Page 15 of Where There’s Smoke (Fire House Omegas #2)

Melody

E ver since my coffee run with Samson, I had been relaxed but also on edge.

My body was warring with itself, and it was downright confusing.

Hell, I’d go so far as to say baffling or mind-boggling.

Or some other rarely used word to describe something I didn’t understand.

Something about Samson, Fitz, and even Elliot made my stomach tighten, but it wasn’t a bad feeling, just unusual.

I was unsettled, but at the same time, being around them made everything feel that little bit easier.

Better.

Everyone had been thankful for the caffeine and treats—the baked goods had only lasted an hour, with each alpha polishing off several. They had insisted I take a pastry before they had descended on them like a pack of rabid wolves, and the flaky chocolate croissant had been divine.

It was a lovely day, so while the guys were working, I took Dotty out to the deck and sat on a lounger with my e-reader that had been in my car, so thankfully it had survived the fire, unlike most of my possessions.

We were getting deeper into fall, and given the California weather, I was very thankful. The summer was too hot for animals, and the air conditioning was so expensive to run.

I sent a few messages, checking on my rescues. Luther, the boxer, had charmed a visitor at the shelter, and they wanted to adopt him. The application papers were being sent over to me to inspect today, and I had high hopes for him.

I had also been sent a surrender request for a bunny, and as I had no facilities, I had a call to make. Clicking on the familiar contact, I lifted the phone to my ear.

“Hello?” a friendly Cajun voice I knew well said in greeting.

“Rune,” I said, smiling to myself, “how are you doing?”

“Good, though I really should be asking you that. I can’t believe you’re shacked up at Seventeen!”

“It’s not the most ideal situation, but I’m making the most of it.”

“Well, as Sunny will tell you, it can work out rather nicely.”

“Oh, hush. Sunny is a special girl— that’s why it worked out for you guys.”

“You saying you’re not special?”

“Rune…” I admonished, rolling my eyes.

“Okay, I’ll shut up. How can I help you today?”

“I just got a rescue request. Someone wants to surrender their rabbit, and it sounds like they haven’t had the best care…”

“And you don’t have a facility at the moment. Just tell me where to go! I can take the little guy to the vet and look after him until you have space.”

“Really, that would be a huge help. I hate asking…”

The sound of his snort echoed through the phone. “Melody, it’s the least I can do after you answered all those calls in the middle of the night when I first got Sooty and had no idea what I was doing.”

I laughed. That had been an interesting time, but I had been more than happy to lend a hand.

“It was worth it. She’s so happy now!”

I gave Rune a quick rundown of when and where to collect the rabbit and what little information I’d received from the people looking to surrender him.

“Now, before I go, I have to ask—is everyone over there treating you right? You can always come camp at our station if you want. Sunny’s old room is still there. Walker never even took down her decorations.”

Walker was sentimental, and I found it so endearing. Warmth filled me at the offer, but I’d gotten sort of comfortable here, especially considering that collection of stuff I’d brought to Elliot’s bed.

“Honestly, everyone’s been so kind to me. I just wish I had my place back, but I have everything I could possibly need, thanks to Sunny.”

“My omega is something, isn’t she?”

“She puts up with you, so she is most certainly something!”

“She puts up with Blaze! I’m sure you’ve got a new appreciation for that now that you’re spending time with his cousin…”

“Oh, they’re two peas in a pod, aren’t they?”

“They tried to get a job at the same fire station, but I think whatever boss that would have the misfortune of dealing with them would have quit rather than put up with their antics.”

“I shudder to think.”

“Call me if you need anything—or Sunny, if you want to talk to another girl. I know she sometimes felt like she was drowning in all that testosterone when she was living at Sixteen.”

“That was because you three were obsessed with her, but that worked out for the best.”

“It has, hasn’t it?” I could hear Rune’s smile through the phone.

We said our goodbyes, and I hung up, looking down at Dotty, whose eyes were opened a crack as she tried to move around the playpen.

I couldn’t help but smile. Things could truly be so much worse.

I just wish I knew what was going on with me lately—and that I had my place back to figure it all out in.

Hours had passed, and I’d gotten through a massive chunk in my book. Dotty and I had eaten and were happily enjoying the weather. But I was starting to feel like choosing a romance novel to read while I was surrounded by muscular firefighters might not have been the best idea.

My body felt warm and antsy, my mind cooking up images of those stupid firemen calendars and wondering what Elliot, Fitz, and Samson would look like with their helmets strategically placed. It was ridiculous.

It had also been apparently far too long since I’d gotten laid.

Hell, I hadn’t even taken a moment to practice some “self-care,” because I was surrounded by all these men.

The alphas here were all attractive and kind, but it was the guys who I’d met because of that damn fire who were stealing all my attention.

I squirmed in my seat, heat beginning to pool in my center as I pictured the three of them in my mind. Intense gear was required when you were fighting a fire, but in my head, they were manhandling a hose with nothing but those yellow overalls on, water splashing over their skin.

Jeez, was it hot in here?

Fanning myself, I set my e-reader down, my stare going up to the light blue sky.

I was scissoring my legs together before I could stop myself.

Men as big and impressive as those three firefighters probably had the equipment to go along with it, and my body practically ached for them to come find me and knot me.

Melody. Crap, this isn’t good. Don’t think like an omega. You aren’t one.

But what if I was?

My sex drive was increasing, but again, that could be because I was surrounded by stupidly hot firefighters who all took care of their bodies.

And it showed, tees stretched around bulging biceps, abs that could definitely be used as washboards, and I’d be right there in the middle of it, our scents mixing up beautifully as they found me out here and dispensed with our clothing.

What the hell, brain? Stop. You’re not an omega.

Omegas tended to present young. Late presentation wasn’t unheard of, but it was exceedingly rare, and from what I understood, very obvious when it happened.

Surely, I would know if I was an omega. Omegas took knots and nested. I looked around myself, still feeling too flush, but there were no alphas coming running and no nests to be seen. Except…

Well… I may have nested. I wasn’t sure, but a quick Internet search made it sound like my little meltdown had, in fact, been a nesting frenzy.

Then there were knots. I wasn’t na?ve; I knew about knotting. Big-knot jokes had dominated the playground when I was a child. It was common knowledge for most adults too.

Omegas were built to take knots. Betas could take knots, but it took a lot of practice and training. Betas could tear, and that thought made me shudder.

Worse, I still couldn’t scent anything. My lack of smell was infuriating, because that would be the biggest indicator if I was actually an omega. Alphas would smell amazing to me, and I would be trying to climb Pack Wilder like they were sexy, hunky trees, and I was their little pesky lumberjack.

Nesting, check.

Scent, nope . I still couldn’t smell a thing.

Knots, undetermined.

Maybe, just maybe, if I tried to take a knot, I would know once and for all if the guys were right, and I was actually an omega, or if this was all an insane fever dream.

But that would involve talking to them, or at least one of them, about getting…

intimate . I wasn’t a meek rabbit, but I was hardly bold enough to walk up to a guy I’d known for a few days and ask him to knot me.

As much as that sounded really freaking good right now.