Page 25 of Begrudgingly Yours
“What?!” I clasp my hands together in front of me, reveling in the excitement. “That’s amazing! When did this happen? How? Who are they? I have so many questions.”
She scrunches her face in a guilty wince. “I’ve known about them since May, before summer break started.”
I rear back. That was almost six months ago. Ironically, that was the same time I hooked up with Dax and Everett.
“Before summer… what does that mean? Are you dating? Is that why you’re not going on blind dates anymore?”
Opal gulps. “Partially. I really don’t have the capacity to go on anymore blind dates, but I also can’t bring myself to do it any more after finding out.”
“That makes sense.”
“They don’t know we’re scent matches, Rory. We’re not dating, we’re not anything. I wouldn’t even say we’re friends.”
My eyes nearly pop out of my head as the realization settles in. “Holy shit… you met them after you started taking the scent blockers.”
She nods, still looking uncomfortable. I hate seeing her like this. My new friend is normally so cheery and giddy and optimistic. It’s strange to see this much affliction in her features.
“Why haven’t you told him? Or her?” I ask.
“Him,” she confirms. “Every day that goes by, it gets harder and harder to even think about it. And, Rory, I know this might not be ideal but we can’t tell Stacia. Please promise me.”
“What?” I blanch at the thought of keeping another secret from my best friend. “Why? Opal?—”
“Iknow.” A whine escapes her throat, and the sadness in it shoots straight to my heart. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner and I’m sorry that I’m asking you to keep this a secret from her, but you’re the only person that knows.Please.”
I feel everything in me soften. “You’ve been keeping this to yourself? All this time?”
Her eyes are glossy now, and I can’t fight the urge to want to do everything I can to help her.
“Opal,” I start. “I understand this is uncharted territory for both of us, but I’m having a really hard time wrapping my mind around this. Why can’t anyone know? And what about this guy? Is there a reason why you don’t want to tell him? Is there something wrong with him? Is he an asshole?”
She shakes her head, looking defeated. “My scent match already has an omega.”
I feel my heart break. Or maybe my own omega feels the statement so deeply that I can feel it, too. The twinge of pain stays, and I find myself reaching for my friend’s hand.
“I’m so sorry, Opal. Saying ‘it’s complicated’ seems like an understatement now.”
There are a lot of examples of packs with two omegas nowadays, but it’s still seen as a very taboo thing. Not to mention, omegas are extremely territorial. Most people don’t believe that an omega would willingly let another omega into their pack, so sometimes these packs are called liars. I think biology goes a lot deeper than what we can conceptualize socially, but the majority of people still hate to stray from tradition. Being that close-minded must be awfully boring.
“It’s Sam,” she blurts out, pulling me from my thoughts.
My head whips to her again. She’s going to make me break my damn neck. “What did you just say?”
Opal heaves a sigh. “My scent match is Sam.”
“Like… Alpha XipresidentSam?” I ask, which prompts her to nod.
My mind is blown. I’m convinced that I’ve somehow been transported into a soap opera where my friends are all going through crazy shit that only daytime television could possibly orchestrate.
I try to think back to all the interactions I’ve ever witnessed between my two friends and come up empty-handed. “You’ve been avoiding him,” I state. “Anytime Stacia and her mates have plans and they mention Sam will be there, you conveniently have something to do.” I put my hands by my temples. “Holy shit, he doesn’t know. Holy shit, he has an omega.”
She nods. Her patience for me right now is exceptional. I’m having a hard time keeping up.
“I didn’t even officially meet him, I just smelled him. It was the day where everyone came over to help Stacia move out. I kind of panicked because I knew he couldn’t smell me. How was I supposed to bring it up? And in front of Stacia’s pack? It would have been mortifying.”
I consider that and realize I agree. I can’t imagine meeting your scent match in front of a group of people, especially when it’s one-sided.
“A few weeks later, Kendall said something about Sam’s new omega, the one he just met, hisscent match, and how they were making plans to move in together and it threw a whole wrench into the gears. I didn’t know what to do. Istilldon’t know what to do. I mean, I don’t really know Sam. Do I blow up his life just because we’re scent matches? That doesn’t feel fair to him or his omega.” She keeps shaking her head, obviously at war with herself. If I could smell her, her scent would probably be spiked with fear. “I don’t want to mess up his life. That’s what they say, right? If you care about them, let them go?”
