Page 7

SEVEN

Playing: She by Harry Styles

The silence is loud as we walk into our home past midnight. There’s a heaviness circulating between us. It’s a subconscious feeling; all three of our alphas are on edge, and we’re all hesitant to talk about why.

Ciro practically leaps onto the couch. Even in his somber mood, there’s a pep in him.

We all follow suit and sit around him. Atlas leaves the room but reappears with some ice for Kendall’s hand.

He looks lost in his thoughts as he joins us, an uncertainty coming off of him that’s abnormal for our prime.

All of our scents are soured as they spread throughout the space, making our stress apparent.

I am livid in my skin. My alpha is still stirring deep down, wishing for retribution. The strong emotion coming from him leaves me confused. I thought my alpha had grown numb long ago, but I think he was just sleeping.

Why do I feel this way over a random omega?

I wanted to get the first punch on Derek so bad, but Kendall beat me to it. I look over at him and see that he’s still reeling from it.

“Will you tell me about her?” He breaks the silence, looking at Ciro with thoughtful intent. “I feel kind of weird fighting for someone I’ve never met.”

I stiffen. That’s what we’re all thinking, isn’t it?

Ciro scratches his chin, his other hand playing with his shoelace without untying it. He’s the least serious of us all. We’re all very protective of him, knowing his mind can be a chaotic place. But right now, he looks thoughtful and full of longing.

“She’s the prettiest person I’ve ever seen,” he starts, and Kendall inhales sharply. “Her eyes were so wide, she looked like a startled doe. ” He gave a small humorless laugh. “And?—”

We all hunch forward in our seats, waiting… hoping.

“Her scent… I could smell her. I could actually smell her.”

I let out a giant breath. A part of me feels like crying. This is unprecedented. There’s only one case where betas can smell omegas that clearly.

Ciro drops the shoelace and runs a hand through his hair. “I didn’t know I could smell someone else that strongly. I can barely smell you losers.”

Kendall tries to give a chuckle, but it gets caught in his throat. He is still the only one brave enough to speak, “What did you talk about?”

The adoration and delight from a moment ago falters as worry etches into Ciro’s features.

“We mainly introduced ourselves. She said she’s majoring in creative writing, but seemed a little shy about it.” He bites his lip before sighing. “She was high.”

“Like, weed?” I ask.

“Yes, but also… other things.” He looks like he’s contemplating his next sentence, but then he speaks. “She told me she had taken some acid and needed to get back home quickly.”

I freeze at the admission. I don’t have a lot of experience with drugs or people who take them. I’m sure a few of our frat brothers partake, but they never discuss it with us.

“I offered to help her, said one of us could drive her back. I knew it was risky, because she doesn’t know us that well and she’s an omega, but I was worried about…

I don’t know, her being near a stranger while in that state?

But that doesn’t make sense, because I’m a stranger…

” He shakes his head, knowing that what he’s feeling is nonsense.

His beta senses are having a hard time admitting to what he should already know, but we’re all alphas.

We’ve always been prepared for this day, and we know it’s not supposed to make any sense. It just is .

“She asked for some water.” He shakes his head again, looking regretful. “She left pretty quickly while I was gone. I came back to her getting into the ride she ordered.”

“Did she tell you her name?” Kendall asks, pulling Ciro out of his thoughts.

He smiles softly. “Stacia.”

The second he says it, there’s a calmness that settles over me and my alpha.

Kendall tilts his head to the side. “So… she needed a ride home but Derek was right inside?”

I was just thinking the same thing. Did he refuse to drive her home? I’ll give him another broken bone in a second if that’s the case. I don’t even need an excuse, I just want to hit him.

I take a few breaths to calm down before our prime finally speaks. “I have something to tell you guys.”

We all turn to face him, a sudden anxiousness settling between us.

“I smelled her once. A couple months ago.”

Before I can react, Kendall is standing up. Then the fight or flight response leaves him just as quickly as he sits back down. His eyes are wide as he stares at his childhood friend.

My alpha wants to clench our fists but I relent, taking a deep breath. “When?”

Atlas looks at me with sorrow in his eyes. “After our second game of the season.”

I think back to it. We had just won a shutout but I stayed sober so I could drive everyone home. Kendall and Ciro drank too much, Atlas ordered food. I remember the way his scent was stale, the way he looked troubled.

I think I’m going to be sick.

“She came to wait for Derek outside of the locker rooms,” he admits, running his hand through his hair.

“I didn’t see her. I wasn’t even fully convinced it was happening.

I didn’t know it was the person with him, not for sure.

It could have been anyone in that hallway.

I just.. I smelled it after he left and then… it never happened again.”

“But, why didn’t you tell us?” Kendall asks, his tone full of obvious betrayal. They’ve known each other their entire lives. Ciro and I didn’t come into the picture until a few years ago, but these two had been through everything together. I can almost feel the anguish coming off both of them.

“It sounds ridiculous, but I thought I was protecting you guys,” he relents. “I was also in denial a little bit. I had no information to go on. I told myself that if it happened again, I would tell you, but it never did. I didn’t want us to get our hopes up.”

Kendall puts his head in his hands.

“What was the scent?” Ciro suddenly asks, and we all go still. He’s giving Atlas a knowing look. He knows what he’s going to say, and it’ll all be over: the doubt, the uncertainty. We will know for sure.

Atlas meets his eyes after taking a big breath. “Lavender and vanilla.”

Ciro’s nodding his head before he even finishes the words, tears coming to his eyes. “I mean, I didn’t know what the floral scent was off the top of my drunk head, but the vanilla was unmistakable.”

I snort. It is hard to depict exact scents sometimes.

Kendall’s suddenly smiling again, a slight laugh coming out despite the underlying pain. “She’s ours, isn’t she?” He tries to hide his joy but he sniffles slightly. “Our scent match.”

His statement lingers, the truth of it seeping through the air and leaving all of us speechless.

Our scents all go in different directions as we think about what this means.

It could mean happiness, or heartbreak. We could all fall apart while trying to pursue this. But ultimately, it means one thing:

We might have just found our forever.