Page 21 of Want It All
I’d never been so close to a snake in the wild before. It took a few minutes for my heart to stop racing, and by that time, I was back in Banksia’s gardens.
The manor was as impressive from the back as it was the front. The clock tower was visible in its entirety from there, a counterpart to the turret at the front of the building. There were more windows on this side, too;all the better to see you with,I thought, looking up to see the shadows of students moving beyond the glass. I didn’t know a thing about gardening, but I knew that Banksia’s were impressive, and I caught the scent of lemon myrtle before I saw somebody stepping from the maze.
Tristan Grace.
He was flushed and sweaty-looking, and I had a few moments to study his worried expression before he caught sight of me and his face shuttered. He looked rumpled, which seemed – even though I barely knew him – to be out of character. I opened my mouth to say hello, but he gave a curt nod and strode away before I could speak, disappearing back inside the manor as if it had swallowed him up. One of his hands was full of lemon myrtle leaves; with the other, he shoved something that looked like paper deep in his pocket.
Okay, then.
I frowned after him for a moment, feeling an uncomfortable stab of empathy for the way he’d hidden what he was feeling so swiftly, and with such ease. I made my way across the green, then stopped still as the manor doors opened, and Tristan slipped from my mind entirely.
‘You look hot, alpha,’ Rose said, stepping onto the edge of the green before clamping her hand over her mouth, her eyes widening in horror as she turned a delicious shade of pink. ‘I mean,it’shot, notyou’rehot. Not that you’renothot, but …’ She closed her eyes for a moment. ‘Why is there never a sinkhole when you need one?You look like it’s hot, is what I was trying to say.’
I snorted. ‘Nice save, omega,’ I said dryly, trying to pretend like every nerve ending hadn’t lit up at the sight of her. I didn’t move closer, because I could still catch my own scent over the eucalyptus and lemon myrtle, and I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. ‘If you’re thinking about a walk, I’d recommend not. I almost trod on a tiger snake.’
‘Well, yes,’ she returned, as if that were perfectly reasonable. ‘That’s what happens when you have a water source next to bushland.’ She gestured towards where I’d been walking; the north border of Banksia was marked by a river. I hadn’t gone that far on my walk, and I wouldn’t try, not if there were more of those bitey bastards about. I wasn’t afraid of them, per se, but I also wasn’t foolish.
Usually.
I tilted my head. ‘What are you doing out here?’
Rose flushed again. I didn’t mean to be dramatic, but I would have happily dedicated my entire life to making her blush. She cleared her throat. ‘I was looking for you, actually.’
I tried very hard not to lose my shit. ‘How can I help?’
‘Well, I was wondering if you might like to study with me.’
I blinked.Study with her?As in, sit next to her or across from her, while she worked? Just being generally in the same vicinity while she existed?
I would get less than zero work done, butfuck yes.
It was my turn to clear my throat. ‘I’d like that.’
She graced me with a tentative smile. ‘Are you free now?’
‘I, ah …’How do I tell her I need to shower without seeming … gross?I opted for honesty. ‘I think my blockers are wearing off. I need ten minutes to shower and take another dose. Where were you thinking? A study room? Or the First Year Library?’
‘The library,’ she answered, which was probably a good thing; my brain would melt if I spent an hour with her in the close confines of a study room.
‘The library, then. I’ll meet you there.’
She smiled again, wider, this time with a hint of teeth. A jolt ofsomethingshot through my limbs, but I waited until she was back inside before I followed her, hoping I was leaving a safe distance.
It was odd, really. A few days ago, I would have happily committed an indictable offence for a hint of Rose’s scent. But now?
I still wanted it, so badly my teeth ached. But there was something …nice…about the tension that made the air sharp every time she was near me.
I took the staircase two at a time, realising when I got to the top that the feeling wasanticipation. Outside Banksia, I would have asked Rose out for coffee, the subtext beingdon’t wear cancellers, or asked whether she wanted to exchange scent cards. Either way, that hint of scent would have told us both straight away whether we were compatible, on a biological level, at least.
I didn’t know whether Rose had a scent card here; though the rules didn’t ban them explicitly, they also recommended against bringing them. Without them, we were forced to make connections the way they must have done before the Unveiling – bytalking. It was odd and wonderful, all at once.
But if Rose scented me, that would stop. Immediately. She might like my scent – but there was a much greater chance she wouldnot. The thought tied my insides in knots. What if we became friends – becamemore– and I found out her scent was jasmine? Or a sickly-sweet musk? Or some other scent that made my stomach churn?
What if she hatedmyscent?
Omegas generally disliked the scents of other omegas. It was a biological thing, ensuring that packs wouldn’t get greedy and hoard precious omegas like dragon treasure. But omegas were equally discerning about alpha scents, too. I’d read stories about established packs breaking up because their new omega liked some, but not all, of their scents.
That’s why our society is nonsensical, Tina’s voice insisted; this was one of her favourite rants.Omegas should be choosing packs from the beginning, not joining existing ones.
