Page 17 of Where There’s Smoke (Fire House Omegas #2)

Melody

O h shit, I am an omega.

Pack Wilder was right. Fitz, Samson, and Elliot were right. I was an omega .

Fitz had knotted me, and I had taken that knot like my body was meant for it. Hell, it felt like my body was made for it, like it craved it the same way it did oxygen.

How was I an omega? There were none in my family. Usually, omegas were related to other omegas, or at least alphas. Sure, the odd anomaly popped up, but it was rare. About as much as an omega presenting this late.

I was many things—independent, stubborn, an animal person—but I wasn’t rare… was I?

“Firecracker, you’re looking a little pale,” Fitz said cautiously. “Are you all right? Do you need me to?—”

“I’m an omega,” I whispered, my voice broken and scratchy, the weight of reality blanketing me.

A smile spread across his face, and I wasn’t sure I liked the look of it. “Yes, you are,” he proudly declared.

“How did I not know?” I asked, shifting. The movement elicited a whimper from me as the change in position made his knot press deeper. He wasn’t unaffected, either, judging by the way his arms wrapped around me, keeping me from doing it again.

“It probably happened at the same time as the fire, but you were too distracted to notice. The lack of smell doesn’t really help, either.”

I cocked my head to the side, my cheeks heating as I asked. “Do I…smell good to you?”

Somehow his smile got even wider, making me feel very nervous. “Oh, firecracker, you smell amazing to me. Sweet melon, fruity, rich, and downright delicious.”

My brows shot up as my pulse flickered in my temples. “Really?”

“Really.” He nodded, his eyes so genuine. “It’s easily my favorite scent.”

I inhaled deeply. My sense of smell wasn’t dead anymore, but it wasn’t clear, either. Fitz’s smell was dark, maybe a little sweet? I liked what I could distinguish, but it was muted, and I despised that. Getting his proper scent felt like a necessity, something I needed to keep me sane.

“I wish I knew what you smelled like. An omega who can’t smell is a defective omega.”

“You’re not defective!” Fitz insisted, brushing hair out of my face and cupping my cheeks, his gaze locked on mine.

“Aren’t I?” I furrowed my brow, shaking my head as my stare went down. “Late presenting, only omega in my family, and I can’t smell right. Something clearly went wrong.”

“Hey”—Fitz grabbed my chin, getting me to look at him, the weight of his stare heavy—“you are not defective. Nothing went wrong. It happens. Plus, you were in a fire. That affects people’s sense of smell. That’s proven. A few weeks and you should be back to normal.”

“But there's a chance it may be permanent?”

Fitz winced. “It's a very small chance. I wouldn't even think about that.”

Sighing, I tried to accept Fitz’s words and move on. But it was hard. I had no idea about any of this, and getting all this new info dumped into my lap was a lot to swallow. Changing the subject felt easier.

“How long until… well, until that thing goes down?” I asked, biting my lip. It wasn’t a bad feeling, quite the opposite, but I was starting to grow concerned about how long we’d been attached. Didn’t Fitz have stuff to do? None of which involved me?

“Thing?” He chuckled. “You mean my knot?”

I nodded, my cheeks on fire.

“Well, it can be anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour, and I have a sneaking suspicion it’s closer to the latter.” He smirked at me.

A wave of nervousness hit me, and I could hear my pulse in my ears. “Why?”

“Because you’re just that stunning.” He grinned, kissing my forehead in a movement that made me melt a little inside. “How do you feel?”

“Good, physically. Mentally? It’s…” My words trailed off as I stared into the distance.

“A lot?”

“That’s the understatement of the century,” I mumbled. “What does all this mean?”

“Well, I hope you understand this means we are officially dating.” Fitz smiled, hugging me against his chest and taking a big inhale of my scent, which I still couldn’t place.

I shot upright—as much as I could, at any rate. “What?”

He laughed, a warm, thrilling sound, as he kissed my cheek. Despite our lack of clothing, I was completely at ease splayed out on top of him. Which was saying something, considering I felt comfortable with basically no one. Hell, not even myself sometimes.

“You are darn adorable, but when it comes to the affections of the opposite gender—and I say this with utter adoration—you are a bit dense.”

“Dense?!” I cried, sitting up straighter, wincing when his knot moved again.

Everything was so sensitive. I wasn’t used to every little sensation sending sparks through me after sex. I wasn’t used to coming like that during sex at all. It had only ever been mediocre at best. And especially unsatisfying at worst.

I hissed, trying to return to the less sensitive position with no luck. “It’s going to take me a while to get used to knots.”

“Well, you’re dating three alphas who would be more than happy to oblige.”

“Three…” I whispered, my eyes blowing wide.

I knew that packs dated as a unit. Hell, it was something I had dreamed about in the past. The idea of having several rugged, handsome alphas adoring me was incredible. Who wouldn’t love that?

But the reality was daunting.

Nodding, Fitz stroked my cheek. His smile was almost enough to get rid of all my nerves. “Yeah, three, firecracker.”

“But I haven’t spoken to them about this…”

Fitz pursed his lips, nodding thoughtfully. “That’s true. Usually, these conversations happen in a group setting, but I know that they are on the same page as me when it comes to this.”

Cocking my head, I leveled him with a look. “Even Elliot?”

Sure, there’d been times when he gave off vibes that he was attracted to me, even enjoyed spending time with me. But other times, he went back to being standoffish. I didn’t know what to think.

“Deep down, yes. Even Elliot. But you’re right, this should be a conversation for us as a group. Should I call them?”

I bit my lip. “Maybe when your thing goes down…”

“If you keep calling it a ‘thing,’ I’m going to get a complex.”

“Maybe you could use one,” I pointed out, smirking at Fitz with all his damned confidence.

He shook his head with a laugh, gently running his hand over my cheek, gazing at me like he was trying to memorize all my features.

“We will take things at your pace, Melody. We don’t want to rush you. You’ve got a lot going on and need to take things at a speed that makes you comfortable. We are serious about this, but see for yourself by spending time with us, getting to know us better.”

“That… sounds nice,” I admitted.

His brow furrowed. “But I won’t lie, we will be a touch overprotective. You’ve been walking through the world as an omega for the last few weeks, totally oblivious.”

“Is that why Samson was growling at guys at the coffee shop?” I asked in more of a screech, my eyes wide again.

Fitz nodded enthusiastically. “Other alphas were smelling you, and naturally, he didn’t like that. So, he got a little growly.”

That shouldn’t have made me as happy as it did.

The fact that an alpha was getting all growly and possessive over me made my stomach do somersaults.

Was this really happening? Not long ago, I’d dreamed of a future that involved a pack just like Sunny’s, and now I was getting what I wanted?

That seemed too good to be true. Still, I’d never been great at accepting compliments, good news, or praise.

Life was never that kind to me. It wasn’t like I was some orphaned wretch or something—no tragic past for me.

But I was normal. I was just some girl, a beta, up until about thirty minutes ago. And now…

“You’re going to be fine, Melody. We’ll be right here to help you figure all this out. Promise.”

Every cynical part of me didn’t want to believe Fitz. But when I looked at him, I saw that damn gorgeous, genuine smile of his, and I couldn’t help but think that he really would be there to help me, that they all would.

Being cared for was new to me, and I wasn’t sure how to process it, but with him along for the ride…

“All right.” I nodded. “Let’s take this one step at a time. Step number one: you need to make that thing go down quicker because I’m uncomfortable and I need to pee.”

Fitz feigned shock, and then we were both laughing like fools.