I scramble backward on the mat, my fingers clawing at the foam. The disconnect between my eyes and my nose is violent, and it feels like my body is being ripped in two.
Where are they? Where are they?
The room tilts. The sage scent turns to ash in my lungs. My head goes light, impossibly light, and then the floor rushes up to meet me.
***
“—cedar one’s mine, you can’t have him—”
I come to mid-sentence, my own voice slurring in my ears. I blink my eyes open. White acoustic ceiling tile swims into focus overhead, lit by a bright, fluorescent strip.
A low hum vibrates at the back of my sinuses, joined by a dull throb at the base of my skull. I roll my head to one side, then the other, I’m lying on a paper-lined examination table.
Ugh.
I rub my temples, trying to piece together how I got here. The last thing I’ve got is the meditation class, followed by a fever dream involving aerobics gear, a blonde mustache, a bad toupee, and, oh god, myscent matches.
My omega perks straight up at the word.Scent matches,she sighs, dreamy.Alphas, alphas, alphas.
Down,I tell her.We don’t even know if any of that was real.
“Ah, you’re awake.”
I turn my head to my left. A woman in a crisp white coat is standing by a stainless steel counter, charting something on an iPad. She has a soft, round face and a gentle, vaguely fruity scent. An omega.
“Ugh,” I croak, my throat dry. “Where am I? I had the weirdest dream...”
She sets the tablet down and walks over, offering a small smile. “Did your dream include three large alphas crashing the midday meditation class?”
I freeze. The hum in my sinuses spikes.
“Wait,” I say, my voice climbing an octave. “Did I mutter that in my sleep?”
“No, it really happened,” she says gently. “And then you passed out. About an hour ago. You’re in the retreat’s clinic.”
My stomach bottoms out.
“Butwhywould they do that?” I whisper.
“If I had to guess? They just really missed you.” Her smile turns a little amused. “They claimed you were their scent match, then wrestled off six guards before security finally got them under control. Apparently they insisted on bringing you to a ‘proper’ clinic themselves. Spirited bunch.”
Somehow, I don’t have the slightest trouble believing that. Of course they did.These alphas.
At the word, my nose twitches, and that empty, hollow feeling flares back up in my chest.
“But...” I push up slightly, clutching the paper crinkling under me. “I couldn’t smell any of them. I want to smell them, and—”
“Yes.” She presses a gentle hand to my shoulder, easing me back down. “That’s actually a great idea. I’ve prescribed them a thorough shower. It seems they were wearing scent-suppressing spray.”
Figures. That’s why my body felt like it was splitting in half in the studio despite them being there.
“But,” she continues, sighing, “the shower will have to wait until the local police are done.”
“Thepolice?” I choke out.
“Mm-hmm. Therealblond one misrepresented his identity to staff. He signed an intake form under the name ‘Bruce Jovi’. Falsifying a legal document is a crime.”
Bruce Jovi.A laugh hiccups out of me before I can stop it. Of course Reed did that...
