Chapter Text
Dani lay curled up on the couch, tucked between the cushions and a strong pair of arms, looking like the princess of comfort.
Her cheeks were warm, faintly flushed, and her scent—a dizzying blend of lilac and peonies—hung thick in the air, sweet enough to pull both alphas closer as if by instinct. Yoonchae had somehow become her personal recliner.
The younger alpha sat back with Dani resting against her chest, one arm looped securely around her shoulders. Her faint sea breeze scent moved gently through the room, cool and grounding beneath the omega’s floral warmth. Her free hand traced absentminded patterns along Dani’s arm.
They smelled like they had been glued together all day.
Across from them, Megan sat at the far end of the opposite couch. Her leg bounced relentlessly. Her jaw was tight enough to crack teeth. The scent of strawberries clung to her, bright with a hint of citrus, impossible to ignore.
She pretended to scroll through her phone. Pretended not to notice.
She was noticing everything.
She didn’t want to look jealous. Dani needed comfort, and the last thing Megan wanted was to make it about herself. Yoonchae was only doing what alphas did.
Still, her alpha was currently cuddling someone else into melted butter.
Tiny flickers of sour frustration leaked into her scent before she smothered them under a forced smile.
Dani, hazy in the middle of her cozy preheat fog, noticed the shift anyway. She couldn’t read feelings clearly right then, but she felt the pinch in the air.
Lazily, she lifted her head from Yoonchae’s shoulder. “Where’s Sophia?”
Yoonchae glanced down at her, brows lifting slightly. She had sensed the tension too, though she clearly had no idea what it meant.
“Sophia,” Daniela mumbled, voice husky with sleep, “go check on her for me.”
The older alpha, hovering near the kitchen like a stressed mother hen, straightened immediately. “On it.”
She headed toward Megan at once. That should have helped.
Instead, it made everything worse. Because Daniela had sent Sophia to comfort her while remaining fully tucked into Yoonchae’s lap.
Megan’s eyes flicked up before she could stop herself.
Yoonchae looked warm and unbothered, sea breeze wrapped around floral musk. Daniela rested against her as if she had always belonged there, clothes softly rumpled, hair mussed, their scents braided together with the intimacy of too many shared hours.
Megan could smell the closeness. She could feel it. Worse, she could imagine it—and her own imagination was killing her.
Sophia knelt beside the couch, voice gentle. “Sunshine? You good?”
Megan snapped a dazzling smile onto her face so quickly it was almost violent. “Of course. I’m great. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Her voice was honey, but her scent had sharpened into citrus instead of her usual strawberries and warmth.
From across the room, Daniela called out in a sleepy mumble. “You sure, baby? You feel... prickly.”
Megan’s smile twitched. Yoonchae looked over then, eyes soft with concern.
That ruined her completely. Because Yoonchae was noticing her, looking at her—all while smelling like Dani’s floral preheat musk and holding her close.
It was too much.
Without a word, Megan walked straight to her room and faceplanted directly onto the bed.
She buried her face in the nearest pillow and groaned loud enough to concern wildlife.
“YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND,” she yelled into the mattress. “SHE WAS SITTING ON HER LAP. HER LAP. AND THEN SHE SENT SOPHIA TO CHECK ON ME.”
Lara sighed from across the room. “That just means she noticed something was wrong and cares.”
“I know,” Megan wailed, rolling onto her back. “That’s worse, because now I can’t even be mad at her.”
Manon reached over and patted her head. “It’s okay, bub.” She smiled faintly.
“She’ll come around.”