Chapter 13 'I'm sorry, what?' Hannah blinks and looks at me like I've grown a second head. 'It's a long story, and it's not his fault, and I really think we need some impartial opinions to tell him he does not need to feel guilty,' I explain. Miles shoots me a look, telling me he doesn't like what I'm doing, but I shrug. He's spent the last month beating himself up over something that one, wasn't his fault, and two, made my life infinitely better. Ollie looks between us all. 'Well? What are we waiting for, Tink? You go get Archie and Mattie, who are probably off fucking somewhere in a closet-' 'Um ew,' I make a face, 'don't need to hear that about my brother.' Ollie winces. 'And I'll grab the grumpy ass, everyone meet upstairs in...five minutes?' Hannah nods. 'All my alphas are here, and we'll gladly contribute our opinions.' She grins, elbowing her alpha who I'm pretty sure is Noah. 'Right?' 'Princess, you know I'll give my opinion whether it's asked for or not.' The ginger next to him rolls his eyes. 'That ain't somethin' you wanna advertise, brother.' 'So what?' Noah scowls. 'The only omega I care about impressing already knows.' He glances over at us. 'No offense.' I chuckle, shaking my head. 'None taken.' Hannah smacks Noah's arm. 'Noah, just because you say no offense, it doesn't make it not offensive.' Noah just shrugs. 'Alright, if it doesn't make a difference, I won't say it next time.' Hannah rolls her eyes. 'Let's just go upstairs.' By the time we make it upstairs with Hannah's pack, Cady is leading a very rumpled looking Archie and Mattie into the room, both of them flushed and hair messed up. Huh. I guess they were fucking. Unconsciously, I glance at Cady, just to see if there's a hint of jealousy. But all I see is adoration as she runs her hands through Archie's hair, attempting to tame it. She presses a gentle kiss to his lips and he chases her mouth, immediately pushing his tongue inside. Well, shit. 'Cuciollo,' Mattie chastises, running hands through his own hair. 'Our friends are here.' Archie pulls back, totally unrepentant as he gives Cady a once over. 'Fuck, guys,' Ollie says in Archie and Mattie's direction as he bounds up the stairs, followed by Titus and his brother Enzo before he flops onto one of the couches. 'Did you at least get to finish?' 'Ollie!' Cady gasps, stifling a laugh. Mattie just shakes his head as he fixes his cuff links, but Archie gives a wink. 'Oh, we both did.' I give Miles a knowing look. 'See? Sassy.' I don't miss the way his eyes linger on the three of them though. Archie, Mattie, and Cady. Something like longing fills his gaze, but then, as quickly as it appeared, it vanishes. 'What are we doing up here?' Titus asks from his spot where he's leaning against the wall. It's weird to see him out of his usual cargo pants and boots. 'Ollie said something about 'the fate of the world'?' He raises a brow then spots me. 'Hey Beth. Who's your friend?' I take a deep breath, turning to face the room. I'm completely aware that I orchestrated this entire situation. However, I did not expect Ollie to gather the masses and require me to make a public speech. 'This is Miles. He's my true scent match, and he's also an omega.' Titus' eyes soften. 'Ah, that's great, Beth. Congratulations. Am I missing something about the fate of the world then?' 'Why don't you all...take a seat?' Miles moves to go with the rest of them, but I hold out a hand, keeping him with me. Hannah, Cady, Ollie, Charlie, and Simon all take the couches while Noah, Austin, Arch, and Mattie sit on the floor, and the Mendez brothers stand sentry behind the couches, their arms both crossed in matching poses. 'So, seven months ago, I found my pack with another omega.' I ignore the string of pitying expressions, and Titus' murderous one. 'Miles...played a part in that.' There's a varying degree of shock that ripples throughout the group, and I quickly add, 'But none of it was his fault. He blames himself though. So, I want to give you guys, an impartial party,' Archie snorts, no doubt at my use of the word 'impartial', 'to tell him that he has nothing to feel guilty about.' 'I mean,' Charlie shrugs from his spot on the couch as he addresses Miles, 'if anything, you'll know at least Archie is biased towards Bethany, so if he says you don't have anything to be guilty over...' 'Did you know the pack already had an omega?' Titus asks stiffly, and Miles quickly shakes his head. 'No, it was...it was an OMS date.' Cady frowns. 'That doesn't make any sense.' 'Let me start from the beginning then,' I say, wrapping my arms around myself. 'After I got matched with and started courting Pack Hansen, instead of throwing out their scent cards from the binders...I kept it. It was sort of a...a security blanket.' 'I can understand that,' Hannah says quietly. Nodding, I continue, 'But, one day, I must have left it in the room, or it fell out of my coat pocket or something. I'm assuming someone on the janitorial staff thought they were doing us a favor and put it back in its original binder-it was still in numerical order. So when I was out of town visiting Mom and Dad, Miles had his OMS appointment. I guess it was my scent that drew his attention-' 'Because you'd been handling the card for years.' Simon nods. 'All I knew was that I had to meet the person who possessed that scent,' Miles says, a wistful look coming over his face. 'I thought maybe they had a female alpha, since it was so floral, but then I got to the date and...' and a look of pure loathing comes over his face, 'I met them. I thought maybe I had scented someone's shampoo. I didn't know who Bethany was when I saw her looking over at us, but I hadn't been able to get her out of my mind. She ran when one of them tried to kiss me, and I left the restaurant right after. It wasn't until last month that I went to the OMS again in search of a pack with a female alpha and...Bethany was working. The rest is history. But the fact remains, if I hadn't gone out with her pack-' 'Then she'd still be stuck with those condescending, narcissistic, elitist assholes,' Archie finishes for him, then looks at my shocked face. 'What? I never liked them, but Mom and Dad told me to keep my opinions to myself.' The rest of his pack murmurs in agreement. 'It sounds like Miles' unintentional 'stealing' of the pack was a fortunate accident,' Enzo chimes in, nodding. 'If this pack is anything how Archie just described, then I'd say you're better off without them. Especially if they agreed to meet another omega when they already had you at home.' 'They claim they thought I was okay with it.' I roll my eyes. 'Since I work at the OMS, I must have known their card was in there.' Shaking my head, I thread my fingers through Miles'. 'So? All in favor of Miles needing to feel guilty for the part he played in me leaving my pack?' Not one person raises their hand. 'All in favor of him letting go of his guilt because my life is better off with him in it?' All the hands shoot up, and I turn to Miles, who wears a relieved looking smile on his face. 'See?' He nods, his eyes searching mine as his hand cups the back of my neck. Nodding, he brings our foreheads together. 'I know, nymph, I know. I'm just so used to blaming myself for everything...' 'No more,' I tell him fiercely, 'I would have chosen you over them any day of the week anyway.' When his mouth meets mine, it's not a gentle, chaste peck or simple brush of lips. His tongue delves into my mouth like he's never tasted me before. My hands fist the front of his shirt as I suck his tongue, and his answering groan sounds like he might take me right in the middle of the room, if only we weren't...in...my brothers house. Gasping, I pull back, my face flaming as I take in Cady and Hannah's amused expressions, and Archie's neck as he pointedly looks up at the ceiling. I step away from Miles, giving his firm chest an awkward pat. He only looks at me with a face that I'm sure is as red as mine. I clear my throat. 'Sorry...about that.' 'Bethy bear,' Ollie shakes his head, stretching his arms over his head, 'if only you knew the action this room has seen-' he barely has time to duck for cover before four different throw pillows assault him. My head falls back as all semblance of embarrassment falls away from me. Everyone in this room knows the effect of a true scent match, and when it's two omegas? They're lucky we aren't fucking on the floor right now. We go back downstairs, everyone laughing and walking together, and Miles never lets go of my hand. I catch myself looking at the dynamic between Archie, Cady, and Mattie more than once and wonder how they do it. How do they share between the three of them and not get jealous? When I was with Pack Hansen it was like they kept a scoresheet of who I sat with the most or spent the most time with. I nearly had a panic attack more than once trying to make sure nobody's time outweighed the others, and sometimes they wouldn't even blame each other, they would accuse me of trying to pit them against one another. Seeing Cady, Archie, and Mattie together, no jealousy from Cady when my brother and Mattie snuck off for alone time, and the way Mattie looked at his omega with pure adoration while she fussed over his beta...it made something ache inside me. Mom and Dad find us again, much more subdued this time, and they give us free reign to ask them whatever questions they want. Miles only has a couple for them, but then they are drawn away by Mattie's parents, and we're left at our table by ourselves. 'Are you feeling okay?' Miles asks me suddenly as I sip on a glass of champagne. 'Yes?' I ask, looking up at him. 'Why?' 'Your perfume is blooming and your face is flushed.' He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear as realization hits me. Oh, shit. I haven't had a heat spike in...at least three years. I had attributed the way my body felt to Miles getting me all hot and bothered earlier, but now that I'm not lost in thought, I can feel the way I'm subconsciously rubbing my thighs together, looking for some kind of relief. 'I...it must be a heat spike.' My voice shakes with more trepidation than I'd like, and Miles sees straight through me. My omega's eyes flash in understanding, 'It's okay, nymph. We've been preparing for this, remember?' The thought of Miles fucking me with the knotted dildo we ordered two weeks ago sends a gush of slick straight to my panties. Shit, we need to get out of here before every unmated alpha goes into a rut. At my nod, Miles wraps an arm around my waist and starts to lead me through the backyard. 'Let's get you home, then.' A Fated Encounter movie summary talks about Emma Brown who is forced by her father Henry to take her sister Bella's place and marry Tommy Anderson to save her business. Unlike the rumor Tommy turns ou...