Page 41 of Trick or Heat

There’s another pause as his mind works over that information. “You both met your scent matches… to different people? Are we having a ‘get drunk and grieve’ situation right now or…” He lets the sentence linger, hoping I’ll fill in the blanks.

“No, no grieving. Our scent matches are the same people. Three alphas that Elsie met on Heat Seekers.”

Reed’s eyes bulge, knowing about the app service all too well. “Fuck. So you guys have the same matches?”

“It looks like it.” DJ, Raivat, and Brodie’s faces come to mind, their dumb charm making my skin prickle. God, they’re so hot.

Reed’s smile grows wide. “That’s incredible! So this is a celebration? Your problem with Elsie is solved then, huh?”

He lifts his beer to cheers me and I wince, my own drink staying firmly on the table.

“Why are you making that face?”

“Well… because⁠—”

“You two haven’t talked about it yet, have you?”

I shake my head, hating how much my best friend can see right through me. Well, my second best friend. The one I don’t want to fuck.

“Shit, man. Why not? It looks like all your prayers were answered.”

I shrug. “I don’t know, there’s something… we haven’t really spoken since all of this happened, and I’m just scared to finally speak about the elephant in the room.”

“It’s a big fucking elephant. One I’m sure she sees too.”

I scoff. “Don’t fuck up my analogy.”

“I’m just saying, this situation is tailor-made for you two.”

“That doesn’t automatically mean she wants to be with me.”

He snorts.

“What?”

“You don’t see the way she looks at you all the time?” Reed asks. “Come on, man. You have better instincts than that.”

Of course I’ve seen it, but Elsie also cares about me. How can I let her affection for me be morphed into something more in my head if I’m not certain it is? A part of me knows she loves me, but is she in love with me? That’s not something I can figure out.

“It’s complicated now,” I argue.

“More complicated than it was before?” he shoots back at me.

“Yes, because now we’re in a pack. What if she doesn’t feel the same way and I make it awkward when I could have just gotten over my feelings long ago? I love her, I don’t need to be with her to be happy. I just want her to be happy.”

Reed stares at me. Long, tense moments go by, and I think my heart might actually beat out of my chest until he finally breaks the silence.

“God, you’re a fucking idiot.”

His insult hits right where it’s intended. Maybe the silence was preferable.

“I’m trying my best⁠—”

“No, you’re running away from your feelings,” he interrupts. “You and Elsie have the same scent matches now. You’re in each other’s lives forever, just like you wanted, which means you don’t have to confess your love for her. You can exist like this without fear that she won’t return those feelings for you.”

My entire body tenses from hearing the words buried deep in my subconscious finally spoken out loud. “You… How did you do that?”

“Because I’m not a fucking idiot?” Reed answers.