The Light in Us

20. Fallon

20

Fallon

I hover behind Zeke as he leads me over to a closed wooden door. Emily gives me a discrete thumbs up when I glance over my shoulder.

An encouragement I desperately need, because this is well out of my comfort zone.

I look back to Zeke, taking advantage that he’s facing the other direction. Zeke looks as though he’d be more comfortable in the forest than in an office, his head almost above the door frame as we reach the door. The deep green shirt he’s wearing clings to his wide back, only highlighting the muscles that flex in my line of sight.

He might be the biggest alpha I’ve ever seen. But… he doesn’t act like it. I can sense his dominance, the outpouring in the lobby enough for me to know that he could put me on my knees in a second if he wanted to.

But he’s… gentle, instead of domineering. Almost a little awkward.

And he smells really good.

Discreetly, I lean forward and take a sniff. Woody cardamom, and… I take another breath, my inhale a little deeper. Liquorice? Maybe. Or star anise. Almost peppery.

A little closer.

Wow.

“Fallon?”

Zeke’s low murmur interrupts my little breath-a-thon. My whole body stills as I slowly look up and meet his eyes.

My nose… my nose is buried against his back. The warmth of his shirt is pressed against my face. And Zeke… I don’t think he’s even breathing as he cranes to look over his shoulder at me.

I don’t know who looks more mortified.

Oh – oh no.

I burst into flames. That’s what it feels like as my legs skitter back, as if I might actually run from this moment which immediately flies into my top five Most Humiliating Moments of all time.

Top three , even.

Who the hell am I kidding? I have never been this embarrassed in my life.

And yet… my eyes slide back to Zeke’s back. And a noise sounds in my throat.

A noise that sounds suspiciously like it could be a whine.

Want.

I wrench my eyes away with effort, ignoring the little stab of need, the urge to go back and plaster myself against the large alpha’s back. My body is clearly having a moment, maybe because my heat is coming.

But how embarrassing .

And to top it off… I spy the open door over Zeke’s broad shoulder. And the two males standing there, watching with avid interest as I slap a hand over my mouth.

Teddy is grinning, his arms crossed and his body completely relaxed as he leans against the door. But the male beside him… he’s just staring at me, as if he can’t believe that I’d do anything as unprofessional as shove my nose into someone’s back and breathe them in like they’re the air I need to live. His jaw is clenched, his arms at his side but tightened into fists.

Another alpha. Both he and Zeke are completely still, but I can feel them. The new alpha has a dominance level to rival Zeke’s – if not even bigger, and I can feel it pushing at me, both of them responding to the perfume that leaks from my skin.

And his scent is just as alluring as Zeke’s, although my brows drop as I try to identify it. It smells familiar, but I can’t place it.

Even Teddy’s warm, addictive chocolate scent is joining the party as he lets out a low whistle. “Well, this is a party.”

“Teddy,” the alpha says in a low tone. Admonishing him.

So this is Teddy’s alpha. As he turns back to me, I take in his thick, inky black hair and the deep, deep blue of his eyes, so much so they almost look purple. Sloe, like the plums I used to love. A dark layer of stubble already covers his jaw, as if it’s grown in since this morning, brushing over lightly tanned skin.

Not quite as big as Zeke, although he still towers above me. But as our eyes meet, my body jerks forward.

Holy hell, dominator.

I was wrong. This alpha’s dominance is off the charts.

And I am… so fucked. I step forward, around Zeke, and it feels as though I’m in a daze, my body controlling every tiny movement as I edge toward him.

Just one sniff—

No. No more sniffing, Fallon.

I was about to lean forward and try to sniff another omega’s alpha. My hands join together to cover my face.

If I stay really still, maybe we can rewind thirty seconds.

Or was it… more like a minute?

Heat prickles at the back of my neck, matching the one that appears at the back of my eyes.

I’m fucking this up already. I can’t even behave in public.

Ellis was right. I am useless.

My breathing speeds up as I stumble back. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. This was a mistake, I’ll go—,”

“ Stop .”

I lock into place. The alpha doesn’t bark, but the word is infused with enough dominance that he doesn’t even need it. I want to roll over and show him my throat.

I stop, pinning my eyes on the floor. “I’m really sorry. I don’t know what happened, but I didn’t mean to overstep—,”

The words catch in my throat, and I cough.

“Fallon.” My name is gentle on his lips, far more gentle than I expected. Or deserve. “Look at me. Please?”

This alpha doesn’t demand. He asks, as he comes to a stop in front of me. A murmured request that has me tipping up my head just a little, enough to see his face.

My heart twists as he holds out his hand.

“My name is Fox Quill,” the alpha murmurs in a low, patient tone. Waiting, those vibrant eyes not moving from my face. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Fallon.”

I can’t look away from his gaze. Slightly hooded eyes lock me into place, his scent washing over me, and I suddenly realize exactly why the smell was so familiar.

Books.

Fox smells like books . Like walking through a bookstore, an afternoon curled up with an old favorite story and a hot drink, the library on a rainy day. Indescribable, and yet so perfect that I almost want to cry.

This pack is perfect. Teddy, Zeke, Fox.

And as I take Fox’s hand, I can’t stop the desperate, fleeting wish that they could be mine .

Fox draws back, his voice still low and comforting as he holds out his arm yet keeps a respectful distance.

He somehow brushes off my embarrassing episode with a nonchalance that has me following him into the office, past a beaming Teddy, without running for the door.

They’re not yours, Fallon.

The scents are even heavier in here, a heady mix that makes my head spin.

I am in so much trouble.