Page 69 of Big Knot Energy (Shadowverse)

She threw her head back and laughed. “I have to catch one of his shows one of these days. But we don’t want to take advantage of our nanny.”

Translation: She refused to allow someone else to raise her son the way our nannies had raised us. Our parents had been mostly hands off unless it came to consequences and punishments.

“You definitely need to come out soon. And make it a night I’m working so I can be your server. I’m not great at it, yet, but I’m still in training. And Cyrus said he’ll teach me how to mix drinks so I can take some shifts behind the bar for when we’re shorthanded or the club is packed.”

“I think we should go to one of the strip clubs, too,” Cora said a little loudly, winking at me before holding up a hand and counting down from five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

Before she’d folded down the first finger, Cohl rushed in and flopped onto the couch, his head in her lap, his face beaming up at her. “I’ll go with you, but you have to sit on my lap while we watch the dancer shaking their tits.”

My cheeks burned from the blush, but it was so cute that, not only had Cora known exactly how her announcement would go, but that Cohl was so enamored with my sister. I was surprised none of them had come into the room sooner. It had been almost twenty minutes since any of the alphas had made one excuse or another to enter, trailing a hand along one of our shoulders or pressing a kiss to the tops of our heads.

We were lucky women.

With promises toget together again soon, Cora and her pack loaded my adorable nephew into their extended SUV and headed home. That had been two days ago.

Now, I was in my personal bathroom applying makeup while Ax sat on the vanity and watched.

He’d done this exact thing for months, watching me get ready for the day or winding down for the night, before either of us had admitted how badly we’d wanted each other. All that time, I’d thought he saw me as simply another member of the pack, almost like a sister. He and the other two would fool around in one of their bedrooms while I tried not to listen too closely and struggled with the intense surges of jealousy and rejection.

“Is Amir coming again tonight?” I asked.

“He came twice already today,” Ax teased.

Straightening, I raised one brow at him, even as my face burst into flames and my lower body warmed. Those two orgasms involved me and Ax taking turns with our omega while Cyrus and Enzo were out running errands before we all headed to work.

“Yes. He said he’s coming out tonight.”

Our omega had run home to visit with his parents for a bit, something about one of their goats having babies, orkidsas I’d been informed. I’d been promised a trip to see the babies as soon as possible.

I wished he was here. As clingy as it made me feel, I hated when any of the pack weren’t together, even if only for a few hours. And I wasn’t even a damn omega.

Nope. I was simply a woman in love with four of the most amazing men to ever exist.

Applying another coat of mascara, I leaned back away from the mirror and checked my reflection.

“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” Ax said, but it was muttered, as though he was thinking out loud rather than paying me a compliment.

I smiled over at him and grabbed a bottle of perfume, spritzing it once in my cleavage before stepping closer and wedging myself between his knees.

“You make me feel beautiful.” Even when I’d thought they didn’t see me in that light, they’d made sure I felt pretty, forced me to at least try to see my own self-worth beyond what I had to offer an alpha.

I wasn’t simply a beta or the daughter of the Alvarez alphas. I was Isabelle Rivera. I was strong and intelligent. And officially employed. I worked my butt off, even though I was still only scheduled for short shifts while I learned how to work the club. I was gaining independence, earning my own money, and was so close to being comfortable driving myself without an escort.

It wasn’t the driving part that scared me – it was being alone in public around alphas, around people who always felt like a threat, whether imagined or not.

At the club, I had my pack, I had their employees who treated me like I was their friend, who kept an eye out for me when one of my alphas wasn’t there to hawk-eye my every move.

I’d also chosen a new wardrobe specifically for my workdays, a way to feel like a different person. It might have sounded odd to someone else, that something as simple as new skirts and tops and a change in my makeup would give me a boost of self-esteem, but it worked for me.

Didn’t hurt that I could feel my pack in my chest any time I took a peek down the threads, could feel how proud of me they were, how much they cared about me, could feel them right there with every step I took so I never felt alone.

An hour later, the four of us walked through the back employee entrance, the alphas stepping into their offices – including the one where Amir and I had first fucked – while I headed straight for the bar to grab my apron, clock in, and grab a tray from the stack.

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