Page 4 of Match (Damselverse #1)

Chapter four

Penn

S o…this is the Omega who had been living in my basement.

The very same Omega who just burned down my grandfather’s bookstore and his entire legacy and almost got herself killed in the process.

She’s either really stupid or just down on her luck, but I can barely find it in me to be angry at her.

How can I be?

It was obviously an accident, and I still can’t believe she had been living right under my nose this past week.

And there I was, thinking I had a rat infestation. I even left little blocks of Swiss cheese inside some traps. Humane traps.

My other pack brother is a veterinarian. He would skin me alive if he knew I used old-fashioned rat traps, and maybe I’m the stupid one here?

But it’s not the mental exhaustion that’s making it hard for me to be mad at her.

No. It’s those big, soulful eyes.

The pair that are currently brimming with tears of shame.

She thinks I am mad at her for burning down my building and costing me thousands in damages, yet in the end… They are just books. Pieces of paper with words on them, and maybe some illustrations, too.

Now, there’s a sentence I never thought I would say. Books are my life. Books were what I read when I was getting bullied at school for being small and punier than the other boys in class.

“Look at that loser reading again!”

“He’s so puny!”

“Weak!”

Well, you can imagine how shocked they all were when I sprouted up faster than the rest of them in the end and manifested as an Alpha.

While I may not be as big as Firefighter Dane, I am still tall and well-built.

However, as big as I am, I am still a pacifist. I believe that violence can be resolved with words rather than fists, and I know that my pack brothers feel the same.

Most of the time.

Dane can be quite hot-headed when the need arises.

Normally, I depend on the guy. Whenever anyone tries to give me beef, there’s Dane. The hero. He always has my back.

The Alpha steps toward me, and I can tell by the expression in his eyes that he is trying to keep the peace.

“Now, Penn, go easy on her, all right? She’s pretty fragile…and an Omega .”

He whispers the last, but he needn’t bother. I have my glasses on; I can see how small she is.

Really small.

I never even knew they could be that small…

I release a sigh, running my fingers through my curly hair. “It’s fine. I’m fine. I…I’m not going to blow my fuse.”

Dane smiles tightly, and his eyes crinkle at the corners. “I’m sorry, man. I know how much you loved that bookstore.”

I speak through gritted teeth. “It’s fiiine … They’re…just books…”

That’s right. Just books.

Dane widens his eyes in pleasant surprise. “Never thought I would hear you say that.”

Well, there’s a first time for everything.

Dane glances over his shoulder at the Omega. A medic is seeing to her, and I can’t stop staring at her.

Her shoulders are hunched, as if she is afraid that the whole world is out to get her, and I just want to wipe that expression off her beautiful, doll-like face.

Dane steps close to my ear. “Also, this is between you and me, but…I think she may be…you know…the one …”

I look at him in disbelief. Is he serious?

The Alpha goes on. “You know, my scent match. Our scent match. I just have this hunch.”

It seems he is serious.

Well, paint me surprised.

Dane always was a romantic. It’s just the way he is. If he sees a flower he likes, then he has to pick it from the ground and bring it home.

It seems he found himself another flower.

He places his arm around me. “So, I take it you have the sense not to press charges.”

I roll my eyes. “I guess I do.”

He regards me seriously. “You know she was living in the basement, right, Penn?”

I’m aware, and the thought does not bode well with me.

Where is her pack? An Omega that small and precious surely must have Alphas who are worried about her.

Dane grins, wiggling his brows suggestively. “Come along, I will introduce you to her.”

I know what he’s doing. He is trying to convince me that she is our scent match, but seeing is believing first.

I will believe in that fairy-tale stuff when I have veritable proof.

“Petal, I would like you to meet Penn.”

Of course, he already has a nickname for her.

However, the Omega refuses to meet my eyes, and now an awkward silence passes between the three of us.

I raise a brow, peering at Dane.

He sighs. “She’s just a little shy. Bear with me. Petal? Are you all right?”

Petal—I mean, the Omega —squeezes her eyes tight shut, and I study her yet again, observing the way her small, freckled nose crinkles with the action.

Why is she so afraid?

Wait. She’s not scared of me, is she?

I’m hardly threatening. I’m wearing a turtleneck jumper for crying out loud.

“Petal, it’s okay. Penn is not mad at you. Are you, Penn?”

He gazes at me pointedly.

I try not to let the frustration show on my face as I address the Omega. “No, I’m not. I know you never meant to cause that fire.”

Startled, the Omega’s gaze shoots up, and I stare spellbound at those big eyes.

Holy fuck…

It’s like I’m drowning in that periwinkle gaze.

“You’re not mad at me?” she asks, and her sweet, high-pitched voice leaves me speechless.

What a pretty little voice. She sounds like one of those cartoon princesses who sings to bluebirds.

Now I begin to stammer, glancing at Dane. He encourages me to go on.

I was never the best at talking to women. Omegas especially. They always want something from me. Something I can never give them.

My dick.

That’s right. I’m demi-romantic. I have to form a deep attachment to another human being before I have sex with them.

There’s only been one woman who’s ever won me over. Right before she broke my heart. That was six years ago, just a year before I met my pack brothers.

A few one-night stands helped me get over her, but only at first. I felt nothing for those women.

So, how the hell was I supposed to come for them?

But one look in this sweet Omega’s eyes makes me want to come right there on the street for all to see.

Shit. That’s not me. It's my Alpha. And he is horny.

How the hell did he not realize this fairytale princess was hiding in his basement?

“No, I’m not mad at you,” I purr, and what the fuck .

I gaze at Dane, startled. He just gives me one of his infamous shit-eating grins, and then a knowing expression grows on his face.

The bastard.

The Omega’s eyes fill with tears again. “Thank goodness.”

Then she bursts into tears, leaving me completely tongue-tied.

Yeah, I don’t know how to act around a crying woman. What a shocker.

That’s when Dane, the hero firefighter, steps in, purring and wrapping her up in his arms, and she becomes as soft as a kitten.

If only I could make her that relaxed around me, but she’s scared of me.

I must do something to rectify that right away. I just don’t know how.

“See? I told you he wasn’t mad, Petal. Penn forgives you. He knows you never meant to burn down his bookstore.”

The Omega howls louder. He may want to tone it down a notch. He’s making her feel worse.

Still, the expression of contentment on her sweet face, despite her tears, only confirms that she feels safe in his presence. If only I could get her to be that way around me.

It’s just then that the wind blows my way, and then I am hit by her scent.

Roses.

Shit.

Dane was right.

She does smell incredible, and I swallow hard when the realization dawns on me.

It just so happens that she’s my scent match, too.

I may have lost a bookstore, yet I gained something even more precious.

An Omega.

Fate really is a fickle bitch.