24. Mine

"It's complicated. In our world, true mates are rare. Initially, people panicked, but it doesn't mean we can't have children or anything like that. It's simply a matchmaking system our pheromones have in place. It's a way to create suitable pairings with a little more ease. When that went away, people started dating and forming family units similar to Humans but with less monogamy. There are plenty of couples, but most are units of three or more. That is brought down from when true mates were prevalent." She met my gaze. "Does that make sense?" When I nodded, she continued. All of this was fascinating, and I found myself not wanting her to ever stop talking.

"For us, that's what it is. The draw and the markings show us as true mates. We do not have to give in and accept it, but there are few who fight it. Given the circumstances, I'd understand if you wanted to." She cleared her throat and refused to look at me. "But that doesn't mean I would give up easily. Anyway, if you're feeling strange, that's probably what it is, mixed with your body getting used to being a full Omega and not a repressed one. Hopefully, in the next few days, everything will settle down." Her fingers toyed with the corners of the notebook to distract herself. Without thought, I reached out and covered her larger hand with my own.

Finally, Odie looked at me and saw that I wasn't a crumbling mess crushed beneath the weight of her words.

"You're handling this much better than I thought you would." I shrugged, and she turned her hand so she could hold mine. "Being a mate is like being a Human partner, but there's more pheromone junk involved. Nothing will force you to stay or choose me, but your instincts will want you to. That's all. I think there's some information out there that says getting pregnant is easier with a true mate, but we haven't had any decline in population, so I'm not sure if that's relevant." Odie blushed and rubbed her hand over her face.

"I need to go back to question one and mention heats."

I nabbed the notebook from her and wrote, I know about those. They equated them to cats though.

Odie snickered. "It's similar to that. Every three or so months, Omegas can go into heat if they don't have suppressants for it. We will get some for you until you're ready. All it is is your body saying it's ready, and the pheromones your body produces make Alphas around you ready. I'll go into more detail when we get the medication. You don't have to worry about that for now. Plus side, no Human periods. I think. There could be an adjustment period. We have no idea."

So I should worry about this now because we have no fucking clue.

"There are signs to a heat coming. We will know. You'll start nesting and being irritable. Your pheromones will start spiking."

You're lucky I trust you, or I'd be freaking out about that part. Carry on.

I handed the notebook back over.

"I think that's all you really need to know about being a mate. It's not all that different from having a Human partner in the long run. What's next?" Odie went to question number three. "You want to know about the marking." I nodded and stood up before rounding the bed and poking her back. "I haven't even—" I grabbed the notebook, cutting her off.

I will accept none of this if you do not prove to me that we are actually sporting the same mark thing you mentioned. Strip.

"Bossy," she grumbled. "But fine." Her voice warbled slightly, and even though she had seemed so confident about me being her mate, it was clear now that she was worried there was some sort of mistake happening and I wasn't.

Honestly, even if the mark wasn't there, I didn't think I'd care. If I could choose, there were worse people to be with. If I'd stop lying to myself, I'd accept that it was much more than that.

Odie stood up with her back to me before gripping the back of her shirt and pulling it up, revealing what looked like a birthmark that ran up her spine. It was almost like a curly blob that was slightly darker than her skin tone.

I reached forward and ran a finger across it to see if it was more of a scar than a discoloration. When my finger made contact with her skin, Odie hissed and spun around, dropping her shirt back into place.

Her hazel eyes were blazing, and her jaw ticked as she stepped toward me. I matched her steps back, but soon, I was hitting the wall, trapped.

My eyes grew wide as she stared down at me. I wasn't scared, but the hunger in her eyes was worrying and intoxicating. I didn't try to stop her as she stepped into my space and lowered her head so her lips were next to my ear.

"Any more questions?" Her voice was low and made my heart rate pick up, which was not good for my current condition.

Shaking my head, I heard her lips part into a smile. "Good."

Odie's lips crashed to mine, and her groan filled my head. Her hands slid under my thighs and lifted me so I was eye level with her all without breaking our kiss. My legs wrapped around her body, and she pressed into me, keeping me firmly against the wall. My head felt like it was floating, and I couldn't tell if this was the blood loss or the emotions rampaging through me.

Her tongue pressed in, tangling with mine. My hand wound up and gripped her short hair, holding her in place. I knew Odie could easily pull away if she wanted to, but it gave me a much needed false sense of security.

Odie devoured me, and I let her. Her fingers dug into my thighs, and I didn't care if she left bruises. Despite knowing about their anatomy, I gasped when I felt her grind into me. Odie deepened the kiss, then broke away to plant sloppy kisses down my neck.

I enjoyed it, but some part of me wasn't happy, and an irritated sound slipped out on instinct. Odie froze, then slowly raised her head to look me in the eyes. We stayed there, staring at each other for a few seconds before the door slammed open and an angry Cy met us.

"What the fuck? I told you to tell her she was your mate, not to mate her!" Cy spun around and marched from the doorway.

"Shit. I may have left some information out." As if that wasn't obvious.

Odie readjusted me so I was in her arms bridal style before taking off after Cy. "Cy! Let me—"

"Nope. I don't want to hear it." Cy was almost to the front door, throwing on some shoes as she went.

"She took it all very well. Listen—"

"I said no, Odie." Cy's hand grabbed the handle of the door, and the same sound from before escaped me.

The whole room froze again, then I was being pulled out of Odie's arms and into Cy's.

"Stop that," she whispered into my wet hair as my legs dangled beneath me. It didn't sound like a command, more like she was begging me to.

"I didn't mention what that means. She has no idea."

Whatever it was, I found it annoying. It was like I was whining, and although I was all about complaining in a whining tone, whining was not in my repertoire.

Cy's arms tightened around me, and I hugged her as best I could.

"I also didn't mention how you were involved in this. She knows all about me and the gist of being an Omega, heats, and how mates work though. You're welcome."

"Fuck you, Odie," Cy sneered, then lowered me to my feet. I wobbled, and she wasn't having that, so I was placed on one of the barstools. Cy sat next to me so we were a little more eye level. "What you did is called a whine. It's what Omegas can do to get Alphas to do what they want." Odie cleared her throat and glared at Cy. "Fine, they only do it to their mates. That"s why I ran into the room like that."

Cy's lips were pressed down in a line as she watched me process what she was saying. A light bulb went off, and she continued, glossing over the most important part of what she said.

"Most can control it. Some never use it from what we hear, but there you go. Another way to get under our skin."

Why was she being such a dick now? What happened to the nice Cy I was annoyed with?

I glanced at Odie, then back at Cy who was staring down at me with her ice blue eyes and a messy bun of blonde curls on top of her head. She was similarly dressed to us except she had on a matching pajama short and top set in a deep blue with possums all over it.

Without my notebook, I couldn't say much, and the thought of sending one of them off to get it was a horrible grating sensation, so I did what I could. Reaching over, I flicked Cy's forehead, then flipped her off.

"What was that for?"

"You're being a dick, and you know it."

"Fuck you, Odie."

Odie tossed her hands in the air. "Am I wrong, Mine?"

I shook my head, then stuck my tongue out at Cy for the cherry on top.

"I will cut out that tongue and mount it as a trophy."

I slammed my hand on the counter, then pointed to her crotch before placing a V made with two fingers over my mouth and sticking my tongue out.

"That's not what I meant!" Cy screeched and stood up.

"Sure sounded like it." I was so glad Odie was on my team right now.

"You two are made for each other." Cy started to march off, but I ran after her, which was a horrible idea.

I was able to grab her arm before the dizziness took over, and I nearly tumbled. Cy caught me, pulling me up into her arms with an annoyed sigh. The smell of cranberries and oak met me, and I never wanted to leave. I couldn't help but think about what the combination of their scents would smell like. What perfumes did they use, or was this another Primarch thing I didn't know about?

"Can you stop that?" I did all sorts of movements, pointed to myself, then my throat, then her, but it was all flailing at that point. Cy nearly dropped me, but she tightened her grip as Odie laughed behind us.

"I think it's time for her notebook unless you can decipher that."

"I'm sure the gist is ‘fuck you, stop acting like a dick.'" Close enough but really it was I will whine again if you don't stop acting like a dick.

Cy carried me to Odie's bedroom and dropped me on the bed next to the notebook, then backed up.

"Okay, get it out."

I scribbled on the paper, telling her off, then threw it at her face. Luckily for her, she caught it.

"‘Don't think I didn't catch how you think I'm also your mate, then you started acting like a douchey fuckwad. Get your shit together, shove some of your blood in my mouth, and stop acting like a whiny baby about me making out with mate number one.' Is that how she seduced you, Odie?" Cy scoffed and let her arm and the notebook fall to her side.

"No, apparently I'm the easy one." Odie leaned against the door frame. I suspected it was to shove Cy back in here if she tried to leave again.

"Well, I'm not doing that—" I frantically waved and pointed to the notebook. "There's more?" I nodded as she held it up and looked near the bottom before chuckling. "‘Don't make me bite you.' Why are you wanting to rush all of this?"

I snapped my fingers and made a gimme hand to get back my notebook. Before she was able to walk away, I pulled Cy down beside me so it was easier to communicate. Again, just like Odie, I knew she could have easily pulled away, but she didn't.

Why are you fighting it now? You wanted Odie to tell me and get it all out there, but now you're backing away. Why?

Her face scrunched, and she refused to look at me. Odie slipped away and nearly closed the door, giving us a false sense of privacy.

"I couldn't save you. You lost your arm because of me." Cy leaned forward with her elbows on her knees and her eyes on the ground.

No, Oliver did that thanks to Gerard. Punish them, not yourself.

I shoved the notebook in front of her face.

"That's easier said than done."

Fine, but I'm not blaming you. I am blaming you that I'm not currently being snuggled in bed, but that's completely different.

"Oh, I'm sorry, is that what you call snuggling? You're delusional."

And so are you. Can you stop being a dick now? I know that's what I expected, and I got freaked out by you being nice, but I get it now.

Cy's head hung for a second, then she sat up. "I can't promise I won't be a dick sometimes, but I will kill Oliver for you one day."

I'll take it.

"Are you sure you want to? There's no guarantee I am your mate, but this would seal the deal on knowing."

I had already decided with Odie that it didn't matter if the mark was there. Why would it matter with you? It's a choice either way.

"Well, look at you being a smart Omega. Maybe Odie didn't fuck up explaining things."

Is that a yes?

"That's a yes." Cy leaned forward, tossed aside my notebook, and slid her hand in my hair. "But I have a better way to find out." She bit her lip and blood dripped from the skin before her lips took mine.

The blood smeared, and the metal tang in my mouth shot a spark through me. Cy pulled me close, and the next thing I knew, I was straddling her legs and being pulled tightly against her.

I didn't want to stop, but new marks on her arm caught my eye. For a second, I was elated as it proved that she was one of my mates. I smiled against her lips as our tongues battled.

Then the location registered, and dread enveloped me. If Cy was pissed off before, this was going to be a whole other level of anger.