Page 99 of Talk About… Rivalry

“I won’t, I promise. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, just keep going. Because now I’m just confused. All of this sounds like a good thing, not a bad thing. Why are you freaking out?”

“It would be a good thing if I wasn’t so damned terrified all the time.”

She nodded in understanding. “Because of the scent.”

Then I launched into the whole story of my appointment at the Omega Network Clinic and everything that had happened there, including the fact that I might be coming into my own scent.

“I swear, Avery, I scented one of them for a second and now it’s just this psycho waiting game until it finally hits. My doctor thinks if we solidify the bond, and they’re my mates, it will fix everything. I think it’s too much to risk. They could lose a chance at an actual match if we’re wrong.”

“So, even though they told you they want you, they’ve agreed to go through this heat with you, and even want to bite you because they all want you as their omega, you’re still afraid they’re going to walk away.”

“There will always be a possibility that they bite me and nothing changes. That I’m not theirs. That they’ll be stuck with me… or worse, they’ll want to break the bond.”

She winced. Every omega knew how bad it was if an alpha broke the bond. It was painful on both ends and unless they forged new bonds, there was always that connection under the surface.

For me, I’d be tied in a half bond while they moved on, knowing damn well that I wouldn’t get the chance again.

“Sidney, please tell me you’re not going to sabotage this,” Avery begged. “You deserve to be happy. They’ve told you how they feel and you scented one of them. You know this is right.”

“Scent compatibility and scent matching are two different things. Just because we smell nice to each other doesn’t mean we’re scent matches.”

She let out a breath as if she was trying to find all the patience in the world to deal with my bullshit.

“You know what. My best friend is not this scared. She’s not a coward and she sure as hell doesn’t run from her problems.” Her voice was fierce, like she was willing to fight with me for my own good.

“No, your best friend locks them away and pretends they’re not a thing.”

She snorted before we both let out a laugh. It sounded strained at first before we were both crying from laughing so hard.

“Oh my god, I think I just peed,” she groaned.

That only made us laugh harder, with her occasional gasps for us to stop, but it was too late.

“Give me a second,” she said. Muting the phone call and letting the video rest on the ceiling so that was all I could see for a few minutes.

I regained my composure while she was gone. Honestly, this was exactly what I needed. My best friend helped ground me and wasn’t afraid to call me on my shit.

She was right. They wanted me and were willing to fight for our pack.

Taylor had made it very clear that he was with me. Bennett and Taylor were safe bets since they were mates, too.

Maverick and I had danced around each other for years and I had never known him to tell a lie in his entire life, not even to spare anyone’s feelings. He just wasn’t the type.

That meant I could trust him.

Leo had made it clear at his lounge the other day how he felt about me. He demanded that I tell him that I was his and I wanted that more than anything.

He’d taken me by surprise, shown me how much he wanted to know about me. He cared about me and liked what he saw in me.

Yet, that voice in my head told me this was all an illusion. A fleeting pack that I could never really quite grasp.

Fuck, I really had to get it together.

When Avery’s face popped back on the screen, her eyes narrowed.

“Sidney Vance, don’t you fucking dare,” she growled. “This pack is meant for you and it’s okay to accept them. Don’t run.”

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