You smell different

KAEL

It was time to return back to the one place we belonged. The pack.

The forest path stretched out long and winding beneath our feet, a reminder of how fad we'd gone and how far we still had to walk. This would have been over hours ago if we had just turned into our wolves and sprinted back to the pack.

We were being too slow, and I did not like it.

"It'll be better if we walk, Alpha," Brant had suggested his morning, when I decided it was time to leave. "At least we would be able to pick up any strange scent we might have missed when we ran as wolves the other time."

I had agreed because it sounded like a sensible plan at the moment.

It wasn't.

The scent we had been chasing was long gone. Again. But I couldn't tell the boys to shift into wolves now, not when they were...

"We should consider moving more of our patrols closer to the east ridge." Brant said, suddenly walking beside me. He had been quiet for most of the journey, choosing to brood about something he wasn't ready to talk about. At least, according to him. "I found a few disturbed trails out there when Faris and I were checking the borders out. Could be that another wolf pack is watching us, or maybe not a wolf pack."

Vampires. Werecats. Witches.

All of them were notorious for checking out the borders of werewolves packs, all wanting a piece of the land for themselves. They could be quite pesky when they wanted to be.

I nodded at Brant, keeping my steps even. "I'll draw up the shifts when we return. Maybe have Joren double-check with his team first so we don't have a repeat of last year's incident."

Brant grunted in approval.

No one wanted that.

Behind us, the others trailed in loose formation. I could hear Corwin and Faris joking with River, their laughter and chatter loud.

Irritating, if anyone asked for my opinion.

Especially his.

What were they chatting about that was so good the rest of us had to hear them? Didn't they know we were in the forest?

If we actually came here to hunt animals, we wouldn't even see anyone.

River's soft, and amused voice that dipped into sarcasm always came at just the right moments. That fucking omega had been nothing but a disruption from the very beginning.

He was way too bold, having the courage to fight me. Too wild, an omega who had ran away from his pack... I was very sure about that. Too...

“You good?” Brant asked, his tone deceptively casual.

I blinked. “Yeah. Just thinking.”

He gave me a knowing look and nudged my shoulder with his knuckles. Yeah, that was why Brant was our wonderful Beta. He was always in my business.

"You've been off since we found the kid... no, that isn't right. Since you found the kid, had him beat you bloody, and made us find him."

I didn't answer.

Brant let out one of his knowing chuckle. "Alright, it's not the kid. Don't worry, Alpha. My cousin will be at the packhouse, waiting for her knight in shining armor."

Oh, fuck. That was absolutely right.

My shoulders stiffened. I hadn't given Lyria another thought since I found River, and had been absolutely obsessed with him since then.

What kind of name was River? Why would his parents name him that? Or was that a lie because he didn't want to tell us his real name?

Brant continued anyway. "I know Lyria’s been pacing around the pack instead of doing her duties. She cannot stand to be away from her stud muffin."

Perhaps this was the moment I stabbed Brant and find another Beta.

I didn't respond to any of his taunts either, because I couldn't. Not when I had the unmistakable weight of a pair of eyes on me.

I turned my head slightly.

River.

He was looking at me again.

With those wind-blown silver curls that had fallen across his brow, and those purple-flecked eyes narrowed slightly like he'd heard every single word Brant had said. His mouth was parted just a little, his tongue darting out briefly to wet his lips.

Those were not the kind of things an Alpha noticed when he looked at an omega or even a male wolf.

I shouldn't be noticing that. My pulse had surged now.

Shit.

I turned away as fast as I could, my jaw tightening, and my stomach clenching with the frustration and the heat. The worst part about this whole situation? I was already fucking hard... and based on my calculations, we were three hours from home. Fuck... I shifted the hem of my jacket lower, just enough to cover the front of my jeans.

I fucking hoped I didn't have the smell of arousal all over me.

Focus, Kael. Stay in control. He's just a lousy omega, and deserves not to have a place in your mind.

Yeah...

“You need to get laid,” Brant muttered beside me, clearly amused.

“I need silence,” I growled back.

The rest of the journey was nothing but that... and still, every now and then, my traitorous gaze flicked to the sound of River's voice, so I could watch the way he gestured when he laughed at the most mundane of things, how his hips moved when he walked, how his ass...

No.

It was that damned mark.

By the time the first guard tower came into view, I was practically marching.

The territory opened up before us, showing us the familiar roads, wooden walls, and those rooftops nestled between the tall trees. We were home.

And now that we were home, I wouldn't be the one to assign River a settlement for the time being. I wouldn't see him ever again.

The moment I stepped through the outer gate, Lyria came running.

“Kael!”

I barely had the time to brace myself before her soft, full body pressed into mine, arms looping tightly around my neck. Her perfume hit me squarely in the nose. A wave of sweet jasmine and spice.

Perfect.

"I missed you so badly, babe," she whispered against my skin, full lips brushing the shell of my ear. "So so much."

In typical Lyria style, she pushed herself against my crouch. I didn't answer her right away, not when my eyes were shifting to someone, instinctively.

River.

He was now standing a few paces back, watching us with narrowed eyes. Just for a second. Then he turned away, saying something to Corwin, who snorted in laughter and ruffled his hair.

Yeah, this was the last time I would see the omega.

I looked back down at the woman in my arms. “I missed you too.”

My voice sounded so wrong, like the words belonged to someone else.

But Lyria just smiled up at me and leaned in again, tucking her hand into mine as we entered the alpha packhouse. The scent of woodsmoke and rosemary surrounded us as I closed the door behind me.

Yeah, no place like home.

But before I could speak, Lyria drew back slightly and sniffed the air.

Her eyes narrowed faintly.

“You smell... different.”