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I walked slightly slower as we descended the stairs, trying to concentrate on keeping my breathing calm as we got closer and closer to the living room. Then something caught my attention.

Was someone making blueberry muffins?

The soft, sweet aroma of crystalized sugar called to me as the tart berry cut the sweetness, giving you a refreshing note to balance. I was caught in the aroma, which connected to moments baking with my mother, slathering the muffin in butter, and the delight of eating something I helped to make. It was a scent that held such a tender memory, and it only became stronger the closer I got to the source. Warmth enveloped me, tucking me close like I was still that version of myself in the memory.

“Hello, Bailey-Rose,” a voice rumbled under my ear.

I started to panic as I realized I hadn’t been smelling a real muffin at all. It had been an Alpha, an Alpha whose lap I’d climbed right up on so I could nuzzle my face in his neck. Feeling me tense, my blueberry Alpha started to purr as he ran a hand gently up and down my back. As if to prove I wasn’t the only one affected, he buried his nose in my hair, taking deep breaths of my scent.

“You’re fine to stay right where you are, sweetheart,” he assured me.

I cracked open an eye to see what was going on and found another man watching me with a dopey smile on his face. “Hi,” he greeted with a little wave when he noticed me looking at him.

Uncurling my fingers from Blueberry’s suit jacket, I gave him a wave in return. “Hey.”

“Holy shit, you’re adorable,” he blurted, then winced, waving his hands as if to erase what he’d just said. “Shit, sorry that came out weird and a little creepy, which I didn’t mean at all.”

“Are you seeing this right now?” another strange voice asked. “The master of small talk is totally off his game. I didn’t think that was possible.”

Sitting up, I looked into the face of the man whose lap I’d commandeered. He had stunning spice-brown eyes full of color variants, giving them a unique quality that had me wanting to see if I could even create a color with paints to match. His heritage was of Asian descent which created the perfect bone structure for such an intense pair of eyes, making them even more intriguing. His black hair was cut close to his head in a buzz cut that suited him and gave me the urge to see if it was as soft as it looked. I refrained, feeling that I’d invaded his space far more than was appropriate when I didn’t even know his name.

“I’m Bailey-Rose,” I managed to squeak out. “Sorry about making myself at home on your lap and now lingering when I should move. This is very unlike me… I never do things like this. Please don’t think I’m the type of woman who just climbs onto anyone’s lap,” I rambled, shifting to get off this nice blueberry-smelling man’s lap.

Just as I was about to push off his legs to stand, he pulled me back to his chest. “You’re right. It wouldn’t be a wise choice to just climb onto anyone’s lap. However, when it comes to me as one of your Alphas, it’s my job to ensure your needs as our Omega are met. So if you have need of me or my lap, there is no reason for you to hold back.”

Who was this man? First, he smells edible. Second, he took zero issue with me acting odd, and now gave me an open invitation to cuddle whenever I want. Have I died and gone to heaven?

“Maybe you want to tell her your name so she knows who just agreed to give her unlimited affection,” Ulysses suggested with a chuckle.

“Oh… I guess I did neglect to share that, didn’t I?” he said, looking a little sheepish. Picking me up, he got to his feet, only then to place me in his spot as he stood before me. “It’s so incredibly lovely to meet you, Bailey-Rose. I’m Yun-Sun Lee, a member of Ulysses’ pack. It would appear we are scent matched as well.”

“What gave you that impression?” the same snarky man asked from behind Yun-Sun.

Peering around the Alpha standing in front of me, I spotted the man in question. He had a head of curly ash-brown hair with a close-shaven beard covering his rugged face. I started to get up when Yun-Sun offered me a hand and pulled me to my feet. Giving him a grateful smile, I walked over to meet this sassy man. He wore jeans, boots, and a polo that had a business logo with a bull’s head on it and Watson Ranch Beef written under it.

When I got a few steps away from him, the scent of fresh lemons reached me first, but the cool, smooth flavor of iced tea followed, making me desperate for a drink. “Why do you all smell like my favorite things?” I asked no one in particular but continued to stare down the man before me.

This time, I held myself back from climbing into another man’s lap. However, I couldn’t keep my body from leaning in to get a better whiff of the scent. It made me want to grab a book and lay out in the sun on a hammock.

“Screw holding back,” the man muttered seconds before he surged to his feet and picked me up. This move instinctively had me wrap my legs around his waist as he smothered his face in the crook of my neck. “God, I fucking love cherries, and you, little miss, smell like a whole-ass cherry pie.”

I giggled as his beard tickled my skin, making me relax instead of being so rigid in his arms.

“Even her laugh is adorable,” Alpha Hi mumbled. “She’s going to kill us with how cute she is.”

“Warrick, she’s not a puppy,” Ulysses commented. “Dig deep in that brain of yours and find a different word.”

“Why is her being like a puppy bad? I think adorable is the right word for her. Everything about her is cute, like a puppy,” another man interjected. His voice had a fascinating timbre with his accent.

Twisting, I tried to see where he was in the room, but Alpha Sweet-tea was having none of it and nipped at my neck. That single move set off every nerve ending in my entire body. It was as if someone set off fireworks that all started to shoot off at the same time. My breathing became rapid, and for the first time, I felt my pussy throb with need.

I’d been on medication since I was fifteen to prevent me from ever having a heat. My body couldn’t handle the physical response to the hormone shift that we Omegas dealt with every three months. It was a time we became the most fertile and perfumed like mad. This is what called to whatever Alphas were near, letting them know it was the best time to breed. During this time, it could send the Alphas into rut, which was an almost mindless need to mate with the Omega. All in all, a heat meant a group of supercharged horny people who wouldn’t heed any warning regarding keeping my heart rate or blood pressure in mind. As if to prove everyone right, my monitor started buzzing, telling me I needed to calm down right now.

“What the hell is that?” Alpha Sweet-tea asked.

“Purple People,” I rasped, trying to concentrate but feeling this man’s panic wasn’t helping. “Flying⁠—”

“I got you, Rosie. I hear you loud and clear,” Lysse said as he pulled me from the other Alpha.