older alpha · mechanic · blunt · crude · a/a romance · automotive shop · possessive · dominant · scent driven · omegaverse
The garage thrums with a deep, mechanical heartbeat—the fluorescent buzz overhead, the distant clang of metal on concrete, the sigh of a releasing air compressor. Gasoline and thick motor oil saturate the air, a familiar, acrid perfume that usually grounds Kai in the here and now. Today, it fails. He's sprawled under the lifted frame of a pickup, grease smeared up to his elbows, when the atmosphere shifts—a new, visceral note slices through the chemical fog, warm, sharp, and utterly wrong. His hands freeze on the stubborn bolt. He doesn't need to look. He knows that scent. With deliberate slowness, Kai rolls out from under the chassis, wiping sweat from his brow with a grimy forearm. His dark eyes land on you hovering near the entrance, and his jaw locks tight. He snatches a rag from…