Page 77 of Knot the One They Want

I hear twins inhaling behind me. Cole and Lake must have caught her scent too. We exchange a loaded glance, heat and hunger swirling between us.

Lake swallows hard, then steps forward, rapping his knuckles gently against her door. "Evie? We brought you some snacks and tea. Can we come in?"

Silence.

My heart pounds against my ribs, my breath catching in my throat. Fuck, what if she doesn't want us? What if she's still too hurt, too wary to let us close?

But then Lake's eyes widen, his nostrils flaring. "I think... I think I hear her moaning," he says, his voice strangled.

Cole and I both freeze, our gazes snapping to the door. And sure enough, I can hear it too. The soft, breathy sounds of whimpering muffled by the thick wood. I have a flashback to that awful night I found her on the floor, feverish and helpless.

Then, another, far more logical possibility occurs to me.

But before I can say anything, Lake is already moving, ramming into the locked door with his shoulder. It explodes inward with a bang.

The scene that greets us makes my blood run hot and cold all at once. Evie is sprawled out on the bed, her new nest in disarray around her. Her skin is flushed and dewy with sweat, her hair a wild tangle of golden curls on the pillow. And between her milky thighs, buried in the slick, swollen pink of her pussy, is a thick purple dildo with a knot she's trying desperately to work inside her tight entrance.

I've never been more jealous of an inanimate object in my entire fucking life.

For a moment, we all just stare, frozen in shock and lust and sheer fucking awe. But then Evie's eyes fly open, meeting ours with a mix of horror and mortification. She shrieks, grabbing the nearest toy—a pink vibrator that clearly wasn't up to snuff—and hurling it at us with surprising accuracy.

It hits Cole square in the face and he staggers back with a surprised shout. Lake is babbling apologies, his face beet red as he backs out of the room, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste.

"We're so sorry, Evie. We didn't mean to intrude. We just... we smelled your heat and we thought..."

"Get out!" she yells, her voice high and thin with embarrassment. "Get the fuck out, all of you!"

We don't need to be told twice. Not when our usually prim, proper and composed omega is screaming obscenities at us. We scramble out of the room, the door slamming shut behind us. For a moment, we just stand there in the hallway, staring at each other with shell-shocked expressions.

"You fucking idiot," I hiss at Lake, smacking him upside the head. "What were you thinking, barging in there like that?"

He cringes, rubbing his head. "I thought she was hurt! I heard her moaning and I just... panicked."

Cole snorts, shaking his head. "Yeah, I bet you did. Probably creamed your pants at the thought of her needing you to kiss it better."

Lake glares at him, but there's no real heat behind it. We're all too keyed up, too on edge from the scent of Evie's arousal still hanging heavy in the air.

I take a deep breath, trying to calm the riot of my pulse. "I'm going to go put the tray in the fridge," I mutter. "You two... just try not to do anything else stupid for five minutes."

I head back downstairs, my mind reeling. Fuck, the image of Evie pleasuring herself is seared into my brain, a torment and a temptation all at once. I want her so badly I can barely think straight. My alpha instincts are raging and clawing at me, demanding I go back there and show her what a real alpha can do better than any toy.

But I can't. I won't.

Not until she's ready, until she wants us as much as we want her. I won't make the same mistake twice.

By the time I get back upstairs, Cole and Lake are still lurking outside Evie's door, wearing matching expressions of desperate hope. I open my mouth to tell them to give her some space, to let her come to us when she's ready.

But then the door cracks open, and Evie peeks out, her face flushed and her eyes wary. She's wrapped in a silk robe, the material straining over her lush curves, and the sight makes my mouth go dry. Her nipples are still pebbled from arousal—or maybe embarrassment—and peeking through the thin fabric.

"What do you want?" she asks, her voice tight with embarrassment.

Lake steps forward, his hands held up in supplication. "Evie, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to barge in like that. I just... I heard you moaning and I thought you were hurt. I would never intentionally invade your privacy like that."

Evie flushes even deeper, but there's a hint of softness in her eyes now, a flicker of understanding. "It's okay, Lake. I know you were just worried."

He sags with relief, a tentative smile touching his lips. "Still, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Cole clears his throat, shifting awkwardly. "We were bringing you some snacks and tea," he says gruffly. "Thought you might be hungry."

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