Page 28 of My Begrudging Scent Matches

“Not ready?” Olivia asks.

“Scared?” Jonathan offers.

“Tired,” Alice adds definitely. Olivia and Johnathan both soften at this admission. The last two weeks have turned her life on its head. She met her scent matches, went through an eight-day heat, and worked thirty-three hours in three days, of course she’s exhausted.

Olivia puts a hand on her sister’s shoulder and squeezes three times. The family code. I love you, those squeezes say; I’ve got you. I see you. I’m with you.

Alice covers her sister's hand with her own and squeezes three times back.

“I think I’m going to try to sleep for a few hours if that’s okay with you two,” Alice says. “I’m sorry I can’t be more entertaining tonight.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Olivia says. “We’ll raid your fridge and take advantage of your Netflix subscription.”

Alice gives her sister and brother-in-law one more hug each before slinking to her room, kicking off her slacks, unclasping her bra, and falling straight into bed, the red scarf still keeping her warm and offering some semblance of comfort while her heart constricts in a confusing strain.

ten

Alice, Olivia, and Johnathan order a car to Caleb and Grant’s. The heating went out in the entire apartment building in the middle of the night, and they’re too cold to even consider walking to a bus stop.

Alice wiggles her toes in her boots in the warm car as the nice man prattles on about the holiday and how Thanksgiving was much better than Christmas, but only if you preferred turkey to ham, which he did.

Alice’s apartment is nice enough—a one bedroom with a small dishwasher which made the place worth its weight in gold, she thought—and cheap. But it was never lacking in maintenance issues. Leaky window wells on rainy days, no central air conditioning, a barely functioning elevator, and the occasional heat system failure were all just part of the charm. Charming until, of course, Alice had guests who thought huddling around a space heater with various electric and microwavable heating pads was not as fun and delightful as being somewhere cozy might be.

She could afford somewhere nicer, but it felt like an unnecessary expense when it was just her here. Plus it allowed her to save lots of money.

The superintendent said the heat would come back on this afternoon, but Alice had to agree that spending some hours in Grant and Caleb’s warm home would be a better alternative to shivering over a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs.

So, they burned some cornbread muffins—Olivia’s fault, she is always so wary of raw baked goods—and made their way to Caleb and Grant’s townhouse.

A sweet-looking Omega woman ushers them into the house, introducing herself as Molly and immediately fawning over Alice, saying how lovely it was that she could make it. She goes on about how she can see why the boys are so fond of her because, “You are beautiful, just radiant.”

Alice does not feel radiant, especially next to her sister, who is like a sleeker, better-dressed, more emotionally mature version of herself, but she takes the compliment and lets Molly pull her into a hug in the entryway.

Molly must already know that Caleb and Grant want Alice to join their pack, but Alice just hopes that she doesn’t know the real reason Grant and Caleb are so fond of her. Namely that she made them knot her multiple times a day for over a week while she languished in a feverish first heat. Oh, and the fact that they are scent matches. That discovery would go over well and wouldn't derail conversations whatsoever.

“Mom, unhand our guest, please,” Caleb says. He’s wearing a black apron over a cozy sweater and slacks, a look that shouldn’t make Alice’s mouth go dry, but does nonetheless.

She sees right away that he and Grant have hung up the photos since she was here last and unpacked more of the boxes that were around pushed against the walls. The place feels cozy now, homey, and it’s filled with nearly a dozen bodies now that they’ve joined the fray. It looks already too crowded to add Alice, Olivia, and Johnathan to the mix, but the quiet relief on Caleb’s face is proof enough that he at least wants her there.

He looks tired, too. She recognizes how he feels like a mirror, the weariness in his spine from lack of sleep.

“We brought cornbread,” Alice says after they’ve quietly stared at each other for a few moments. Caleb glances down at the paper plate of yellow muffins made from a box mix, a fact Alice or Olivia would never admit to their mother. “Just a little burnt.”

“I love cornbread,” Caleb says, and takes the plate from her. His fingers linger and burn on the back of her hand as he grabs the plate, but she doesn’t want to pull away from the touch. “They’re perfect.”

“I agree,” Olivia chimes in. Caleb looks at her like he’s just realized there’s more than one person in this front room. “You must be Caleb, nice to meet you.”

“And you, Olivia.” Caleb offers Olivia a handshake due to the appraising look on her sister’s face, Alice knows it’s a good one.

Grant thumps down the stairs with a clean-shaven jaw wearing a dark green button-up and embraces Olivia and Johnathan like they’re long-time friends instead of being practically strangers who’ve met for a grand total of three minutes. He pulls Alice in for a hug, too, and his scent sinks right into her.

She pulls away quicker than her body would like, but she’s trying to maintain the feeble semblance of control she has over herself when Grant or Caleb are in touching distance.

Additional introductions are made as they’re bustled into the central part of the house, Caleb’s mom, Molly, and his two Alpha dads, Dean and Marcus, are all accounted for in the living room with Grant’s Beta parents, Tara and Luke, as well. It’s a lot of names for an overwhelmed Alice, but she makes it a point to repeat them in her mind ten times over.

Grant and Caleb introduce Alice as their coworker, the workhorse of the marketing team who makes their job easy every day. She doesn’t add any extra context about their relationship and if that hurts their feelings, they don’t let on. Alice is exceptionally curious about farming and sits herself next to Caleb’s dads to ask what the pumpkin farming industry is like until dinner is ready to be served.

Around the dining table, Alice sits with Caleb to her left, Grant right across from her, and Olivia at her right, whispering crass things about her scent matches.

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