Page 32

Emmie

I wake slowly, my body feeling deliciously heavy and satisfied in a way I’ve never experienced before.

The afternoon sun streams through Jude’s bedroom windows, casting golden light across the tangle of limbs and blankets that have become our temporary sanctuary.

Beck’s arm is draped across my waist, his breathing deep and even against my neck.

Eli lies on my other side, one hand resting protectively on my hip, even in sleep.

And Jude is curled between my thighs, his Omega scent now calm and content instead of the distressed spikes it carried during his heat.

For the first time in days, my mind feels clear. No longer the clawing need that drove me to seek them out. Now it has faded into something manageable, and I can think with my heat clouding my judgment. And what I feel isn’t regret or embarrassment. It’s a wonder and sense of completeness.

“You’re thinking too loud,” Beck murmurs against my ear, his voice rough with sleep. “I can practically hear the gears turning.”

I turn in his arms, studying his face in the afternoon light. Without the careful mask he usually wears, he looks younger, more vulnerable. There are lines around his eyes that speak of years of responsibility, of putting everyone else’s needs before his own.

“I’m thinking about how right this feels,” I admit quietly.

His dark eyes search mine. “Even now? When your heat isn’t driving your decisions?”

“Especially now.” I reach up to trace the line of his jaw, marveling at how such a powerful alpha can be so gentle. But what if he leaves me again?

Eli stirs beside me, his green eyes blinking open slowly. When he sees me looking at him, a soft smile crosses his features—not the guarded expression he usually wears, but something open and hopeful.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he says, and the endearment that once made me protest now fills me with warmth.

“Afternoon,” I correct with a laugh. “We’ve been asleep for hours.”

“My body feels like I’ve run a marathon,” Jude says as he shimmies to the foot of the bed, stretching languidly.

“I’ll run a bath,” Beck says gently, pushing away from me and off the bed. I feel his loss immediately, but if this is just for my heat—for Jude’s heat—I’ll have to get used to that pretty quickly.

“What happens now?” I ask, propping myself up on my elbow. Fearful of what I’ll hear, but needing to hear it, anyway.

Beck turns at the bathroom door and all three men exchange glances, and I can see them weighing their thoughts carefully.

“Anything you want,” Eli says slowly. “If you want this Emmie, we can give you it. But I’ll not make you do anything.”

“And what would that mean, exactly?” Jude asks, looking at Eli and then me. I understand his fear. He let his guard down with me…with these alphas. And I don’t want Jude to run again. I take his hand in mine, stroking his knuckles as I say, “We come together.”

Beck runs a hand through his tousled hair. “We can make that work.” He turns to Eli, who nods.

“We can. Like a pack,” I say, testing the word. “I like the sound of that.”

“It won’t be easy,” Beck continues, his expression growing serious. “Two Omegas. Your age. Romeo. And we’re going to get judged by others. Jude’s job... None of that will be simple.”

“When has anything worthwhile ever been simple?” I counter. “Besides, I’m tired of living my life based on what other people think is appropriate.”

“Your mother,” Eli says quietly. “She won’t approve.”

The mention of Mom makes my chest tighten with guilt and anxiety. “No, she won’t. She’ll think you’ve manipulated me, that I can’t trust my own feelings. She’ll say it’s just my Omega being weak.”

“And she might not be entirely wrong,” Beck says with brutal honesty. “We have influenced you, Emmie.”

I sit up fully, pulling the sheet around me. “Do you think I can’t tell the difference between manipulation and genuine feeling?”

“I think it’s complicated,” he replies carefully. “I think we all need to be honest.”

“Then let me be honest,” I say firmly. “Yes, you’ve all affected me.

Yes, my biology responds to your pheromones.

But I’m not challenged by scents. My honey scent is manipulated too.

It’s not my actual scent. I’m here because of my heart, my mind, and also it’s my choice.

I wanted to be here. And if you can’t see that, if you think I’m just some helpless Omega who can’t make her own decisions, then maybe we don’t know each other as well as I thought. ”

Jude laughs.

I glance at Beck. “That’s why I know I’m not scent matched with Romeo. So he shouldn't be a problem.”

The silence that follows my words is heavy with tension. Then Jude laughs again—a soft, amused sound that breaks through the seriousness. “She’s got you there,” he says to Beck and Eli. “You’re so busy trying to be honorable that you’re insulting her intelligence.”

“Thank you,” I say gratefully, turning to Jude. “I feel you all more than I smell you.”

“Feel?” Beck’s expression shifts, understanding dawning.

“I’ve been making my own choices since I was sixteen,” I tell him. “When my scent profile came back, and—“ I hesitate. I feel these men, but telling them everything feels dangerous. Luckily, Eli reaches for my hand, intertwining our fingers and not pushing me for what I was going to say.

“So what are you choosing, Emmie? Really choosing, with no pressure from us?”

I look around at the three of them—these complicated, damaged, wonderful men who somehow fit together in ways that shouldn’t work but do. Beck with his protective instincts and hidden vulnerability. Eli with his gentle strength and artistic soul. Jude with his gentle wisdom and fierce loyalty.

“I’m choosing all of you,” I say simply. “I’m choosing to see where this leads, even if it’s messy and complicated and completely outside social norms. If you want me, that is.”

“Even if it means standing up to your mother?” Beck asks gently.

“Especially then.”

“Tell me why you were leaving,” Eli says.

“My stepfather…” I take a deep breath, feeling more certain than I have about anything in my life. “Mom is a good person, really. She saved me from Blake, and I’ll always be grateful for that.”

“Your stepfather,” Beck whispers.

“He wanted to breed me.”

“Fuck! No wonder you ran,” Eli hisses.

“I did. And I’ll always be grateful, but I can’t let fear control my future.”

“Then why did you come to Jude and not me or Beck when your heat started?” Eli asks.

Jude bites his lips as he looks from me to Eli and then Beck. A look of contemplation crosses his face, like he is worried to say something. Then I realize it’s because he wants to know why I went to him first. Not Beck. Not Eli. But an Omega.

I take his face in my hands. “I trusted you. I know we’re both Omegas, but we’ll figure it out as we go, make mistakes, fight sometimes, and then remember why we chose each other in the first place.”

“What did your scent profile show?” Eli asks like he has just put two and two together and worked out why my stepfather wanted me so much.

I consider lying. Because if I tell him the truth, I don’t know if Eli will run and protect his heart from me. “It’s complicated.”

Beck laughs, the sound rich and genuine. “Everything is complicated about you, Emmie.”

I curl deeper into the blanket, feeling my scent shift. This time to something melancholy and clean. I can see the way Beck and Eli are watching me, their concern barely contained, and it makes my chest tight with anxiety.

“She doesn’t understand what she is,” Jude says quietly, and my head snaps up. There’s something in his tone that makes my skin prickle with unease. “Emmie thinks she doesn’t have scent matches because she’s never experienced the traditional Omega scenting process.”

Beck’s brow furrows. “What do you mean?”

“Most Omegas and Alphas have a primary scent—lavender, vanilla, pine, whatever. It’s consistent, identifiable.

But Emmie...” He gestures toward me, and I feel exposed, like he’s seeing right through me.

“She doesn’t have a primary scent. Her hidden scent determines what Alphas can smell depending on her emotional state.

Her true scent changes constantly based on her mood. ”

My heart races. How does he know this? How could he possibly—

“That’s why she’s always seemed different,” Eli murmurs, understanding dawning in his eyes.

“But why does Romeo think you smell of honey?” Beck asks, his eyes narrowing.

“It was the best scent enhancer for my blood type.” The words come out like I’ve been caught lying.

Jude continues, “But you have scent matches, despite what you believe. Yes, it’s rare because your scents aren’t traditional perfume notes—they’re descriptions, experiences, moments in time.”

Eli looks at Beck, something soft and knowing passing between them. “Like sunshine breaking through clouds.”

Beck nods slowly, his voice rough with emotion. “Or when it first rises after a stormy day.”

My eyes fill with tears, but panic is rising in my throat. Jude knows too much. This is exactly what I’ve always been afraid of—someone figuring out my secret, understanding what makes me different.

“How do you know all this?” I whisper, my voice barely audible.

“It’s what I study,” Jude tells me gently.

“Rare Omega presentations, genetic variations, anomalies that most people dismiss as impossible.” He pauses, his eyes meeting mine directly.

“Sometimes these Omegas have a deeper sense of connection than others. A bond that goes beyond scent, beyond the physical.”

“That’s not—“ I start, panic making my voice tight. “I’m not that rare. It’s just—” But I can’t explain without giving away everything, without admitting to the voices in my head, the way I sometimes know things I shouldn’t know. “Can we please not talk about this?”

But before he can answer, his voice appears in my head, warm and reassuring: It’s okay, Emmie. Your secret is safe with me. I understand what you’re afraid of, but you don’t need to be scared. Not with me.

I stare at him in shock, my mouth falling open slightly. He’s like me. He can do what I can do.

You’re not alone. His voice continues in my mind, gentle and understanding.

And you’re not broken. You’re extraordinary.

You’re an Aurora Omega. Jude says in my head, his lips not moving.

One of the rarest types. Your scent is like the northern lights—constantly shifting, impossibly beautiful, and utterly unique.

This Omega type is so rare that only five have ever been documented in modern history.

My breath catches. “Five? That’s all?”

Eli and Beck stare at me, and I realize I answered aloud, and I have to cover it up. “It is rare, but I don’t want it to define me.”

“But it’s the reason you’re on the run, so everything changes from now, Emmie. You need bodyguards,” Beck replies.

My mouth opens and then shuts. “Oh my god, no way.”

I’m sorry, Jude adds, settling back against the pillows like he’s realized he’s opened a massive can of worms.

It’s okay, I reply.

“Now you know about my stepfather. I want you all to call me Emmie,” I say. “That identity was about hiding, about being less than I am. If we’re doing this, I want to be called Emmie again. Emmie Darling. And I want everyone to know exactly who I am.”

“Emmie Darling,” Beck repeats, testing the name. “It suits you better. And yes, we are doing this.”

“What about Romeo? Your children?” I ask.

“Remi will be fine. I’m sure River will think I’ve hit the jackpot and Romeo. Well, he’s about to realize you were never his. And if he thought you were, then he should never have rejected you. He should never have wanted to use you.”

So we’re doing it. We’re testing this fragile new pack against the pressures of the outside world. And for the first time in my life, I’m not facing those pressures alone. I have my pack, and an absolute certainty that whatever comes next, we’ll handle it together.