Page 122 of Knot Her Reality

“And I meant it.” Millie smiles as she moves toward the fridge. “This is my job, and I’ll do it. Now, why don’t the three of you go wait in the dining room while I get everything ready for you?”

None of us move until Millie spins around to pin us with her glare. I hold my hands up in surrender, already heading for the dining room. I’m definitely not going to fight the older beta woman on this. If she wants me gone, then I’m gone.

“She’s kind of scary when she gets like that,” Lillian whispers, grasping my hand in hers.

“Kind of? She’s terrifying.” I snort, shaking my head as Bree agrees.

The three of us get settled around the table, and a few seconds later, Millie arrives with a tray holding a carafe of coffee, three cups, creamer, and sugar. “Drink up. I’m sure none of you have gotten enough sleep this week.”

Then she’s gone again. I pour all three of us a cup before doctoring mine just the way I like it.

“So, I’m going to ask a bunch of nosey questions because my best friend is part of your pack. Feel free to tell me to shut up, but I can’t wait to know. How did it go?”

Lifting my eyebrows, I frown. “It was a heat. It went how heats go.”

Bree scoffs, shaking her head as she turns to Lillian. “You know what I’m asking.”

“Yes, everyone bonded. Both Evangeline and Koda went into heat almost out of nowhere—like the moment the door shut behind us. It kind of threw us all for a loop.” Lillian shrugs. “But Koda and Evangeline are bonded with everyone in the pack. It’s hard to tell in the nest since we were all going through the heat together, but I think everyone has picked up some new notes to their scents as well.”

“I think we’re all bonded with everyone in the pack,” I say slowly, trying to remember if anyone was left out at any point in time.

Lillian nods slowly. “Shit. You’re right. That’s great. I told Evangeline, Koda, and Tessa that’s what I really wanted from my pack. I wasn’t sure if everyone was going to want that or not, but I’m glad they did.”

Bree asks a few more invasive questions that we don’t answer, but she seems happy with the information we do share with her. It’s probably another twenty minutes before Millie pushes a cart into the room.

“Here you go. I’ll let the two of you take it to the suite. Once everything has calmed down, we can send someone to get it.”

“Thank you, Millie. You’re the absolute best,” I tell her as I lean down to kiss her cheek.

She waves me off, color rising in her cheeks. “I’m just doing my job. Now, go do yours and make sure everyone is fed.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

We roll the cart to the suite and straight to the nest door, which opens as soon as my finger hits the button for the intercom.

Ronan lifts a finger to his lips, gesturing behind him where everyone else is passed out. Shaking my head, I lift the cart and hand it to him. It looks like we won’t be feeding anyone anytime soon. But I definitely want to join the pack pile, so I quickly rid myself of my clean clothes. Lillian does the same and then we’re tiptoeing around everyone until we find an empty spot. I end up sliding between Conrad and Tessa. Conrad rolls on his side, tossing his arm over me without ever waking.

Well, then, I guess I’m playing the small spoon. Can’t say I overly mind.

Letting my eyes fall shut, happiness washes over me. After punching Dylan last season, I really thought my Heated days were over. I’ve never been so grateful for getting that phone call from Bree inviting me back. The idea of not being a part of this pack is devastating, but I guess things really do happen for a reason.

Epilogue

Evangeline

Thirteen months later

“That’s perfect! Just hold it for a moment longer!”

It’s all I can do to keep smiling when all I want to do is grimace.

“Okay, that’s a wrap! Thank you so much, Pack Hanson. You all did beautifully.”

I let my smile fall away as I walk over to the photographer. “Thank you for your patience and your attention to detail, Branson. We couldn’t have done this without you.”

“Of course, you couldn’t. No other photographer would be able to do half as good of a job as I did. And how could I tell my good friend no when she asked me to photograph her and her pack for a huge magazine spread?” He pulls me in for a hug, ignoring the snarls from my alphas behind us. “Those idiots who protested your season of Heated will be eating their words now that not only are you pregnant, but so are two of the other women in your pack. It’s practically a miracle.”

Turning back to my pack, I can’t help smiling. As betas, there have been a lot more chances in the last year to get Natalie and Lillian pregnant since I can only get pregnant during my heats that only come four times a year. It’s probably why Natalie is the furthest along at over eight months. She looks beautiful even as Ronan has to help her out of the chair she was sitting in for the photoshoot. Lillian isn’t too far behind her at six months, while I’m only four months pregnant.

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