Beautiful

11 - Stranger

When the trio arrived at home, their father was still at work. Their entire walk home, Mina was trying to re-scent herself with her own scent. When she walked in, she immediately ran to her room, trying to cover the foreign scent in her nest. No one ever went in there unless she allowed them, so it mostly smelt like her.

During dinner, she sat in silence, her older sisters talking about their classes to their parents. Her mother glanced in Mina's direction, wondering why she had kept silent for so long. Surely she was full of stories from observing people all day.

"How was your first day Mina?" Her mother finally asked. Mina looked up, shaking her head.

"That bad?" Her father frowned.

"No... It was good." Mina mumbled. "Just boring syllabus stuff." She shrugged.

"Any friends?" Her mother asked. Mina debated on telling her about the friends she had made months ago, but she shook her head instead.

The next morning Mina had woken up, feeling horrible. She knew her heat was going to be starting soon, which killed her. Every cycle she would always be stuck at home, inhaling suppressants. She was going to miss a week of school and that was not going to be okay.

When she got to school, she was hesitant to leave her sisters. Afraid that an alpha would pick up on her scent. Even though she had a faint scent already, she was afraid. She found Dahyun almost immediately after leaving her sisters, grateful for her keen sight. Sana was with her, holding the same hoodie in her arms. Dahyun gave her a giant smile, waving at her. Sana did the same, her expression changing when Mina had gotten closer to them. She grabbed Mina's wrist and pulled her away from the crowded area.

"Are you crazy?!" Sana whispered. She helped Mina take off her bag and helped her put the hoodie on her. "How many days until your heat?" She asked her.

"Um..." Mina frowned while checking her app. "Four..." Mina answered quietly. Sana let out a sigh, feeling how Mina felt.

"Look.. I'm sorry. Just.." Sana frowned. "I don't want something bad to happen to you." Sana whispered.

"How did you smell that?" Mina asked her, tilting her head in the process.

"I... I have a sensitive nose.. I.. I'm what Momo calls a human heat and rut tracking app." Sana chuckled while explaining her keen sense of smell. "But your app might be wrong..." She frowned at Mina.

"What?" She asked.

"I've been predicting Dahyun's since we met her two years ago. Trust me, I'm never wrong. You smell like you're about to go into heat.. Maybe tonight." She explained. "I can walk you back home... But I just don't feel right with you here at school. Especially with other alphas around that can easily overpower you." She whispered. Mina nodded, folding her arms tight across her chest. She really hated being an omega now.

She walked home with Sana next to her. Her mother was going to question everything now. Why she was home so early.. It was going to raise so many questions. Sana was quiet the entire way, watching everyone that walked passed her and Mina. It wasn't until they got into the heart of the town when Sana pulled Mina close to her, standing directly behind her.

"Just breathe." Sana whispered in her ear. Mina nodded, afraid of what was going on. Sana had to have perked up on something Mina hadn't noticed. "There was an alpha eyeing you. I need you to pretend like I told you something cute and adorable. Smile." Sana instructed. Mina gave her a shocked look, seeing Sana smile at her, her eyes reading something different. So Mina gave her a shy smile, shaking her head. When she looked over, she saw another alpha a few feet away, muttering something and walking away from the two.

"How did you see that?" Mina asked when they were away from the majority of the crowded town center.

"I felt it." Sana shrugged. They continued their walk, Mina not thinking of anything except how quickly Sana had acted. It made her heart flutter slightly when she thought of it.

When the two arrived at Mina's house, Sana frowned.

"Are you going to be okay?" She asked quietly. "I know heats can sometimes be painful.." She frowned at Mina.

"You get used to it..." Mina sighed. "I just need to take my suppressants and I'll be fine." She mumbled. Sana gave her a sympathetic look, knowing that she wasn't going to be fine. Right when Mina went to unlock the door, her mother had opened it, ready to do whatever errands she had to run.

"What are you doing here?" Eve questioned her daughter.

"I... uh...." Mina struggled to explain herself. She watched as her mother's eyes landed on Sana who was standing on the sidewalk behind her.

"And who is that?" Eve growled, pulling Mina away from her. "Why did you follow my daughter." Eve barked.

"I made sure Mina got home safe..." Sana answered, backing away from the angry alpha. "I didn't mean to upset you.." Sana adverted her eyes, staring at the ground rather than Mina's mother.

"It's true..." Mina whispered. Eve let go of Mina's arm, looking back at the young alpha.

"Get inside." Eve growled at her daughter. Mina quickly ran inside, leaving Sana out on the sidewalk. Eve followed her daughter in, slamming the door shut behind her. Sana let out a breath, turning and walking back to school. She was already late for her first class but she didn't care.

"Mom! It was a friend!" Mina defended. "She said I smelled like I was going to hit my heat... So she walked me home." She explained.

"No alpha is just going to walk you home Mina! How can you be so gullible!" Her mother shouted. "We taught you better than to trust random people!" She snarled. Mina shook her head, tears falling as she ran from her mother, locking herself away from the world. She curled up in her nest, cuddling up to her penguin when a foreign scent filled her nose. She looked down realizing she was still wearing Sana's hoodie. She took it off, wrapping her penguin in the material. It was calming... Something she hadn't expected in her nest, but she liked it.