Page 29 of The Omega Switch: Part 1
"What?" I asked incredulously.
"No perfuming around them. No accidents. It would be disrespectful to Arabella." The family nodded at her words, looking at Arabella with sympathy as if I had already done something to offend her.
"I don't perfume around them." I argued back. I didn’t perfume aroundanyone. The last time I had even let out a scent was my hidden outburst at the gala. I’d been diligent with suppressants and descenter since then.
"Good," Clara said. "Then it shouldn't be difficult."
The conversation moved on immediately afterward. Apparently, my role in the family had officially shifted from forgotten daughter to potential problem. Finally, I found a way to excuse myself and headed upstairs, unable to listen to another word from Arabella’s date. It felt like she just wanted to rub all of it in my face.
Inside my room, I changed into my pajamas and sat on the edge of my bed. Today had been exhausting. My dreams of a pack, as unrealistic as they were, had been shattered. Arabella won again.
I should be used to it by now. She would always win. She was always going to be prettier, cooler, more interesting. But that didn’t stop the pain of knowing that I might have just been used as an excuse for them to be closer to her. My emotions felt frayed. I felt like all my energy and motivation had been zapped out of me. I tried to brush my teeth, but even that felt like a huge effort. I took a double dose of suppressants and sprayed my body with descenter again.
My body felt strained lately, and it wasn’t just from the emotional exhaustion of today. Lately I'd needed even stronger doses of suppressants and needed them more frequently. Pushing away a heat wasn’t good in the long term - I knew that. But my heats were a disruption for the company, and Arabella would go ballistic if I had one now. So, I took a third pill and planned to stay out of the way when Pack Vale came over in the future.
My exhaustion was so strong that I crawled back into bed early, the muffled sounds of my family still talking about Arabella’s date just noise in the background as I fell into a restless sleep. The last thing I remembered was the faint ache beneath my glands and the growing sense that something inside me was starting to break. Whether it was my body or my heart, I wasn’t sure of yet.
Chapter 19
Hunter
I was back at the gala, the surreal glow of the lights creating a hazy mist as I walked through the ballroom in search of it - that perfect, irresistible scent that could only belong to my true mate. The scent haunted me, even now, and I went through countless hallways, always searching. The closer I got, the stronger it became. Finally, I turned a corner and saw her. A woman stood at the end of the corridor with her back turned toward me. “Omega!” I called out, my voice echoing down the hall with relief as I ran to her, reaching out my hand to touch her shoulder, to finally pull her to me, my perfect match. Relief flooded through me as she slowly turned around.
But the face belonged to Ivy.
I sat upright immediately; my heart pounding and my sheets twisted around my legs. For a few disoriented seconds, I stared at the ceiling while fragments of the dream drifted through my mind. I didn’t like it - I couldn’t exactly control it, but I didn’t want to be dreaming about another omega when I knew my match was Arabella. I shook off the feeling, chalking it up to strange subconscious confusion.
It was just a dream. Arabella was our match. She would be the perfect omega for us.
I climbed out of bed and headed for the kitchen, hoping coffee would clear my head and remove the lingering traces of desire and need for Ivy. I poured the brew into a mug, my thoughts going back to memories I spent most of my time avoiding.
My parents thought they were a good match when they bonded. They had courted for months before bonding, and by most accounts, they should have worked out well. But my omega mother didn’t know my father’s pack that well, even after months of courtship. Over time, issues arose that were nearly insurmountable. They were a poor match, after all. But she was already bitten into the pack, and now they were bonded for life.
Most of my childhood memories involved arguments. My father’s pack spent most of their waking hours at work, avoiding the inevitable conflict at home. My mother grew isolated and bitter, constantly wishing she had a different life. They stayed bonded - breaking a bonded pack would be excruciating, and socially it was unacceptable. Watching them struggle despite their clear incompatibility had left scars I rarely acknowledged. It was one of the reasons I'd built Vale Labs in the first place - Iwanted something more reliable than a few months of courtship. I wanted to ensure that nobody else ended up trapped in the kind of relationship I'd grown up watching.
By the time I finished my coffee, I figured there was a simple solution to my unease. I needed to go see Arabella, my mate.
We'd only been on one official date so far, which was very early in the courtship. But she was meant for me. I knew that our data was solid - over time, we’d see how compatible we were, and never have the type of tumultuous relationship my parent’s pack had. The moment I saw Arabella again, I was sure this lingering doubt would disappear. I sent her a text, and when she responded immediately agreeing to see me, I felt my heart rate calm down. This was my omega. My mate. Everything would be better once I saw her.
A few hours later, I walked into a photography studio downtown and immediately spotted her. The second she saw me, her entire face lit up.
"Hunter!" She squealed.
She hurried across the studio and wrapped her arms around me, drawing smiles from everyone nearby. The way she curled into me should have made my inner alpha proud and possessive. But the strange tension in my chest remained.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, beaming and taking my hand. I nodded, taking a whiff of her hair without thinking. Of course, there was no scent - not when she was around so many people.But still, the desire to get a hit of that perfume was so strong I could barely stand it. I knew as soon as I smelled it, all my worries and doubts would disappear.
Arabella introduced me to photographers and stylists, working the room like an expert. People naturally gravitated toward her, and it wasn’t hard to see why. She knew exactly what to say. Watching her, I could easily see how she’d amplify our pack's strengths, and how we could support her in return. I was being foolish to doubt the system.
Eventually, we found a quiet corner away from the shoot. Arabella sat beside me, as close as she could without being unprofessional.
"I'm so glad you came! I’ve been thinking about you nonstop." She said, batting her eyelashes at me as she leaned into my arm. I pulled her in close, the feeling striking me as odd after so many years without having courted an omega.
"So am I," I said, looking down at her. She did pull at my instinctive desire to protect - her frame was small and delicate, and I let my instincts take over and allowed myself to be the alpha she needed. I leaned in again, smelling her scent-free hair. She giggled at me, batting me playfully.
“What are you doing, silly?” She asked, and I nearly let out a moan of need at the memory of her perfume.
“I was just thinking back to the gala,” I said, the memory of that night seared into my brain.
