Page 24 of Pumpkin Patch Pack
I lean against a post, crossing my arms. “What makes you say that?”
He glances at me, his expression unreadable. “You’re agitated. Scent’s all over the place.” He returns to brushing the pony. “What happened?”
I exhale slowly, knowing I can’t hide it from him. Our pack bond, while not as strong as it would be with an omega, still allows for a certain awareness of each other’s states.
“It’s Emma,” I admit finally. “I think her suppressants are failing.”
Liam’s hands pause momentarily, then resume their steady rhythm. “You scented her.”
“Yes.” The word comes out rougher than I intended. “She’s definitely an omega. Like you said.”
“And?” he prompts, still not looking at me.
“And nothing. She’s our employee. She clearly doesn’t want us to know.”
Liam snorts softly. “That’s not what I meant.”
Of course it isn’t. Liam has always been able to see through me, even before we formed our pack. He’s waiting for me to admit what we both already know.
“Her scent…” I begin, then stop, struggling to find words adequate to describe it. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever smelled before. Potent…. Perfect.”
Liam finally looks up, his eyes meeting mine. “Like a scent match.”
The word hangs between us, heavy with implication. I don’t confirm nor deny it, but my silence is enough of an answer.
“You too, then,” I say instead.
A muscle ticks in his jaw. “Since the first day. When Maple…” He doesn’t finish, but he doesn’t need to. I remember his strange behavior after the goat incident.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I ask, though I already know the answer.
“Same reason you didn’t just now.” He sets the brush down, giving the pony a final pat. “She’s clearly running from something. And after what happened with my last pack.” Liam shrugs.
I nod.
When Liam came to us seven years ago, he was broken, betrayed by his omega. She had broken his heart and ruined his trust. And now I’m asking him to try again, to risk his heart on an omega who might run at the first sign of our interest.
“What about Theo?” he asks. “Has he noticed?”
“He likes her,” I say. “He has told me a few times she’d be perfect for us, but he has no clue she’s our match.”
As a beta, Theo wouldn’t trigger her instincts like Liam and I do.
“He’s going to figure it out soon,” Liam says. “Theo’s too good at reading people.”
“Maybe that’s not a bad thing. She seems to trust him more than us.”
“She trusts him because he’s less of a threat to her.”
The words sting because they’re true, and her behaviour hints at a wariness toward alphas.
“So, what do we do?” I ask, running a hand through my hair in frustration.
Liam shrugs. “We do nothing. We respect her boundaries. Let her feel safe. We let her come to us.”
“And if her suppressants keep failing? If she goes into heat?”
The possibility has been haunting me since Liam confirmed she was an Omega. The thought of an unbonded omega in heat, surrounded by unmated alphas, could be precarious.
