Page 23 of Where There’s Smoke (Fire House Omegas #2)

Melody

A fter a glorious night of snuggles and takeout, I'd finally crawled back into my bed. The thing about being knotted was that it was absolutely exhausting. One of the last things I remembered before passing out was Samson ensuring me that he would take care of the fluffball.

When I cracked my eyes open, finally emerging from my deep sleep, thanks to Samson feeding Dotty, the first thing that hit me was the smell.

The room I was in smelled wonderful .

Dark, rich, and masculine. It was hard to put my finger on exactly what it was, but I was enamored.

Was this what alphas smelled like?

Scrambling around my little nest, I pulled out the T-shirts, shoving my face into them and inhaling deeply.

There were scents there, but they were faint. Minty. Warm. Rich.

I needed to smell them properly, from the source, especially since the scents on the shirts were somewhat muted by my own scent that was somewhat familiar, but also far more potent, which naturally covered everything in the nest.

Climbing out of the nest and righting myself, I glanced back at my pillows almost longingly. They smelled so good.

If I was right, though, the scents would be even better from the source.

The firehouse was quiet as I padded through the building, heading toward the firefighters’ rooms when I couldn’t locate them in any of the common areas.

Was I being a total weirdo, barging into their room? Probably, but rational thought seemed to have escaped me as I continued my journey to find them.

The door to Pack Wilder’s bunk room was open. That was basically an open invitation, I rationalized as I slowly inched my way forward.

Only one of them was there.

Samson was still dozing, so I hovered at the edge of the bunk, keeping my distance but still trying to sniff him. There was something fresh and sharp about his scent.

The room’s scent was overwhelming and hard to pinpoint; it was like my nest but so much more intense. Nutty, minty, and dark.

All smells I was a big fan of.

What was I doing? I was acting like a crazy person. Creeping on Samson while he slept was stalkerish, and he could end up hating me for it. Only, there was a large, very loud part of me that was refusing to move.

I turned to leave, planning to scamper out of there as quickly as possible, but before I could, his eyes opened.

“Melody?” he asked sleepily.

“Hi…” I whispered, trying to figure out what to say and landing on, “I think I need to smell you.”

His eyes widened, and for a brief moment, he looked like he was either deep in thought or still trying to wake up. It was probably less than three seconds, but that was all it took for my anxiety to skyrocket.

When he opened his arms, a dopey smile spreading across his face, a small squeak of happiness escaped me.

Without any further preamble, I crawled onto the bed, cuddling into his chest and wrapping my arms around him.

Excited noises left me as soon as he did the same.

Pressing my nose against his chest, I reveled in the deep, rich scent.

“Holy shit, you smell good,” I muttered, unable to stop myself from shoving my face deeper into his chest.

“You can fully smell again?” he asked, his voice tinged with sleep.

I shook my head. “This is different than before the fire. Everything smells so much stronger. Is this what it's like to be an omega? Because you smell good enough to eat,” I muttered, pausing occasionally to take a deep breath.

“I’m not sure if it’s like this for all omegas. You may have to pester Sunny on that one. She’s the resident omega expert. But it’s good you can smell—you should go smell the others.”

“I think I could smell them on some of the clothing in my nest, but…” I trailed off.

“You need to sniff it from the source?” he asked, looking down at me with a sleepy smile.

My cheeks heated as I nodded, unable to believe what I was admitting to.

Samson reassuringly ran his hand over my back as I melted into his embrace. “Don't you worry, we will go see the others once you've had your fill of me.”

“Won't they think I'm crazy?” I asked, my voice wobbling.

“Not at all. They will just think you're behaving like an omega.”

I chuckled into his chest. “I mean, that's probably going to be weird, considering I've been so adamant that I'm not an omega.”

The chest under me moved as he laughed. “You're not wrong there.”

I stayed curled up like that for almost an hour, steadily letting his scent fill my lungs.

It was so peaceful and relaxing that I almost fell asleep.

But a need arose that was like an itch, urging me to go and smell the others.

I didn't have an inclination to smell any of the other firefighters, only the members of Pack Wilder.

I didn't want to think too hard about why that was.

“Can we… can we go see the others?” I asked in a quiet voice, sitting up.

Samson smiled at me, brushing my hair out of my face. “Sure. Who do you want to go scent?”

My nose scrunched as I replied. “Only Fitz… and Elliot, if he won’t be a complete ass about it.”

His smile widened. “You only want to smell members of my pack, do you?”

I cocked my head at him. “Well, I can always go and sniff the others if you want. There are plenty of other alphas in the firehouse. I can go have a good old huffing party.”

His laugh was deep and grumbly, making parts of me rise to attention. “No, I think we'll stick to just our pack.”

Our pack . Had he meant to include me, or was that simply a slip of the tongue?

We climbed out of bed, Samson keeping me close to his side, seeming unable to keep the smile off his face.

“Fitz will be in the den. He’s been obsessed with a new video game. So, when he isn't mooning over you, he's been playing that.”

“Okay, let’s go see him!”

Excitedly, I followed Samson out of the room, holding on to his hand, unwilling to let go. There was something about his large hand in mine that felt so comforting—like it was meant to be there.

Much like Samson had been when I’d found him in bed, Fitz was lounging on the sofa in the den, Dotty in the playpen next to him. He had a gaming controller in his hand and was watching the TV intently, despite his relaxed position.

His eyes flicked to the doorway when we entered, and he paused his game without hesitation, beaming at me. “Hey, firecracker, what are you up to? Isn't it a bit late?”

I couldn’t seem to form a response. There were only so many times I could ask to smell a guy without it being awkward.

Next to me, Samson smirked. “Melody wants to smell you.”

Fitz’s face lit up with what I could only describe as pure glee. He practically leapt off the sofa, making his way toward me. Without any hesitation, he grabbed the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head, exposing his defined muscles.

“Uh… what are you doing?” I asked. I wasn't complaining, but I didn't think that smelling was a naked activity.

Then again, I had recently discovered that naked activities with Fitz were very fun, indeed.

His arms opened, and there wasn’t a hint of hesitation on his face. “Well, if you’re able to smell again, straight from my skin will be best, right?”

Samson snickered next to me. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“That's because you're so concerned with being a gentleman that you don't think straight.” Fitz laughed as he reached us.

Darting an arm around my waist, he pulled me into his chest. I was going to protest, but the sweet, overwhelming scent of dark cherries hit me, and my head swam.

It was intense and rich, almost like wine, but there was something so masculine about it.

Just like with Samson's scent, I wanted to melt into it, to inhale it until I couldn't smell anything else.

“Any good? Or do I need to find some way to change my scent?” Fitz squeezed me in a quick hug.

“No!” I immediately realized how stupid I sounded and shook myself, lowering my voice. “Sorry, I mean, no. You smell incredible. It’s so rich, so different from Samson’s, but…they go well together. Does that make any sense? God, I feel stupid.”

Fitz and Samson both laughed, pulling me into their arms in a huddle that I wasn’t too big of a person to admit I adored.

Being surrounded by them always felt good, but now that I was able to smell them, it was that much more grounding and relaxing.

Not to mention the gentle buzz that hummed under my skin just from smelling them.

“It’s not stupid, Melody. As far as I know, that’s common for nearly all omegas. And this is a big change. I can see why really digging in deep to figure it out is so important to you right now.”

Samson’s words nearly had me tearing up. I knew he wasn’t the biggest people person, according to Samson himself, but he was fantastic with me. He said the right thing, and it felt like between him and Fitz, I was getting the sympathy and humor I needed right now.

There was just Elliot to figure out. I liked being around him. There was something there, but it still felt like we were too disconnected. Maybe scenting him would help?

“So I take it, you want to smell Elliot next?” Fitz asked with a shit-eating grin, as if he’d read my mind.

“I mean, if he would let me. I get that it's kind of personal. I'm just curious and everything is so new to me, and I'm feeling really overwhelmed, and for some reason, your scents seem to ground me…”

Samson grinned at me, his tone insinuating when he spoke. “I have a feeling it’ll be just fine, Melody.”