Page 111 of Knot My Sin

There’s no other option.

23

EVEREST

Amb has been a cloud of anger and self-loathing the last three days, and I’ve had it. He’s trying to hide it, but he’s undoing all of the work that he did to make Wren feel safe. Instead, she scurries past him when she sees him, confused as to why he’s so pissed off.

“That’s it,” I growl, grabbing him by his loose hair and yanking him toward the back door. “This is fucking done. Why the fuck are you in such a bad mood?”

“Oh good, we’re finally doing this,” Shaw grunts, standing from the kitchen table. “I’ve about had it with his damn moping, and I caught Wren wiping tears from her eyes earlier today.”

“What?!” Ambrose asks, panicked, making me roll my eyes.

“She is sensitive to your emotions, dingbat,” I sigh, shoving him out the door as we follow. “Wren thinks she did something wrong.”

“Wren is perfect,” Amb says, shaking his head. “I’m freaking the fuck out about this damn party tomorrow. She’s so sensitive to an alpha’s bark, what if something happens?”

“We need to get the tracker into her today,” I tell them. “Look, we have to go, but we can take precautions. Flynn will always be with her, and I don’t think anyone will start shit there.”

“Crowson is the wild card,” Amb reminds me. “It’s one of the things I’m worried about. His attacks are getting closer to home, and he blew up one of our warehouses just before the mandatory invite to this meeting.”

“Fucker,” Shaw grunts. “These are all concerning things, and I may have an idea for Flynn and Wren. I want to ask her brother to attend as their guard. There are no rules against this, and he is related to her, so it's harder for them to give us shit for it.”

I can see a bit of the strain drain from Ambrose’s body as he nods. He’s been coiled so tightly, he’s developed a slight eye tick.

“Okay. Yeah. That’s good. It may work,” he mutters.

“Look, this isn’t the first time we’ve had to figure out logistics on the fly. Why are you so fucked up over this?” I ask. “Seriously, we have to be solid tomorrow, and you need to get your head out of your ass.”

Blowing out a breath, he pulls on his hair in frustration. I can see why he’s been wearing it down, his usually perfect bun’s not adequate to deal with his need to fuck with it.

“If one of us dies, the broken bond… Look, just see how messed up Crowson and Corbin are right now,” Amb points out, beginning to pace. I stare at him, uncertain about where he’s going with this. “Omegas don’t do well with their alphas torn away from them, and now I’m glad I’m not bonded to Wren. I’m Corbin’s monster, for all intents and purposes, so if shit goes down I want you to get them the fuck out and leave me tomorrow.”

“No,” I growl, seeing where he’s going now. The last few days, he’s been spiraling, and I can see why. Every worst case scenario has one or all of us not coming out tomorrow. “We are not leaving you behind, Ambrose. You’re going to get your stupid, pig-headed ass up to our omega, and you’re going to talk to her, because she thinks there’s something wrong that she did.”

“Wren? No, she’s fucking perfect,” he denies.

Yep, Ambrose is completely in love with our omega, and an idiot.

“Life isn’t ever going to be completely safe for us,” I remind him. “You can’t keep holding yourself back from her. Wren can feel it. Is wanting to bond with her during her heat an excuse because you’re scared of what could happen?”

“Initially? No,” Amb denies. “I meant that I wanted it to be special, but now I’m thinking about what it would mean for them to lose one of us.”

“Flynn is bonded to all three of us,” Shaw reminds him. “Your logic is flawed, baby. Take a breath. No one is dying. We’re all going to be fine, and I’ll make sure of it.”

As Amb takes a shuddering breath, I see the tears glistening in his eyes.

“Would it help if Shaw calls Jasper now to make sure he’ll act as his sister’s bodyguard tomorrow?” I ask.

We’re cutting it a little close, and I want to make sure Jasper has time to make the drive. Forcing air through my own lungs, I remind myself not to sweat the details until I have to. This is why Ambrose is currently losing his shit.

“Yep,” he grunts. “I’ve been having nightmares of all the ways this could go wrong, and?—”

“Is this why you’ve been sleeping in your own room?” Shaw asks, disapprovingly.

Come to think of it, Ambrose hasn’t gone to bed with us since we got the invitation. God, he’s fucking infuriating. Reaching out to grab him around the back of his neck, I pull him tightly to me as I hug him.

Amb swallows back a sob, and Shaw sighs. It’s really hard to play pissed off daddy when our pack mate is dealing with this so badly.

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