Page 53 of Altius
Scent cards covered the entirety of Chantal’s desk, spotless little harbingers of doom. Or destiny. I hadn’t decided yet.
All I knew for sure was that I was on a mission. Even if this was an exercise in futility, I had to try.
“You’re sure about this?” Chantal asked, toying with her beaded necklace. “I could just pull their cards out.”
“No, I want to try… Not to make sure, but to see what happens.”
“For peace of mind before asking them to join your heat?”
“Yeah. Let’s go with that.” I picked up the first card. Holding it close to my mouth, I inhaled deeply, trying to pick up the scent using my sense of taste. A dud. “How many cards did you put out?”
“Fifty.”
You’re only looking for five, I told myself as I worked through the first row. Just five. Don’t stress out.
There were plenty of cards. Plus, I knew three of their scent profiles for sure: amaretto, Earl Grey tea, and boxwood. Alijah was citrus of some kind.
As for Joaquin… Not a clue. I’m sure Cal or Kelsey had mentioned it at some point, but I’d forgotten.
Lucky number sixteen flooded my system with the rich, amber warmth I’d come to crave. “This one’s Cal.”
Chantal scanned the barcode, and we both smiled when his profile appeared on the monitor. One target acquired, four to go.
Card twenty-two was mouthwatering—a rich, peppery spice that I wanted to devour. “Joaquin. That has to be Joaquin.”
I handed the card to Chantal, whose pleased smile after scanning the barcode spurred me on.
The black tea and bergamot of Owen’s scent were more delicate than I expected, with a lingering bittersweet note that I found comforting. But he was card thirty-five.
I only had fifteen cards left to find AlijahandWyatt—if I hadn’t already missed them. I didn’t like my odds, but I had to keep going.
Bright, tangy orange burst on my tongue as I inhaled card forty-one. Alijah’s scent was more straightforward than the others, but it was perfect for him.
Pure, simple sunshine.
Card forty-two didn’t give me anything. Same for the next three.
There were only five cards left. Wyatt had to be there. Hehadto.
After taking a deep breath to center myself, I tried card forty-six. Nothing.
But card forty-seven seemed familiar. Natural, with a hint of sawdust. I needed another hit before I remembered. The card belonged to the anonymous alpha heat partner I’d picked out during my last visit.
“Very funny,” I muttered, shooting a fake glare at Chantal, and set the card aside.
“Just doing my due diligence.” She held up her ring-covered fingers, protesting her innocence. “You might need a backup. And who knows? He could be quite the catch.”
“My horizontal dance card is full, thanks.”
Card forty-eight offered a faint whiff of mothballs. Gross.
Not that it mattered. Finding four compatible scent cards was my personal best. I didn’t need to find Wyatt’s, too. He was my scent match. Our compatibility was a given.
It also didn’t matter that I hadn’t tasted his pheromones during our first kiss. There would be more kisses during my heat. Longer, better ones. One failure didn’t mean I’d never pick up his pheromones again. I just had to be patient.
Reaching for card forty-nine by rote memory, ready to be finished with scent cards and start talking logistics, I was unprepared for the heady, nostalgic musk that coated my tongue.
Wyatt.
