Page 24 of Scent to the Feral Cowboys
“We’re here for your scent and blood samples.” Ms. Matthews sounded slightly annoyed. “It was all explained in the initial consult.”
As if the aura in the room couldn’t get worse, Wyatt finally arrived, bringing with him the storm cloud you could almost literally see hovering over his ornery head.
“What the fuck’s going on, Coop? Those Betas in suits are carrying.” His voice thundered. Surprisingly, the Eros lady didn’t seem alarmed. “Those assholes are fucking lucky I didn’t have my shotgun on me.”
“They’re here for scent matching,” I explained quickly, feeling sweat bead at my temples. I loved Wyatt, and even as a kid, I knew we were meant to be in the same pack. But the guy was still intimidating sometimes.
“Scent matching?” Wade perked up, swiping his right sleeve over his face and chasing away one layer of dust and sweat.
“It’s to find us an Omega. A compatible one.” I latched onto Wade’s hopeful tone.
"A compatible one," Levi repeated slowly, before snapping the pencil between his fingers. He glared down at the writing utensil like it had personally betrayed him by breaking, then he tossed it onto the dining table. “For all of us? At once? Didn’t we decide there was a slim chance in hell of that?”
I nodded, enthusiasm overtaking my momentary nervousness. “Used to be a slim chance in hell. This company called Eros can find Omegas who are highly compatible with whole packs.”
“And these Omegas just sign up and go wherever their matches are?” Wyatt sounded unconvinced, almost combative.
“Ah,” the Eros rep held up one finger like a teacher fussing at students, “our process is proprietary, with extensive legal measures to protect the origins of our products.”
“The origins...of your product.” Wyatt repeated. “And, in this case, the Omegas are your product.”
I could hear the challenge in Wyatt’s tone, and I knew what could happen next, but the Eros rep continued to prove she was unflappable.
“I promise that our products,” she paused, clearing her throat as her eyes took in the various Alpha expressions around her, then restarted. “I guarantee that our valued Omegas are treated with respect and dignity. We offer them the best of everything.”
Wyatt slowly turned to me, and my guts clenched. Damn. He was not happy. Really thought this would be the best thing I’d ever done.
"And you arranged this when, exactly?" Wyatt asked, his voice dangerously soft.
"About two months ago," I admitted. "After that disaster date night with the Omega from Jackson. Remember how he couldn't stand Boone's scent? And Wade nearly punched that waiter for getting too close? It was all tits up. It’s always like that, Wyatt. We’ve got money to burn now, and this is a better way."
"You believe that the better way was to secretly invite strangers to take our samples?" Wyatt’s voice grew quieter with each word.
I glanced around desperately at my other pack brothers, hoping one of them would come to my rescue. Levi and Boone averted their eyes. Wade—who I thought would be my lifeline seconds earlier—literally shrugged at me like I was the dumbass, and he couldn’t save me from his twin this time.
"I wanted it to be a surprise!" I spread my hands, pleading. "Look, we've been searching for compatible Omegas for fucking ever, man. Nothing's worked out."
Ms. Matthews cleared her throat. "If I may, gentlemen. The Eros Institute has a 98.7% success rate with multi-Alphapack matches. Our process is discreet, scientific, and highly effective. We have a database of thousands of Omegas who have specifically indicated interest in pack arrangements. If none of those work out, we will find fresh, willing, test subjects." The word ‘willing’ seemed to catch in her throat for a heartbeat.
"I don't care if your success rate is a hundred and ten percent," Wyatt nearly growled at the poor Beta. "You don't just spring this kind of thing on people.”
“Mister Nelson, if you’re angry about being... caught off guard, I’m afraid you’re directing your fury at the wrong person.” She straightened her posture, trying to keep her practiced work demeanor intact. “Our records indicate that the entirety of your pack was informed, and on board. We have signatures to prove it.”
I gave a sheepish smile and looked at my pack brothers, who were all know staring at me for an explanation. “We did digital signatures for the bank stuff. Not like I forged them or anything.”
“Jesus, Coop.” Levi scolded me all the time, only this time I think he meant it.
“Come on, guys. You know we need this. One perfect Omega who fits with all of us. No more awkward dates, no more disappointments, no more... loneliness." The last word slipped out before I could catch it. I exhaled, looking up at the ceiling when I said the next. “I can’t bring another possible home, just to have my hopes dashed. None of us thought it would be this hard. We found each other early in life. We were lucky.” I looked back down, eyes finding Boone’s. “Boone fell into our lives like kismet. But we can’t change the fact that we’re all Alphas. Without an Omega, everything we’ve worked for is going to fall apart eventually.”
Something shifted in the room—a subtle change as four pairs of Alpha eyes focused on me with varying degrees ofunderstanding. We'd all felt it, that emptiness in our pack structure, the missing piece that would make us complete.
"Fine," Levi said finally, reaching up to his ear to grab the pencil, then realizing he’d already broken it. He dropped his hands, expression unsettled. "But next time you decide to solve our problems, maybe give us a heads-up first. Especially when it involves money.”
I grinned, relief flooding through me. "Where's the fun in that?”
“You keep having fun like this, and you’ll go broke before you know it, Coop.” Levi shook his head, weary of my money antics.
“Not with you in my corner, Levi.” I smiled affectionately at him.
