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The door closed behind Sloane, and it took every ounce of strength in my body not to go after her. I was here, standing in the middle of her perfume and still unsure whether I wanted to throttle her or pin her to the wall and fuck her into oblivion.
Blueberry pancakes. But not like I’d ever smelled them before. Not the pleasant sweetness of my best friend who didn’t know how special she was. This scent burned me. It set my lungs onfire.
Her scent hung so strongly in the air I swore I tasted syrup on my tongue. The depth and the warmth made my mouth water. All I wanted to do was hold her against my body andinhale. One moment hadn’t been enough. I needed so much more than that. I needed everything.
I pressed the heels of my hands into my eyes, trying to drag my mind back to itself. When I’d encountered people with scent matches, I didn’t understand it. I’d convinced myself scent-sympathy was nice, but wasn’t a big deal if I didn’t find it. I’d never understood why Sloane wanted it so badly.
Now I knew.
The very foundations of the world had been ripped up from underneath me when I saw her, and a second later got punched in the face with her gorgeous, exquisite scent. She was all that mattered, and she couldn’t even look at me.
Five years…
“You okay?” The corps member who’d stepped into our aisle in the shoe room stood a few feet away.
Was I okay?
No. I was very much not okay.
“I—”
He held out a hand. “I’m Jacob.”
I shook it. “Asher. Ash.”
“Nice to meet you.” Glancing back at the door, he looked at me again. “We all really love Sloane, so—”
A growl raced up my throat just hearing her name in another man’s mouth, and I shoved the instinct down. He was a Beta, and though he had to read the feral vibes coming off me, he still stood up for Sloane. “We haven’t seen each other in a while,” I managed. “We’re still figuring it out. But I would never intentionally hurt her.”
He nodded, still eyeing me warily.
This wasn’t what I had planned for my first day at a new company. I knew Sloane would be here, and I had traced a thousand different ways of askingwhat the fuckandwhyshe’d disappeared. Not once had I imagined it would be this.
“I look forward to working with you,” I said. “Thank you for having her back.”
Jacob smiled. “No problem.”
“See you tomorrow.”
It was an effort to walk slowly toward the door and not follow the path of Sloane’s scent the way I had on the way down here. She was already gone. I knew that.
My chest ached. Five years. She’d known for five years and never told me. I didn’t understandwhy. Now that I knew what it was like, walking away from this would be torture. Had she been in agony this whole time?
A memory hit me out of nowhere and froze me on the stairs.
I tucked my chin over Sloane’s shoulder where she was doodling in her notebook. Pictures were taped here and there. Purple curtains and other fiery and vibrant colors. Like a blazing sunset. Pinks and golds and violets turning to blue. Lights and pillows. “What are you doing?”
This close, I felt her smile. “Nothing.”
“Doesn’t look like nothing.”
“It’s just a daydream. What I’d like a nest of mine to look like.”
I stared down at the page, taking in the little details she was noting. “It doesn’t make you sad?”
Sloane laughed, and I loved the sound of it. “Why would it make me sad?”
“Because you’re not there yet.” Sloane was open about her desire for a scent-sympathetic pack. She wouldn’t settle for less. “And as much as I want it for you, it might not happen.”
