Page 11 of A Pack of Cozy

"We don't," Connor concedes. "We all have history, and we all have preconceived notions of how this should go. My only request is that you let us try for you. I think I speak for the whole pack when I say that we would never want to make you, or anyone else, do something they weren't one hundred percent comfortable with. So, if you want to try and decide you want us, we would be honored and happy. But if you decide this isn't something you want, we'd be devastated and want to talk about it, but we would never force you."

I won't need to walk away. Once they get to know me, they'll get frustrated and bored. It's happened before, after all.

But my omega is insistent, and she won't allow me to say no. She'd never been like this with Nick. She'd been basically silent for our entire relationship. Hence the no perfuming problem. What Connor's saying doesn't sound terrible. It sounds like something I'd like to try, in fact. I don't allow the hope in my chest to bloom too far. I've been disappointed before. Badly.

"Like I said, though, it's not something I want you to say yes or no to tonight. Think about it, please." He looks at me like I'm deciding his fate. I nod, and his smile is electric.

"Now, about sleeping arrangements for tonight," Bax says as Connor gives my hand one final squeeze and stands.

"Sleeping arrangements?" I ask. They all stare at me. "I just need help getting my car unstuck." They glance at each other and then back at me.

"Raindrop," Bax says, "will you come here for a moment?" He holds a hand out to me, and I hesitate for a second before taking it. He leads me to the front door and flips on the porch light before pulling a curtain back from the glass door. I face the glass inset in the door while he stands a hair's breadth behind me with his hands on my hips. The warmth of his chest lightly grazes my back.

I can see the porch and front walk I'd just come up about twenty minutes ago. It's amazing how much twenty minutes can change your life.

"I'd like you to tell me what you see," Bax says.

I look more closely. "Snow?" I reply, not getting his point.

"Mmhm. Anything in the snow?" What I should be seeing that isn't there suddenly occurs to me. I'd walked up to the door less than twenty minutes ago.

"No tracks," I whisper. The snow fall has completely covered the tracks I'd made earlier, and in such a short time.

"Now, we could try to get your car out of the snow, and we could do it, but unless we cleared the whole road, which we can't do without a plow, there's no way you'll make it home.

"So…?" I ask, allowing the question to linger.

"So, you're staying here," supplies Bax.

Seth

Calidoesn'tsayanythingfor a minute. Her gaze lingers on the snow. I'm framed in the study's doorway. We, as a pack, are collectively holding our breath. She turns in Bax's embrace, her body brushing softly against his. Another wave of perfume washes over us and I want to drown in that perfect scent. She visibly cringes, but Bax's expression tells me he's in heaven. He slips his arms from her waist with a reluctance that speaks volumes.

"You're sure you're ok with me staying?" she asks.

I step forward. Not enough to crowd her, but enough to wash her in my scent, hoping it'll convey anything my words can't. "If it was up to us, you'd have a permanent room here." It isn't unheard of for scent-sensitive matches to move in together immediately, but it isn't a requirement. I'm practically vibrating with the need to get to know everything about her immediately but it's late and she looks tired.

Her eyes go wide. "But you just met me. You don't really know me."

Where did this girl come from that she doesn't understand? For a scent-sensitive omega, everything that her alphas have is hers. We will willingly forfeit anything she asks if she even shows a fleeting interest. Connor seems to understand her. To know where the confusion comes from. I remember his origin story, and hope our precious girl's background isn't similar.

"That's true. But I can't wait to get to know you better. Scent sensitivity doesn't lie, Cali. Thesciencedoesn't lie," I say. I've skimmed those books Bax ordered, and there's whole sections on this subject. It's not just smells. Mates who find their scent-sensitive matches in blind studies report higher levels of contentment and happiness every time. Every account says its not just scent. Even without that factor their mates personalities and worldviews would have been a perfect match for the alphas.

"Many people would call it fate," I say, "and I certainly would right now."

I notice how she glances down and bites her lip, as if she can't fully absorb what's being said. It makes me want to find and confront the person who's instilled doubt about her worth. When she answered our questions about courting, she didn't express that she didn'twantto be courted, or was unhappy with us. Instead, she implied that we shouldn't want to pursueher, and even suggested that we wouldn't like her. Her rejections are all about her insecurities and self-doubt. And I realize I'll do anything to change that.

"That doesn't mean we expect anything, though," Connor clarifies to Cali, his tone gentle. I look at him in confusion, sensing the weight of his words.

He continues, focusing only on her, but with a warmth that fills the space between us. "We want to get to know you slowly, to give you the time and space you deserve. There are many traditions about courting in a pack, and we believe in honoring that process. First, we want to give you a courting gift that expresses our intentions. Then, we would love to take you on individual dates and, eventually, invite you out with the whole pack.

"It's important to know that the level of physical affection is entirely in your hands. As an omega, your comfort and feelings matter most to us. No alpha would ever pressure you. We're here to support you, and ensure you feel safe and respected every step of the way."

What Connor's doing finally registers with me. Although Cali probably already knows this, understanding something and being involved in it are very different experiences. Her last relationship had been with a beta, so she's never had a serious relationship with an alpha. There's nothing wrong with an omega dating a beta, but those relationships typically don't adhere to the same traditions as those between alphas and omegas.

I've known packs that, due to a scent-sensitive omega's past trauma, went through years of therapy before they became entirely comfortable with each other sexually. Conversely, I've seen packs and omegas who felt comfortable with their scent sensitivity, and became physically active soon after their first meeting. The level of comfort really varies from case to case.

It's an alpha's instinctual drive to protect their omega, and this instinct is even more pronounced when scent sensitivity is involved. This protection extends beyond just physical care. It's about supporting her emotionally.

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