Page 26 of Follow Your Instincts

“Fantastic, please pull in and I’ll be out to greet you.” The gate buzzed and let us into the property. I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my throat. Soren adjusted the sleeves of his leather jacket beside me.

We parked the Rover. Lachlan turned to look at us from the front seat. He opened his mouth to say something pessimistic, I was sure, and then closed it, shaking his head.

“Good speech,” I said and hopped out before he could growl at me.

The woman waiting for us was a plump and friendly older Omega in a flowy skirt, with long gray hair and reading glasses on a beaded chain around her neck.

“How nice to meet you,” she said. “I’m Steffi, the director. Before we go in, let’s go over the ground rules. You’ll be meeting with Maggie, and she’s excited to meet you, but if that changes at any point, you’ll be asked to leave. All touching should be initiated by Maggie. And we’ll keep it brief today, but if Maggie wants to make arrangements for other meetings or dates, we’ll facilitate things. Can you all agree to that?” We all nodded dutifully. “I wonder if you have any questions for me. I don’t believe you’ve ever met with an Omega staying in a Center before, have you?”

“No, we haven’t,” Lachlan said shortly.

Lucas gave him a slightly disapproving look. “I think what he means to say is no, we haven’t, so we aren’t sure what questions to ask,” he said. “What do you think we should know?”

“Well, I just want to remind you that the Omegas staying with us are special. They don’t have the support that other Omegas do, so we feel quite protective of them, naturally. And maybe I’d remind you to be patient,” Steffi said, smiling at all of us in turn, and raised her eyebrow at me as I shifted from foot to foot.

“Sorry,” I said, and stilled. “I can be patient.”

“Wonderful,” Steffi beamed. “Let’s go inside, shall we?”

The lobby just smelled like chemical descenter, no matter how hard I sniffed. Steffi gave me another quietly disapproving look and I stopped huffing the air. “Right this way,” she said and guided us to a set of French doors on the right. My pulse quickened and my extremities went numb from anticipation.

As soon as she opened the doors, a faint trace of peaches and ginger crept into the air, and I whooped. I pushed my way into the room first.

“Ha!” I said loudly. “I fucking told you!”

Chapter 10

Maggie

“Ha! I fucking told you!” A man yelled, pushing his way into the room. He had a triumphant smile that creased dimples into his cheeks. His shaggy, dark blond hair was partially contained by a navy blue baseball cap, and his brown eyes were bright and friendly.

Despite my confusion, I had to laugh at the smug smile he was sporting. He came forward quickly with his hand outstretched to shake mine. As he got closer, I noticed a smattering of freckles across his face, and then his scent hit me. Watermelon and basil. I inhaled deeply and shuddered with pleasure at the sweet and fresh combination. He grasped my hand warmly and a frisson of awareness crept down my spine.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I’m glad you’re so excited about it,” I said. “I’m Maggie.”

“Ben,” he said, and wrapped his free hand around mine. He was radiant with joy and it was infectious. “And I told them it was you.”

I laughed again and shook my head. I directed my attention to the three other men who had entered the room with him, and my heart thudded in shock.

“Soren? I mean, Detective Murray,” I quickly corrected. Helooked almost as shocked as I felt.

“Officer Carter… Maggie,” he said. “Didn’t expect to see you… Hi.”

“Hi,” I repeated, lamely. He was just as magnetic as I remembered but he had a fresh haircut close to his temples that accentuated the gray streaks, and he looked almost dangerous in a black leather jacket. I couldn’t smell his scent over Ben’s, but I longed to press my face into his collar and see if it was as good as I remembered.

The tall, Black Alpha to Soren’s left stepped forward, smiling. “Ben is going to be insufferable,” he said. His hair was cropped close, almost shaved, and he sported some stubble that accentuated his strong jaw. He was probably 6’5” and gorgeous. His cheekbones were high and sculpted, but his dark brown eyes were kind as he smiled down at me. He came to stand next to Ben and shook my hand as well.Ah, I thought,he’s the sweet one. His molasses and spice scent brought a wave of calm over me. “I’m Lucas.”

“Hi, Lucas,” I said, smiling genuinely up at him.

Soren joined us next. “Sorry, I didn’t expect this,” he said, and his hoppy grapefruit scent fizzed in my brain.

Do not jump on him, I told myself firmly. “Yeah, me neither,” I said with a wry laugh at his bewildered expression.

“How are you?” He asked, and his eyes flicked to my throat briefly. The bruising had faded.

“I’m fine,” I said. “It’s been a weird week, but I’m fine.”

Soren smiled. “Glad to hear it.”

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