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“I should go home,” Meg murmurs. “I can’t keep inconveniencing you all. And Remi—my local friend—doesn’t have a ton of room.”
All three of us bristle. We look at one another, at a loss for what to say. I stare at Archer, wishing he could read my mind.
I don’t understand what’s happening. If Meg is really our mate, we shouldn’t have to convince her to stay near us or to let us take care of her. She should be as desperate to take as we are to give.
Arch smooths his hand over her head and speaks gently. “Megera, you feel this, right? You know what’s happening?”
She bites her plump lower lip. “We’re… scent-sensitive? I think that’s the term, right?”
Archer’s face furrows with confusion but he nods. “Yes. How much do you know about scent-sensitive packs?”
Meg’s head lowers in shame. “Not very much.”
Theo looks like his heart is breaking. Poor big guy. He’s from a scent-sensitive pack, and it’s all he’s ever wanted. It has to be a big blow to hear that our omega doesn’t even know what she’s in for.
Arch tucks her closer to his body and purrs louder. “Mm. Well, I have a ton of research on the subject if you want to read it.”
Meg nods against his chest. I rub my forehead. “In the meantime, little one, you should probably stay nearby.”
It would be fucking painful to have her hours away from us. Not just for us, but for her, too. She might not know it yet, but her Omega is going to freak the fuck out when she tries to leave here tonight.
Meg’s fingers tangle in Archer’s shirt, and he snuggles her tighter. “I—I think I want to stay in town. I’ll ask Remi if she wouldn’t mind having me.”
Theo smiles at her. “Ask her if you can stay through the weekend! You can come watch our game!”
She smiles back at him. “I can do that… but I’m not sure about going somewhere big and public right now. These heat spikes are getting out of hand.”
Fuck. She’s right. If she attends as a guest of the team, she’ll be in the staff box with a ton of alphas. If I get her and her friend tickets for stadium seating, they’ll be sitting ducks. And we can’t bring her into our pack’s private booth without the press seeing her. If they find out we’re courting, we’ll have a media frenzy on our hands.
“You can watch the game here,” I decide. “We’ll set up the den for you and come straight home afterward to have dinner with you. All of us.”
Because I will pry Declan’s head from his ass if it’s the last thing I do.
Meg flashes a smile that’s as tremulous as it is beautiful. “Really? You guys don’t want to, like, go out or something?”
Theo snorts, rolling his eyes. “Not without you, peaches, duh.”
Archer chuckles and snuggles her some more. “How often do you have heats, sweetheart? How do you manage them?”
Typical doctor bullshit, interrogating her. Meg sighs, leaning back to gaze over at the pool while she thinks. “I usually take pain meds, curl up in bed, and wait them out. But I’ve never had spikes like these in between. Not until?—”
She found us. An absurd burst of pride fills my chest. My scent spikes, and hers responds in kind. Peachy perfume winds around all of us. Theo grunts, shifting in his chair.
Meg clears her throat, clearly embarrassed. “Sorry. Anyway. I’m due for an early heat in about eight weeks. I’ve been on heat suppressants since I was sixteen, but the doctors think they’re losing their effectiveness, now. I guess that happens after so many years.”
Archer nods, his face solemn. “Yes. Eight years is actually a very long time to be on the suppressants in the first place.”
Meg nods, looking tired. “I know. But I’ve been on my own the whole time, so I didn’t really have any choice. I didn’t realize just how poorly they were working until this week and all the… incidents. I guess their potency doesn’t matter now that I don’t have insurance to pay for them anyway. I’m not sure what I’ll do when my heat comes.”
Imagining her alone, in pain, needing—it takes me to a dark place. I work to keep my voice steady. “You’ll be with us. We’ll take care of you.”
A spectrum of emotions flies over her face. There’s pure, raw desire. Longing and wistfulness. Awe. Gratitude. Doubt. Pain.
“You would want that?” she whispers.
Theo leans forward, slapping his palm on the table. “Are you kidding? That’s like, my dream. In life. Seriously, peaches.”
He always seems to make her smile. She giggles quietly, turning her eyes up to Archer. When he nods decisively, she looks over to me.
