gave me names of places it could have been taken that I passed along to Soren, and he gave me updates on following up on those leads .

I spent a lot of the time alternately picking his brain and desperately wishing we were not in public. Whenever he kissed me, I turned into a panting, perfuming mess.

Lachlan tagged along on a couple of outings with the full pack. We did an escape room together, which mostly involved Soren and me solving the puzzles, Ben ransacking the place looking for clues, Lucas being encouraging, and Lachlan handling the math equations.

In between these dates, I spent a lot of time with Bridget. I enrolled in an online course on criminal psychology through Fairview City College to help pass the time, and it felt good to be using my brain on something productive even if I was sidelined from work.

Jess and I avoided each other as much as possible. The time I spent with the pack seemed to annoy her, and she made snide comments at meal times about Omegas jumping into bed with any pack that would take them.

I kept my temper under control, mostly because I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she pissed me off.

Kira visited as much as she could with her schedule. She joined Bridget and me for our romcom nights and brought junk food.

If the prospect of my heat wasn’t dangling on the horizon like a hangman’s noose, if I could just go back to my job, if I didn’t have to worry about when and if the city was going to prosecute Todd Phillips… things might have even been perfect.