“This is impossible,” Mabel shakes her head. “A mistake. I can’t scentanyof you.”
“You haven’t been close enough,” Declan says softly, his demeanor turning gentle in an attempt to salvage the conversation. “Maybe if you just—”
“No,” she snaps, shaking her head again. “All of you…you’re not my scent matches. You’re just lookin’ for an easy target. Someone who doesn’t know any better. And I’ll tell you what, Idoknow better. You’re liars, all of you. Just like the ones I was with before. Jo was right not to say anythin’. I’m just mad she didn’t tell me y’all were a bunch of manipulative, untrustworthysnakes.”
Rory looks like she slapped him. Aidan’s expression hardens. Nolan is unreadable.
Declan…looks pissed.
“I need to leave.” She starts stalking to the omega house. “I gotta get outta here.”
“Mabel—” I start, but she cuts me off.
“Whatever you’re gonna say, don’t. I know he's your brother, and right now y'all are workin' on shuttin' down Thornfield, so I won’t make you choose. But I’m leavin’, Jo. I can’t stay here any longer.”
“You can’t leave,” Declan snaps, taking another step forward. “It’s not safe until Thornfield is shut down for good.”
She pauses, and then looks back at me.
Kole puts a hand on my shoulder in question, and I nod.
“Sestronkya,” my Russian giant rumbles, approaching her. “Declan is right. It is not safe. But once Thornfield is taken care of, I promise we will relocate you, yes? You know your sister will not let you go so easily.”
“If that’s what you want, we’ll make it happen,” Sam adds. “Remember what I told you? Nobody is taking away your decisions ever again.”
“Plus,” Hayden adds, his signature smirk on his face, “we need to have a place to visit when this is over, right?”
Mabel looks between us, her lip wobbling before she runs to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and squeezing tight.
Rory’s angry voice filters through. “You can’t just—”
“We will do whatever she decides,” Sam growls. “Remember that whole little speech you gave me while holding a gun to my head, spouting off about how you’re on Declan’s team—Jo’s team? Well, we’re on Jo’s team too.AndMabel’s. She’s our sister now, so you can fuck right off. She doesn’t want to see you.”
I wince at his harsh words, but he has a point. They can’t keep her here, no matter how much they might want to. They don’t have ownership over her just because she could be their true scent match.
Footsteps have me looking over her shoulder just in time to see Declan and Rory disappearing inside the house, shoulders slumped.
They have nobody to blame but themselves. I told them what would happen if they came on too strong.
“I’m sorry, Mabel-cakes,” I sniff. “I shoulda warned you. But I thought that worryin’ about the possibility of a scent match was too much to bear after everythin’ you went through.”
She lets out a teary laugh. “Scent match. Who do they think they’re playin’? I don’t evenhavea scent anymore.”
“Mabel…” I sigh, pulling back and looking at her. “Itisa real possibility, you know that, right? The guys and I got whiffs of each other back when I was at Thornfield, even if it was just the tiniest bit.”
She shakes her head. “They aren’t. I haven’t gotten a hint of any of them. I can’t even smell dinner when it’s cookin’.” Ifrown, looking down at her sweatshirt. Or, should I say, Rory’s sweatshirt. The one that’s saturated in his desert rain scent.
“Do you scent anythin’ off that?” I ask carefully.
She shakes her head. “No? Do you think Rory’s scent would be on it? He was holding onto my arms when I woke up in the front yard.”
I open my mouth to tell the truth—really, I swear I’m about to tell her just whose sweatshirt she’s wearing. But then I remember that whether or not they’re really scent matches, Rory’s scent was helping her somehow. If I tell her that it’s his, she won’t wear it anymore. And then she won’t keep getting better.
“Just curious,” I answer instead, shrugging. It wouldn’t do anyone any good now to bring up everything that’s been happening the last two weeks. “Let’s get you back inside. I have Doctor McFadden comin’ tomorrow, okay? That should make sure this doesn't happen again.”
She sniffs, nodding once. “Okay. I’m gonna go to bed now, okay?”
I find myself shaking my head. “You can’t go by yourself.”
