Scentless

Confrontation

Confrontation:

Ava barely managed to keep her expression neutral as Damon’s words hung in the air between them. “I can smell it.” His tone had been low, almost a whisper, but there was no denying the weight behind those four words.

Her pulse quickened, her body instinctively wanting to recoil. She could feel his gaze on her, sharp and unwavering, as if he was daring her to lie. She needed to get a grip, to hide the panic that was bubbling inside her. Damon could smell her—he had sensed something. But what did he know, really? Maybe he was just guessing.

You’re fine, she told herself. You’ve handled worse before. He doesn’t know everything. Yet.

But the truth gnawed at her. This was Damon, the alpha with the keenest instincts in the pack. If anyone could figure out her secret, it was him. And the way his scent was subtly flaring, as if unconsciously reacting to hers, told her that her time of hiding was running out.

“You’ve always been good at keeping secrets,” Damon continued, his voice quieter now, but still intense. “But this… this is something else, Ava.”

Ava forced a smile, even though her heart was pounding in her chest. “I think you’re imagining things. I’m just a beta, Damon.”

Damon’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t press further. Instead, he took a step back, as if he were giving her space to breathe, though the air between them still felt thick and charged.

“Maybe,” he said after a long moment, his tone softer now. “But we’ll see, won’t we?”

With that, he turned and left her apartment, his exit as abrupt as his arrival.

The door clicked shut, leaving Ava standing there, her body trembling with the effort of holding herself together. She exhaled slowly, trying to calm the storm of thoughts raging inside her mind. Damon was no fool. He would be watching her even more closely now.

And that terrified her.

The next few days were torture for Ava. She couldn’t shake the feeling of Damon’s eyes on her, even when she wasn’t looking. He was always nearby—observing, calculating, as if he were trying to piece together the puzzle she had so carefully kept hidden.

It didn’t help that his behavior had shifted. At work, he was still the same authoritative, no-nonsense leader he had always been, but around her, something had changed. He would linger in doorways, his gaze sweeping over her as if assessing her. He would stand a little too close during briefings, and there was always this unspoken tension between them, as if he was waiting for her to slip.

The worst part was the way his presence made her hyperaware of her own scent. She had always prided herself on controlling it, on masking what she truly was. But now, with Damon’s attention so acutely focused on her, she could feel cracks forming in her defenses.

“Hey, you okay?” Liam’s voice broke through her reverie, and she glanced up to see him standing next to her, his usual smile replaced with a look of concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ava lied, forcing a smile. “Just tired.”

Liam didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push. He had been her friend for years, and though he wasn’t an omega, he had always sensed when something was off with her. Right now, she needed to avoid drawing attention from anyone, including Liam.

“I saw Damon giving you the third degree earlier,” Liam said, lowering his voice as they walked toward the training area. “What’s up with that?”

Ava’s heart skipped a beat, but she shrugged, keeping her tone casual. “He’s just being Damon. Always looking for something to control.”

“Yeah, but it seems like he’s got a special interest in you lately.” Liam’s eyebrows wiggled playfully, though his tone was light. “Maybe you’ve caught his eye.”

The idea made Ava’s stomach turn. The last thing she wanted was Damon’s “interest” in any way. Still, she forced a laugh, playing along with Liam’s teasing. “Trust me, that’s the last thing I need.”

But even as she said it, a part of her couldn’t deny the strange thrill that had been growing inside her. Damon wasn’t just an alpha—he was the alpha, and for some reason, his attention had turned to her. The thought scared her, but it also ignited something she didn’t want to acknowledge.

That night, Ava found herself tossing and turning in bed, her mind unable to quiet. Damon’s presence had always been strong, but now it was suffocating. And she couldn’t figure out if it was because he was trying to unearth her secret—or because of something else entirely.

Flashbacks

Ava had been thirteen the first time she realized she was different. It wasn’t something her family had spoken about openly, but there were always whispered conversations, stolen glances between her parents, and the way her mother had looked at her sometimes—like she was something fragile.



She hadn’t understood it then. All she knew was that she was expected to behave, to stay quiet, and to never, ever let her emotions get the best of her. Especially not around others.



It wasn’t until the day of the pack’s annual gathering that she learned why.



The scent had hit her like a freight train. She had been sitting at the edge of the group, watching as the alphas and betas mingled, her heart racing for reasons she couldn’t explain. And then, out of nowhere, she felt it—a shift, a pull, deep inside her. Her skin prickled, her senses sharpened, and she became acutely aware of everything around her. But more than anything, it was her scent that changed.



She remembered her mother’s frantic look, the way she had grabbed Ava’s arm and pulled her away from the gathering, whispering harshly into her ear. “Not here, Ava. You have to control it. We talked about this.”

Control. That word had been drilled into her from as early as she could remember. Ava had always been different, and now she understood why. Her scent wasn’t like the others—it was stronger, more potent, and dangerously enticing. It was the kind of scent that could drive an alpha wild if she wasn’t careful.

Her family had always been careful. They had taught her ways to suppress it, to mask her scent with special herbs, ointments, and rituals passed down through generations of rare omegas. They had to be. Omegas like her—omegas with that kind of bloodline—were highly sought after. Not for love, not for protection, but for power.

Ava’s bloodline held a legacy she had been forced to reject, to bury deep within herself. The only way to survive was to blend in, to pretend she was just another beta.

That had worked—until now.

End of Flashback

Ava sat up in bed, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. The memories had resurfaced with an intensity she hadn’t felt in years. For a long time, she had managed to push them aside, pretending that her past didn’t matter. But Damon’s sudden awareness of her scent had brought everything rushing back.

Why now? She had been careful for years, never letting her guard down. But Damon had sensed something no one else had.

She couldn’t afford to think about it. She needed to stay focused—keep him at a distance, keep everyone at a distance. Letting someone like Damon get too close was dangerous. He was the kind of alpha who thrived on control, and if he knew the truth about her...

No. She couldn’t let that happen.

Damon had always prided himself on his ability to read people. As an alpha, it was part of his responsibility—to know his pack, to sense any potential threats or weaknesses. But Ava… Ava had thrown him off balance in a way he hadn’t anticipated.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her, which frustrated him to no end. The more he tried to ignore the strange pull she had over him, the stronger it became. Her scent—it had been subtle at first, just a hint of something different. But now, it was all he could think about. It was driving him mad.

He was supposed to hate omegas. It was a simple fact of his life, one that he had adhered to without question. Omegas were weak, vulnerable, and too reliant on their biology to manipulate others. Damon had built his reputation on rejecting that kind of vulnerability. He had worked too hard to be respected as an alpha to let himself be swayed by something as primitive as scent.

But Ava’s scent wasn’t like anything he had ever experienced. It was stronger, more complex, and it hit him in a way that made it impossible to ignore. Every time he was near her, his instincts went into overdrive. His protective side flared, his senses sharpened, and he found himself gravitating toward her despite his better judgment.

It didn’t help that Ava was different from the other omegas he had encountered. She was strong, fiercely independent, and constantly challenged him with her sharp tongue and unshakable composure. She wasn’t the fragile, submissive omega his instincts told him to expect. She was something else entirely—and that both intrigued and terrified him.

He couldn’t let this get out of hand. He was her boss, her alpha. He needed to maintain control. But the more he tried to distance himself from her, the more he found himself drawn to her.

And he hated it.

It had been three days since Damon had confronted Ava in her apartment, and though they hadn’t spoken much since then, the tension between them had only grown. Ava had done her best to avoid him, throwing herself into her work and staying close to Liam whenever possible. But she knew it was only a matter of time before Damon came for her again.

That time came sooner than she had expected.