Page 50 of Knot Giving Up 2

“They aren’t in the bedroom!” Meggie says, near tears. “I always take them in here. Right before dinner and right before breakfast.”

Harrison gives Oz a look that says 'go.' Oz disappears into the bedroom, despite Meggie’s insistence. It’s not that we don’t believe her, but we can’t leave any stone unturned.

“Nils,” Harrison says. “You were the first one back after dinner last night. Was there any sign someone had been in the room?”

“I bet it was Ava.” Meggie’s fear is turning to anger, her voice rising in volume. “She was in here yesterday.” Our omega shoves past me, pushing the rest of the guys out of her way, nearly sprinting for the front door.

McQuinn doesn’t let her get more than a few steps. He sweeps our girl into his arms and turns her back around to face the rest of us.

“I know the consequences of hot-headed decisions, sweetheart,” he says, lips close to her ear, but eyes on Nils. “You aren’t going anywhere until you calm down.”

Distraught, she squirms and fights against him. “I have to find them. I can’t go without them. You know that!”

I step in front of Meggie and hunch down so I’m at eye level with her. “We’re going to take care of this. But charging in and accusing Ava isn’t the way. What if she didn’t take them? You’d be as good as confessing to her that you’re an omega.”

Meggie stops struggling against McQuinn and tears spring to her eyes. “I can’t… Dante, I can’t go without them. I’ve never gone without suppressants.”

“Where are your blockers, Meggie? Are those gone too?” Harrison asks.

“Um, I don’t know.” She twists away from McQuinn, heading towards the kitchen. “They’re in the breath mint container in my bag in case I need to take an extra dose while we’re out.”

She seems calmer, but there’s a storm under the surface. I can see it in her pinched eyes and tense walk. If we don’t get this settled soon, she’s going to lose it again. My pack mates might too. I need to keep a level head. For all of us.

We follow her into the living room and watch as she searches her bag. Once she finds the breath mints container and shows us it’s full, we all breathe a little easier. At least that’s one good thing going for us.

“Look at me, gorgeous.” Nils takes her hand. “This is a major city, with millions of people. I’m sure we can find someone selling suppressants here. If we can’t find yours, we’ll get you more.”

Oz comes out of the bedroom, and our eyes meet. He shakes his head, letting us know he didn’t find anything.

“Nils is right,” Harrison says, with a confidence I’m not feeling. “But right now, we have a game to get to.”

A big game. The semi-finals. The last thing we need is this kind of crisis.

“It’s not just that I might go into heat,” Meggie says. “If someone took them, that means they know I’m an omega.”

The quiet that falls over us is like dirt landing on a grave. Shit, what if they tell someone? Will they even allow us to play this game?

“The IOC isn’t knocking down our door yet,” Harrison says. “If it comes to that, we’ll deal with it. For now, let’s not panic about hypothetical scenarios. Nils, how long can she go without suppressants before she goes into heat?”

Nils thinks for a moment, looking Meggie over. “Honestly, I’m not sure. It could be days or months. Although…”

“What?” McQuinn asks, impatient for Nils to continue.

“The fact that she’s been suppressing her heats for so long makes it likely that she’ll go into heat more quickly.” He says the words in a rush, as if it’ll be less daunting if he says it fast.

“And more intense,” Meggie adds, clearly having done her own research on this.

Nils nods in agreement. “Your body will have a lot to make up for.”

“But she won’t go into heat within hours, right?”

Nils hesitates, but then says, “No. I don’t think so.”

“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do.” Harrison takes charge, easing his own stress with control, like he always does. “Meggie, take an extra dose of—”

“Blockers won’t help stop a heat the way suppressants will,” Nils interjects.

“Maybe not,” Harrison says. “But it’s what we have, and it’s worth trying.”