Page 2 of The Omega Switch: Part 2

"Can I offer anyone coffee?" she asked pleasantly. “Tea, perhaps?”

"No." Hunter's answer echoed through the room with enough finality that even Arabella seemed startled by its sharpness. She laughed nervously, trying to recover.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her eyes flitting between us nervously. Without saying another word, Hunter walked straight up to her and breathed in the air beside her, his eyes closing and his nostrils flaring.

“How did you think it was going to work?” He asked, and Arabella looked up at him, her smile frozen as she realized every single one of our pack was dead serious, and that the perfume was having no effect.

“What are you talking about?” She asked, a nervous laugh following as she rubbed the back of her neck.

“What was your plan long-term? Once we bonded, and your heat came. How did you think we would react when we smelled your real perfume?” Hunter asked, his eyes dark and predatory as he glared at Arabella.

She pulled back into the couch, drawing her legs in as her eyes went wide. “Wh-what?” She asked, her voice high-pitched.

“We know, Arabella,” Elias said, his arms crossed and a disappointed look on his face. “We know.”

“Know what?” Arabella asked carefully.

“We know the truth about Ivy. And what you did.” Hunter said. From the tone of his voice and the looks on our faces, Arabella quickly figured out at least part of what we were speaking about. Her expression didn't change immediately, but I watched every subtle shift with practiced precision. The slight widening of her eyes and the almost imperceptible tightening around her jaw. Her breathing hitched before she forced herself to smile again.

"Whatever she told you, you can’t believe it. She lies all the time, she’s jealous, she-" I cut off her words with an order so forceful that she sat back immediately.

“Stop.” I barked. Elias stepped forward, holding his hand out toward me in warning, as if that would stop me.

"We know those compatibility results weren't yours," Elias said. For a heartbeat, she looked frozen. Then, she started laughing.

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," she said, shaking her head. I couldn't believe it. This girl lied with such ease that it astounded me, even when she was faced with the truth.

I felt the anger grow within me. “Stop your bullshit!” I yelled, my voice thundering throughout the room. For the first time, Arabella looked truly afraid. "That perfume belongs to Ivy," I growled, and she lifted a hand to her neck without thinking. “You dare to desecrate it by wearing a cheap imitation of her smell,” I said, taking one step toward her at a time. “It can’t even come close to the real thing!” I said, unable to control the rage in my voice.

Arabella stared at me, and for the first time, I smelled a hint of fear - her real scent coming out, likely from her anxiety. Elias moved closer and turned toward me.

“Easy, Ronan.” He cautioned me. My nostrils flared as I caught the faint, sickly sweet scent of Arabella’s real scent, mixed with her fear. It did nothing but disgust me. I wished I could go back in time and undo this. Arabella was nothing like what we thought. She was a monster. Her whole family was twisted. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

“Where is she?” I finally asked. “Where’s Ivy?”

"I... I don't know. But it doesn’t matter!" Arabell whined, and I opened my eyes, looking at her incredulously. “Don’t you see? I’m your match!” she said, leaning forward as her robe slid off her shoulder - a strategic move. But one that wouldn’t work on our pack.

I felt Hunter’s rage through our bond, the very last thread of his patience snapping. “We know you’re not our match! You falsified a medical record!” He yelled, and Arabella’s eyes grew big as her lip trembled.

“No, I didn’t!” She argued. Hunter lifted his fingers and pinched the bridge of his nose, his dark hair still looking somewhat in place despite the chaos of today’s events. Somehow, he always looked put together. I was sure I looked like a wild bull that got out of its cage.

"Stop lying, Arabella.” He said, his voice a low warning.

“I’m not lying!” She protested, and Hunter moved closer, his frustration written all over his face.

“Then take the test right now. Come down to our labs and submit another blood sample. You would do it, right? If you had nothing to hide?” He asked, and Arabella looked sideways, biting her lip.

“Well, I… I just don’t understand why it's necessary.” She said, her voice faltering. Elias shook his head.

“Arabella, stop. Just stop. You lied to all of us. We know.” He said, and she started shaking her head, her hands up at her mouth.

“Just take off that replica. We can already smell a hint of your real scent.” Hunter said, and her eyes widened in shock. “Yeah, I can smell it now. Sickening and not a damn thing like Ivy’s scent. It’s a pity nothing actually scared you earlier. Maybe all of this could have been avoided." He said with disgust.

“It wasn’t - I mean, I didn’t do it intentionally!” She started babbling, losing her wits as she grasped at straws. "You don't understand, Ivy’s crazy, it was necessary-"

"You exposed Pack Vale to extraordinary legal liability, manipulated us, and lied to every person in this room," Hunter said, cutting her off.

Her composure finally cracked. Her face flashed with anger, then resignation, then slipped back into the mask of sweetness she so often wore.