Page 41 of Written in Scent

Elodie takes the cardigan and slips it on. The moment the fabric settles around her shoulders she blushes, clearly remembering the stacks, remembering everything. A fresh little wave of her scent blooms in the air, sweet and sunlit and impossible to ignore.

All four of us groan at the same time, low and helpless.

Her phone dings loudly. In the same second we hear tires crunching on the gravel outside.

Elodie glances at the screen. “My taxi is here,” she says. She looks around at all of us, eyes determined. “Thank you again. For everything. And I’m really sorry for… well, for all of it.”

She turns toward the door.

Chase moves before anyone else can. “Cancel it,” he growls, already reaching for his keys. “I will drive you. You are not getting in a stranger’s car like this.”

Elodie stops, spins back, and huffs. The sound is pure stubbornness wrapped in that soft voice of hers. “I am perfectly capable of looking after myself, Chase. I have been doing it my whole life.”

She doesn’t wait for an answer. She slips out the front door and hurries down the steps toward the waiting taxi. The door clicks shut behind her with a finality that feels louder than it should.

Chase is already grabbing his keys off the hook, jaw set. “I’m following them. Just to make sure she gets back safe.”

Alex’s hand lands on his shoulder, stopping him before he can take a single step.

“Chase,” he says, the apex command gentle but unmistakable. “This might be exactly why she is not interested in a pack right now. Let her go. It was an omega taxi, you know those have beta drivers. She will be safe.”

Chase stands there, keys clenched in his fist, staring at the closed door like he can will her back through it.

The gravel crunches again as the taxi pulls away.

I stay rooted in place, still tasting her on my tongue, still feeling the ghost of her fingers in my hair, and realize with an ache that this is only the beginning.

We are not letting her slip away that easily.

Not even close.

The sound of gravel crunching under tires has already faded down the driveway. Elodie is gone. The omega taxi took her away just moments ago, and the four of us are still standing in the living room like the floor has decided to lock us in place.

Her scent hasn’t left with her.

That bright pink lemonade fragrance still clings to every surface, sweet and vibrant and so potent it makes the air feel thicker than it should. It wraps around me, around all of us, pulling at instincts I’ve spent years learning to control.

My chest feels tight. My pulse is too loud in my ears. Even the shared pack scent of sun-warmed skin and charged storm air feels heavier now, like it’s trying to hold on to her.

I glance around at my pack. Chase stands with his arms crossed so tightly the veins stand out on his forearms. Adrian has one hand on the back of the couch, fingers tapping a thoughtful rhythm against the leather while his mind clearly races ahead. Jamie hasn’t moved at all. He just stares at the closed front door, shoulders slightly hunched, the wet patch on his jeans still visible.

I let out a measured breath and break the heavy silence.

“Her scent is still everywhere,” I say. “It’s affecting all of us more than it should for someone who just walked out the door.”

No one argues. Because we all feel it. Every single one of us.

And none of us knows what to do with it yet.

Adrian is the first to break the heavy silence. He pushes his glasses up his nose with one finger, the way he does when his mind is already ten steps ahead of the rest of us. His voice is calm, precise, and unmistakably certain.

“She is our scent match.”

The words land with finality as he confirms it for the group. No hesitation. No room for doubt.

I feel the truth of it settle deep in my bones, the same as when he first said it. Hell, the same as when I first scented her across the quad. Chase shifts his weight. Jamie’s shoulders tighten. None of us argue. Because deep down, they already knew.

Adrian continues, eyes moving between the three of us. “She reacted far too strongly for this to be anything else. The way her scent blockers failed instantly, the intensity of the spike, the way she responded to each of us… she is our omega.”