Page 54 of Mask and the Magnolia

Smoothing out my skirt,I take a deep breath and swipe my card, ready to put on a happy face until I can disappear into the bathroom to scrub Camden’s smell from my skin and burn my clothes.

I hate his scent.

I know it’s something I’m sensitive to, all omegas are hyper aware of other scents around them, but this is next level gross.

Evie doesn’t stink.

She smells like snapdragons. And something a little sweet. At least, that’s what I pick up from her scent. If we couldn’t stand the way each other smelled, we wouldn’t be able to live together, and I’m thankful she doesn’t smell anything like her brother.

I’m not entirely sure what it is about Camden’s scent that makes me want to vomit but I swear it’s because he smells like vomit.

Or hot garbage.

Maybe dog shit.

I can’t pick out anything individually, either, so whatever he has going on is a jumbled mess that induces nausea.

Right now, that disaster isall over me.

”Good morning, Dr. Reynolds,” Stevenson says as I walk by.

I give him a nod in response and try to move by quickly, ignoring the puzzled look in his face.

Is it that obvious?

Do I smell that bad?

The mated alphas don’t give a shit about how we smell. If it doesn't belong to their mate, they couldn’t care less. The unmated ones would only care if I were in heat, or if I were mated, because they use a scent dampening oil right under their nose so they can’t really smell anything but that. That wouldn’t do shit if I went into heat, but it helps day to day. Plus, Isaak and I both take scent blockers and that makes a huge difference, too.

Walking in here smelling like another alpha, though. That might be a little bit of a game changer. Granted, we didn’t have sex, thank god, but I know Camden got his grubby scent all over me and that’s going to turn some heads.

It’s like a big neon sign flashingprivate property.No one will mess with an omega who might be mated bonded, not unless they have a death wish.

Not that I’m shopping around up here on Ward C. Not intentionally, anyway.

God, I am such a fucking mess.

And I really need to get cleaned up.

I frown as I head toward Isaak’s office.

Shit.

He has Calix in there.

I check my watch, my frown deepening when I see that it’s not even nine yet.

Isaak must have gotten a jump on his session or something.

I don’t know why he would have, but I can hear the two of them talking, which means I cannot go in there and use his private bathroom with a shower.

With a huff, I turn back to the middle of the ward, standing in the living room while I try to figure out what to do.

The residents each have their own little bathroom but I couldn’t use one of those. The storage and med closets have sinks but that’s it. Not really helpful if I’m looking to scald my skin off.

I take a few steps toward the rec hall, tilting my head as I contemplate using a bathroom in one of the empty apartments.

They still work, they’re cleaned regularly. No one else is down there to hear me, not unless one of the residents comes down to play pool or air hockey.