Page 59 of Written in Scent

The words cut off sharply the moment Chase’s gaze lands on me. He stands frozen at the top of the staircase, one large hand resting on the banister, his bulky frame silhouetted by the hallway light behind him. The easy tone he started with vanishes completely.

Alex’s arm stays secure around my waist as he chuckles, the sound sending tingling vibrations down my back. “Brought home a stray from the party,” he says, voice light with amusement.

Chase starts down the stairs, each step measured and heavy. His deep brown eyes move from Alex to me and linger for a moment. When he finally speaks, his voice comes out tight, almost pained around the edges. “Hi, Elodie.”

The way he says my name sends a strange flutter through my stomach. The cool fabric of the slinky blue dress shifts against my legs with every movement. The alcohol buzzing pleasantly in my veins makes me bolder than usual.

Instead of shrinking away, I lift my chin and march straight past him toward the kitchen, where I can already hear Jamie opening cabinets.

“You have to get drunk too,” I announce over my shoulder, the words loud and a little unsteady as the short hem brushes my thighs. “No excuses.”

I keep walking without waiting for his reaction, my boots clicking against the hardwood, heart beating fast with a strange mix of nerves and unexpected excitement.

Jamie stands at the open refrigerator, the harsh white light spilling across his face and catching in his hair. He glances over his shoulder as I step into the kitchen, his blue eyes light up with that easy spark I’m starting to recognize.

“Vodka?” he offers, one hand resting on a bottle. “I’ve got lots of mixers.”

I shake my head, the movement feeling pleasantly loose from the beer still humming through me. “I’ve only ever had beer,” I admit. The words feel small in the tight space, but the alcohol makes them easier to say.

Alex’s arm slides around my waist from behind, drawing me gently into his side. The solid heat of him presses through the thin fabric of my dress and settles something restless inside my chest.

“Then we’ll stick to beer tonight,” he murmurs near my ear, the suggestion wrapped in care. “Keep things easy for you.”

Jamie grins and reaches lower in the fridge, pulling out a cold six-pack. The bottles clink as he carries them to the large wooden table that fills the space past all the cabinets. We ease into the chairs around it, the wood smooth and worn beneath me. I stay tucked under Alex’s arm, letting his presence anchor me, Jamie snuggles in on my other side, Chase sitting across from us.

Footsteps sound from the hallway, and Adrian appears in the doorway looking wonderfully soft and sleepy. His brown hair stands in messy tufts and his wire-rimmed glasses sit slightly crooked on his nose like he just threw them on. He wears gray pajama pants and an old Rosewood University t-shirt that’s seen many washes. He pauses when he sees me nestled against Alex, blinks once, then pads over and drops into the chair beside Chase. Without a word he reaches for one of the bottles and cracks it open.

“So,” he says in that calm, precise voice, still a little husky from sleep, “just because you’ll be hungover tomorrow does not mean you are getting out of our library study session.”

A giggle slips out of me, false outrage mixed into my voice. “I would never miss a study session,” I promise, leaning a little more into Alex’s side. “Cross my heart.”

Jamie laughs under his breath, the sound full of affection. “Nerds,” he says fondly, shaking his head at us both.

I wrap my fingers around the bottle in front of me and feel the gentle buzz in my veins mix with the layered scents of all four of them surrounding me.

The kitchen feels warmer than I expected, safer, like the house itself is alive and breathing around us. I take a small sip and wait for the drinking game Jamie promised to begin, my heart beating with curious excitement.

We start playing almost immediately, the rules simple enough that even my sort of fuzzy mind follows along without trouble. Jamie goes first, leaning forward with a playful glint in his eyes. “Never have I ever ditched and then stalked a pack,” he says, voice teasing as he looks straight at me.

I laugh and lift my bottle, taking a small sip. The cold beer slides down easy now, warming my stomach in gentle waves. “I had no idea you would all be at the lacrosse game,” I admit, the words slipping out before I can stop them. “I only went because Sophie dragged me along to get my mind off… everything.”

Jamie’s grin widens, bright and mischievous. “Oh, you missed the best part then. Alex here is kind of a big deal on the pitch. Captain of the team, the guy everyone watches. Campus fame and all that. People wear his jersey to games like it’s a religion.”

Alex chuckles beside me, the sound deep and weighted against my side. His arm tightens just a fraction around my waist, thumb brushing idly over the fabric of my dress. The touch sends little sparks of heat across my skin, but it feels nice, safe even.

Someone, I think it’s Adrian, asks the next question, but the conversation drifts naturally from there. The bottles clink against the table between turns, and at one point I tilt my head, curiosity winning over the tipsy haze. “Why is your house so far from campus, anyway?” I ask, glancing around at all of them. “It feels like a long drive every day.”

Chase shifts in his chair, his rich brown eyes meeting mine for the first time without looking away. His voice comes out low, the gruff edge softened by the game. “Most packs live off campus. Dorms aren’t really built for mated packs, especially once an omega is involved. Too many people, too many scents, no real space to breathe.”

I nod, the short hem of my dress brushing my thighs as I shift in my seat. The alcohol makes the questions feel easier to ask. “Is it because of the whole nest thing?”

All four of them nod at once, the movement so synchronized it makes me smile. Adrian leans forward a little, his glasses catching the kitchen light as he adds the deeper layer in that introspective way of his.

“It’s more than that too. Mated people struggle to sleep apart. Daytime classes are fine, but nights in a different house would feel wrong. Empty in a way that’s hard to explain.”

His words sink into me, fervent and honest, and it makes me realize how seriously they take their pack and one another. I take another small sip of beer and let the conversation wrap around me, the kitchen lights glowing overhead while their scents mix in the air.

Alex’s fingers drift into my hair, gently stroking through the loose waves as if he has done it a hundred times before. The touch sends lively little sparks down my spine, and I lean into it without thinking.