Knot So Perfect Omega (Omega Match #1)(6)

I’d first fallen in love with quilt making after taking an introductory course a few years ago and had taken every course on it since. In my free time, I watched countless videos on how to make certain patterns. I’d gotten so good that most of the omegas at the academy had some creation of mine.

There was something about an omega getting a handmade quilt that just filled them with the warm fuzzies and brought them comfort. My goal was to open a shop where omegas or their alphas could come in and select the materials they wanted and mark them with their scents if they wished. I’d probably have to forever be on scent blockers and wear some kind of special protective gear so my own scent wouldn’t get on them, but I could figure that all out later.

“I think I’m going to puke.” Kara put her phone down without opening the email and took a long, shaky breath. “You open it for me.”

Snatching her phone, I clicked on the email, my breath catching in my throat as I read the words no omega wants to read: No match.

That was impossible.

I clicked out of the email and opened it back up before hitting refresh a few times, but nothing changed. Kara didn’t get a match.

I’d been with her when she filled out her list, and she had listed twenty, which was the most an omega and a pack were allowed to put. The system then used the information to pair omegas with packs. Luckily, I’d convinced her not to put Beckett and his pack after relaying the conversation I overheard.

But maybe I should have let her. Even that fate was better than her not matching. It wasn’t the end of the world to not match, but for Kara, I had a feeling it would be.

“Which pack did I get?” The hope in her voice made my chest ache, and I set the phone on the desk in front of her.

I was so glad I’d talked her into staying in her room to read the email because, had we been around the other omegas, it would have been ten times worse. Especially because I could hear the squealing out in the hall as others began sharing their match successes.

Kara looked down at the phone and took it with a shaking hand. “What... I don’t understand...”

She whined, letting the phone drop from her hands and fall to the floor.

I bit back my own whine, hating to hear my sister’s pain. I wrapped my arms around her, trying to give her comfort as she broke down in tears. I’d expected her to get her top pick, but no match at all?

A lot of packs should have put her at the top of their lists, but if they hadn’t, then it was possible a match wouldn’t have happened. It was modeled after how doctors matched into residency programs, and even the best of the best sometimes weren’t the best fit at that moment in time.

“There’s always the match in the fall. This is just fate’s way of telling you your pack wasn’t in this batch.” I didn’t know if that was helpful or not, but she had to know it would all work out eventually.

She shook her head. “The best packs match in the spring.”

“Maybe this was a mistake and you did match.”

With a shaky sigh, she scooped her phone up and wiped her cheeks. “You’re right. Let’s go see the dean. It’s probably just a glitch. Maybe I matched with several in a tie and need to pick.”

Matching didn’t work like that, but I’d go along with it for now. “Definitely a glitch. Technology these days; you can’t trust it.”

She stopped at the door, nearly causing me to run into her. “Wait, which pack did you match with?”

I bit my lip and looked at my shoes. “I opted out.”

I could feel her eyes boring into me as she silently stood there. “Mom is going to be upset.”

“Well, that sounds like a her problem and not a me problem.” I shrugged even though my sister’s comment made me want to scream.

I loved my mom and valued her opinions, but we always seemed to walk on eggshells around her in order to not upset her. It had gotten worse since we emerged as omegas. Our designations made us much more vulnerable, and she wanted us protected at all costs.

I felt like an asshole for my thoughts and inwardly smacked myself. It might have been over a decade since my father passed away, but my family’s grief was still fresh. A pack bond is something that doesn’t quite fully recover from a death; like a crumpled-up piece of paper that’s still wrinkled, even when you attempt to smooth it out.

With her head down, Kara grabbed her sweater, opened the door, and walked into the hall where we could hear the celebrations down in the common room. I looped my arm through hers, and we walked as quickly as possible down the stairs and past the common room that had comfortable seating, a large fireplace, and a television.

There were four dorm buildings at our academy, each housing a year. We stayed in the same building all four years, and next year, an incoming class would take our place. It had been my home away from home, and I hated to admit it, but the comfort of leaving it made me anxious.

I was sure those that were going to packs weren’t anxious, though, judging from the excitement in the air as we slipped by unnoticed. Once we were outside, we both let out a collective sigh of relief; Kara because it was obvious from her tear-stained face that Omega Match hadn’t gone her way, and me because I didn’t want to hear about the heat plans of my friends.

We walked across the courtyard and past the other dorms to the administration building. It was a bit chilly, and I shoved my hands in my hooded sweatshirt pocket. It might have been May, but it was cold in the mornings.