The guards near the gate scrunched their noses in distaste as we neared them. Claire and I looked at each other and smirked.

"I just remembered that I have some...work. At the... Just take care of these two, alright? They're one of the last ones anyway," Guard One said and walked away. Guard Two simply looked at him with an open mouth.

I had to hold back a laugh as I took in his panicked expression. His hands flew to his nose as I stopped right in front of him.

"M-Miss, I can't let you in like..." He trailed off, looking at my perfectly pretty face.

"This," he finished. I raised an eyebrow innocently.

"I don't know what you mean," I said sweetly. Claire snickered beside me. His face flushed in embarrassment. It was obvious that he couldn't detect that I was an omega because of the concoction. Otherwise, someone would have punched me and thrown me in a ditch for behaving this way.

Perks of being stinky.

"Miss, I advise you to get rid of this smell before you enter. You can't participate in the Choosing Ceremony like this!" He exclaimed. I gave him the sweetest smile I could muster and looked at my wrist.

Then I remembered I didn't own a watch. So I grabbed Claire's wrist.

"Hey!" she exclaimed. I ignored her.

"But there are only four more minutes for the ceremony to start. Wouldn't I miss it if I go back?" I asked innocently. His expression changed.

"I know the likes of you! You're doing this so you won't have to participate, aren't you? Well, guess what, you're going to go in this even if you smell like shit!" He yelled.

"You'll participate in this ceremony no matter what. Alpha's orders. You are that Diamante girl, right?" The guard let out a disgusting laugh.

I froze.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Even if you're crazy, you look good enough for even the Alpha's son to go after. No wonder the higher-ups ordered me to let you come in, even if you're dressed in rags."

Before I could react to that sentence, Claire's hand raised to punch him.

Claire tried to pounce on the guard. The only thing stopping her from clawing his face with her scarily sharp nails was me. I was currently holding her back, and damn, she was strong.

I should've probably just let her at him for what he said, but I worried that he'd be able to sense she was an omega the moment they fought, and that...would not end well.

I forcefully dragged Claire away from the slightly terrified guard and into the gates.

"Before you recklessly open your mouth, use that empty head of yours, as you might not be let off the hook so easily next time."

Meanwhile, Claire stopped struggling, so I guessed she realized the consequences her actions could've brought. I let her go so she could stand properly. And because my hands were starting to hurt like hell.

Claire interrupted my train of thought by giving me a weak smile.

"It's okay, I overreacted," she said. The defeated expression on her face made me angry. I caught her shoulder and made her face me.

"Claire, the way you reacted was absolutely natural. And honestly, if it was any other day, I'd have just let you at him, but today is a big day for you, isn't it? That's why I pulled you back."

Claire tackled me in a hug, and I awkwardly patted her back.

"Oh, thank God! I thought you'd be mad at me," she said, relief clear on her face. I rolled my eyes at her.

"How could I ever get mad at you, Claire-bear?" I asked her and started to hug her back when she suddenly pulled back. I looked at her in confusion as she scrunched her nose.

"Ew! Ash! Why did you let me hug you?" She screeched. I laughed as she moved back from me.

"Don't worry, it'll be gone in half an hour or so."

She gave me a playful shove and started skipping towards the gathering. I hastened my pace to catch up with her.

People literally ran away from us the moment they caught my scent. I looked at the scampering lupines in amusement. To say I was surprised by this year's turnout would be an understatement.

Is it supposed to be this crowded?

I looked around, taking in the big crowd.

Yes, our pack was one of the top ten most powerful packs, but we only had, like, a total of three thousand members. The crowd, though...Something felt off. I froze as my brain finally processed something. I finally realized what was different this year. The females.

"Are my eyes deceiving me?" I asked in disbelief to no one in particular.

"Not at all. The females outnumber the men this year," a deep voice said from beside me. I jumped. I turned to look at the guy.

'What is this cutie doing beside me?'

He had curly, light brown hair and tanned skin. He turned to look at me with eyes green as emeralds. Huh, forget about being cute. He looked a bit like Claire.

"Hey Claire! Look at this guy..." I trailed off as I saw the empty spot beside me.

"She left after a guy waved her over," he stated, amusement shining in his eyes as he took in my furious expression.

'I'll get back at her for this.'

"It's okay, I'll keep you company!"

I raised an eyebrow at that.

"Are you sure you want to?" I asked, gesturing to myself. He scrunched his nose.

"Not really. Pardon me if I come off as rude, but what the hell is that smell?" I raised both eyebrows now.

"Really? You're just noticing that?"

He gave me a cheeky smile.

"Maybe your beauty blinded me too much?"

"More like blinded at birth," I muttered, rolling my eyes. He scowled.

"My brother told me that line would work on any girl!"

"Well, either your brother lied, or he just has a handsome enough face to pull that off." He gasped.

"Am I not pretty enough for you, my lady?"

"We need to have a serious talk about your taste in women," I said, resisting the urge to facepalm. True, he was smooth. But I was really not in the mood for this.

3| Perks of Being Stinky

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