Page 51 of Where There's Smoke
“Melody?” I called out her name, craning my neck so I could make her out in the nest. She was curled up in a small ball, clutching a pillow, wearing nothing but one of our T-shirts.
The air was thick with her scent. It was almost cloying, but I adored it. Had anything ever smelled that good? Sweet and sugary, yet also fresh and bright—it was the best thing my nose had ever encountered.
"I don’t feel so great," Melody admitted with a whine. She sat up, looking thoroughly rumpled as she glowered at me.
"What’s wrong?" I asked, taking a step deeper into the room. That might’ve been a mistake, because her scent only intensified. It was stronger than any other omega’s scent I had ever smelled.
I had good self-restraint. As someone practically addicted to the gym, I’d developed a self-discipline unlike any other over the years.
Melody Smoke was going to test that discipline.
As soon as that extra-potent, sweet, sex-drenched melon scent hit my nose, my mind went blank.
Mine.
The word became a mantra in my head. Despite being an alpha, I was usually relaxed and in control—but with her, with this scent, it was almost impossible. Every fiber of my being screamed that I needed to be near her. To taste her. To touch her.
Toclaimher.
"Melody, how do you feel?" Even though she’d said she wasn’t feeling great, I needed more details. If her scent was telling me what I thought it was, we were potentially in a lot of trouble.
"Alpha," she whined, holding out her hands in a grabby motion.
I was torn. Part of me wanted to step into her arms, stay near her, and breathe that scent in straight from the source. Another part of me wanted to stay back and retain at least part of my rational mind.
"You smell really strong, omega," I admitted, my voice slightly hoarse.
"Idofeel a bit sweaty," she said, scrunching her nose. "But it’s more than that. I feel like my skin is itchy. It’s almost like when I needed to nest—but worse. I'm also having cramps. Really bad cramps," she whined, rubbing her stomach.
Fuck.
"I’ll be right back," I stammered, backing out of the room. Her eyes widened, panic flashing across her face as she whined desperately. I didn’t want to leave her. Ineededto leave her.
Bursting into the kitchen, I was relieved to see it was only Fitz and Elliot sitting there, sharing a box of donuts.
"Hey, you want one?" Fitz asked, holding out a donut with a big grin, his face covered in sugar.
I shook my head, swallowing before speaking. "We may have an issue.”
Elliot stood, his expression going from amused to serious in an instant. "What’s wrong?"
"I think… well, you need to see for yourself.” Without another word, I turned and started making my way back toward Melody’s room.
"I’m the last person she’ll want to see," Elliot called out, but still, he followed me.
How wrong he was. Yes, Melody had slapped him—and rightfully so—but she probably wanted him more than anyone else in that moment.
As soon as we neared the door, Elliot seemed to register what was happening. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head as his nostrils flared, taking in the scent. "Shit. Is that…?"
I nodded. "She said she’s having cramps."
We were complete idiots. We’d been so focused on convincing Melody shewasan omega that we hadn’t considered what would happen when sheactuallystarted acting like one.
"I want to go in there and help," I admitted, grimacing, "but I’m nervous to do it on my own because she smells so freaking good."
"That’s an understatement," Fitz muttered, his throat clearly tight. We were all hard as a rock.
"Where are the others?" I asked, referring to the rest of our crew.
