Page 76 of Knot Your Romeo
“My scent is false, Romeo. I can’t scent match with anyone.”I sense match.I want to tell him, but it’s none of his and certainly none of Cerise’s business.
“Then fuck off.” Cerise takes a step in my direction, malice radiating from every line of her body. But Romeo’s hand shoots out, catching her wrist and stopping her forward motion.
“Don’t touch her again, or we’re done, Cerise…” His voice carries an authority I’ve never heard from him before—not the entitled demand of a spoiled Alpha, but something deeper, more serious. “No, we are done.”
“You’re choosing her over me?” she demands, her voice rising to a pitch that draws stares from nearby students. “That nobody Omega over your actual girlfriend?”
“I’m choosing not to be with someone who thinks assault is an acceptable response to jealousy,” Romeo replies coolly. “What you did to her was inexcusable. And just so you know, she's my not my Omega.”
“I barely touched her—“
“You held her down and cut off her hair with scissors while she begged you to stop,” he interrupts, his gray eyes flashing with anger. “If that’s your idea of ‘barely touching’ someone, then we have nothing more to discuss.”
Cerise’s face goes white, then red, then white again. “You can’t be serious. Romeo, she’s nothing. She’s—“
“She’s under my family’s protection,” he says, looking me in the eye now. “And even if she weren’t, what you did was wrong.”
I turn and walk away without responding.
“Jolie, wait,” he calls as I turn to continue toward the science building.
I pause despite myself, glancing back to see Cerise staring at Romeo with shock and fury. Against my better judgment, I let him catch up to me. Cerise remains frozen by the student union, watching our interaction with the kind of intensity usually reserved for car accidents.
“What I did was wrong, too. I’m sorry.” He glances and the floor like he is a toddler waiting to be chastised.
“It was.”
“But your scent is different,” Romeo says quietly.
“I don’t have a real scent,” I reply honestly. “I’ve worn perfume for years. This is me, Romeo. The real me.”
His eyes widen as understanding dawns. “Your false scent was my match.”
“I suppose it was. But that’s why I turned you down.” I laugh as I adjust my backpack strap, meeting his gaze directly. “That and you were a terrible alpha.”
He sucks back a breath. “I was. I’ll do better…”
“For your Omega?” It’s a question.
He nods. “Happiness will do that to a person. Make them better.”
“Happiness,” he repeats, and there’s something almost wistful in his tone. “Are you happy with your new pack?”
“I’m happy, Romeo. Genuinely, completely happy for the first time in years.” I smile, and I know it reaches my eyes. “It’s amazing what a difference it makes when you stop trying to be someone you’re not.”
He stares at me for a long moment, and I can see him processing the implications. My real scent is nothing like whathe originally detected. Whatever pull he felt toward me was based on an incomplete picture, a masked version of who I really am.
“You’re really not my scent match,” he breathes.
“No, I’m not. But if I’m honest with you, I thought there was a chance you were. This is all new to me, too. And for a moment, I genuinely believed you were mine. I don’t know why. But I know now for certain that you’re not. And even if I had been...” I shrug. “Your actions were easy to repel, don’t you think?”
“I’m really sorry about the way I acted with you. I promise if I do find my scent match, no matter who she is, I’ll treasure her.” Tears lace his eyes.
I nod. “Then what you put me through was worth it.”
Before he can respond, I hear the sharp click of high heels on the pavement. Cerise has apparently decided to join our conversation, her face a mask of barely controlled fury.
“Are you quite finished with your little heart-to-heart?” she asks, venom dripping from every word. “Some of us have classes to attend.”
