Not just the Beta (Oriana and Slade) novel Chapter 103

Sloan

She’d heard about Maddie and her sisters from not only Austin but his unit, that he’d once thought Maddie could have been his human Mate, with the way she was so smitten with him every time he walked into her café. That he’d done everything but bed the girl, enjoyed the woman. She wasn’t a girl at all, she was a young woman.

But sitting here in this café looking at those four women over there claiming to be sisters, she knew there was more going on in this café than Austin or his unit, who’d been in here many times, knew was going on.

Austin had driven her to this town in the hope that she might be able to track or scent what he could not. Find his curious Greenville friend and unknown she-wolf he believed to be a rogue. One that played games with him, and annoyed Julious, the head of his tech department. They’d never been able to catch her.

She was harmless in his eyes, trying to live as a human, but helped out other female rogues if needed and requested his help on the odd occasion as well, when things got too much for her to deal with.

Sloan smiled to herself at the way those four had greeted him. It amused them completely, was also amusing to Austin. Everyone over there was amused right that minute bar Maddie herself, and she understood why. His and Maddie’s relationship had been in place, for going on five years now, bed buddies they were, like he and her had been.

It didn’t particularly bother her, but sitting listening to them, feeling the room so to speak, something else was going on. She got up and walked passed the counter of the café where those girls all stood chatting among themselves, as if to go and look at the photos on the wall, but it was to smell those women…or not to smell them, she realised when she found that they all scented exactly the same to her.

No two humans smelled exactly the same to her, not even identical twins wearing the same clothes and perfume. Everybody had a slightly different smell, due to how their body reacted to different environmental things.

These four women she realised were not in fact human at all, but everyone around them thought they were. That was interesting to her, like Kitsune’s hiding themselves and appearing human. Though she didn’t think that was what they were. She walked along looking at the photos, and there was one of the four of them together, with a small child in the front.

Four women and one child, women that claimed to be sisters, she could tell who the child belonged to, she had her mother’s eyes, no man in the picture, likely they were all out here hiding that child…no, protecting that child, she thought. Austin had told her he’d known Maddie the longest, then met Ana a few years later, when she’d been pregnant. Zara and Londyn had come along about two and half years ago.

That they all had the same dad but different mothers. It was actually a good cover story and no one in there world would be any the wiser. It had gotten passed Austin and his unit as well, that they all smelled alike. Though that could be why Maddie ran a café, the smell of coffee, cooking food, cakes and pastries, if you weren’t looking to scent them out individually you would be non the wiser, and they did present as human, smelled human in fact.

That part really intrigued her, as she sat back down after ordering cake, and she realised it was actually why they were so amused, they were actively playing with a Wolfen Council member and a pure-blooded Alpha Wolf, and getting away with it as well. They had known him for years and still he knew nothing.

Though she herself would smell human to them, like fresh linen, the Kitsune scent she had chosen for herself because she liked the clean fresh scent of it, and she often wore linen, was in fact now wearing a linen outfit. Long pants and a simple sleeveless linen top.

These four women had managed to get themselves some form of specialised scent masking spray that incorporated human pheromones. She huffed inside her mind, if that got out into the otherworldly black market, it would be easier to hide those that they’d stolen to be sold off. That was not a good thing.

She mind-linked to Austin as they sat and shared that piece of coffee cake, and it was lovely, smooth in flavour, ‘They are not human.’

‘What?’ he asked right back, sounded a bit confused to her, and she understood that knowing them so long.

‘Tell me what you smell?’ Sloan asked him.

‘Human.’ He commented after a moment.

‘They’re not. I’d be willing to bet…otherworldly, they call themselves sisters. They could well be witches, I suppose. But not human. Maybe Austin, one of those four women over there, is your “burning hot in the winters.” Friend.’

He looked right at her now, and she knew he was doing the math, when he had come in contact with them to when that one that eluded him, had started using his pack to access the intranet.

‘Hiding in plain sight.’ She commented with amusement herself ‘they have got themselves a perfect human scent. She agreed ‘but smell them, each one of them. She murmured and watched him do that as quietly as he could, but she could tell he was fully focused.

‘Human.’ He stated once more.

‘Mm, but exactly the same as each other, there is no difference.’

‘Yes…oh son of a… I never picked that up.’ he muttered ‘wasn’t that interested in smelling them, recognised the human scent and let it go.’

She walked across the lawn, there was nothing to feel, it was not sanctified ground of any otherworldly creature, so she motioned for him to come in. “It’s fine, I get nothing.” She stated as she looked in the garage window where the smell of sweat was the strongest. A full training gym she saw in there, and with what she could tell, the latest gear.

Austin looked at it himself, turned the door handle, and it actually opened, it wasn’t even locked. He shook. his head, “They have no concern about being found.” He commented as he stepped inside to get a better look at the gym.

“The house kind of smells to me like your pack’s tech lab,” Sloan commented. As they headed back outside closing the door, they’d touched nothing, just in case they were witches. One didn’t go touching a witch’s belongings, could well be bespelled.

Sloan walked all the way around the house, looking at it and the property itself. This place was large, on a cleared block of land, and it had trees lining the edge of the property, they had full privacy from their neighbours, the yard was all manicured laws, giving a clear line of sight to the borders.

On the front of the house was a small hanging sign that read ‘Sun and Light Gaming Co.’ she googled the company and found many different interactive child-friendly learning programmes on there. Though that wasn’t the most interesting thing to her, the owner was, “Maddison Forester.” She stated and turned it to show Austin, there was no picture, but Maddison Forester owned The Java Hut, café.

“Right.” Austin huffed a little annoyed now.

Sloan laughed at his annoyance, found it quite funny. She was starting to like this girl herself. “Your sweet fun-loving café owner is a techy. Let’s check out the lab of hers.”

“She’ll have alarms.” Austin commented.

“It’s likely so.” Sloan nodded “You want to trip one and see who shows up.” she smiled right at him, this was her thing. Enjoyed tracking and retrieving. “I’d be willing to bet, Maddie is who you’ve been looking for all this time.” She snorted “Oh, Austin, this is a really fun game for her. You were out there practically fucking the one you were searching for, all this time.” She shook her head. “Oh, she’s devious, I like her.”

“It’s not funny, Sloan.” He muttered, “and I never had sex with her, was human…” he trailed off.

Sloan looked right at him now, even more amused, even Blade was rolling around laughing inside her mind, tails flicking everywhere in her amusement, as they watched it dawn on him. That he’d held himself back, and not had sex with Maddie. When he’d likely wanted to all these years, simply because he thought that she was human, and he’d hurt her. That in all those years he could have gotten what he wanted.

Maddie was likely going to be wolfen, “She played you good.” Sloan burst out laughing. Blade’s own amusement was combined with hers and she couldn’t help it. He looked more than annoyed.