Page 16 of Knottily Ever After (Crescent Lake Cozy Omegaverse #1)
Chapter Sixteen
Ben
T he most popular tourist seasons in Crescent Lake are back-to-back: autumn and winter. We have visitors all year, but usually, in the spring and summer, they come in waves for special events, like the few scheduled conventions right now at the only big hotel in town.
That means this time of year, Lloyd’s Tattoos is pretty much a dead zone, leaving me a lot of free time while I watch the shop.
Flashbacks of last night at the ice cream parlor haunt me as I sit in front of my laptop. How Violet didn’t even react to our increased scents or her own. The confusion plagued me and my pack brothers all night, and now, I let my fingers dance across the keyboard I search the internet for answers.
What makes an Omega immune to scents?
When the results pop up, they surprise the hell out of me.
The most common reason an Omega would be unable to scent anyone is the use of popular suppressants… and then a bulleted list of brand names pops up.
“No fucking way,” I breathe, brow drawn tight as I read through more results, more of the same response.
Omegas in Crescent Lake are nearly all mated, and none that I know of take suppressants, so I’m about as unfamiliar with the subject as possible.
But I do know that large cities have laws that unmated Omegas are required to take suppressants in order to live there, for public safety, they say.
Alphas, too, take a form of suppressant to maintain permanent residency.
I huff our a breath, blowing my hair off my forehead in the process, and reach for my phone.
Me
I think I know what’s going on with Violet
It takes a few minutes before I receive a response.
Quinn
Don’t keep us in suspense, man.
Vaughn’s typing indicator pops up then disappears.
Vaughn
What Quinn said.
Me
I think it’s the suppressants
I send a link to the top result from my search. I assume they’re reading the article while I wait for them to respond again.
Quinn
Holy shit. This makes total sense. Why in the fuck would the pharmaceutical companies make suppressants with this kind of side effect? It seems totally inhumane.
Vaughn
And forcing people to be on them since puberty in some places…
Me
Yeah, like Violet. She’s lived in L.A. her whole life.
Both their dots pop up at the same time, and so do their responses.
Quinn
This is total bullshit. She can’t scent us, and her scent is dulled because she’s on that crap. WTF?
Vaughn
Why don’t we sit down and calmly ask her about it?
I choke out a laugh, head shaking.
Me
How do we ask her without seeming like creeps?
There are no dots for a while, then Vaughn’s begin bouncing on the screen.
Vaughn
We’ll need to use tact. Broach the subject carefully, like we’re not even talking about her specifically. See if she volunteers any information.
Quinn
And if she doesn’t?
Vaughn
Then we ask her. Carefully.
Vaughn ends his text with a serious-face emoji, replying directly to Quinn’s last text, to which Quinn responds with a gif of some guy throwing his hands up like, “I didn’t do anything!
” But we all know he’s got the care of a bull in a china shop full of red plates, so I send a gif of Dwayne Johnson doing his famous eyebrow raise.
Then Quinn chimes in again.
Quinn
We could always distract her, go through her stuff and hide the pills from her.
He’s joking. He has to be joking.
Before I can even process what he’s just suggested, Vaughn responds.
Vaughn
Are you out of your fucking mind? Absolutely not.
When Quinn doesn’t respond immediately to tell us he was just trying to rial us up, my jaw sets as my thumbs type furiously.
Me
I can’t believe you’d even suggest that as a joke, man. That’s totally fucked up. The fastest way to lose any bit of trust she has in us, and to make her hate us
Vaughn
Especially after what her ex-fiancé did.
This catches me off-guard.
Quinn reacts before I do, totally ignoring everything I’d just said.
Quinn
Fiancé? When was she engaged? And what did he do?
Vaughn
She just told me the other day that he cheated on her. That’s why she came here in the first place. To get away from the situation.
My jaw clenches so tight I’m scared my molars will crack.
An Alpha cheated on our Omega? An Alpha lucky enough to have her, and he betrayed her?
Quinn
I’ll kill him.
That, Quinn and I can agree on.
Vaughn
Slow down. I know how you feel, but she’s not hung up on him. She’s upset, but I spent enough time with her to get a good feeling about where she stands.
Quinn
Doesn’t mean he deserves to live.
Vaughn
You want to be in jail instead of with Violet?
Quinn sends an angry huff emoji.
I sigh.
Me
We need to be extra careful asking questions if she’s just been through something like that. I don’t want any of us upsetting her or giving her an excuse to leave.
Not that I’d hold her hostage if she decided she wanted to go.
No matter how much I’d want to.
No, it’s better to entice her to stay. Woo her. With cartoons, true crime, and stand-up comedy.
And if we’re lucky, one day, orgasms.
Lots and lots of orgasms.