Page 4 of Knotty Pumpkin

“She’s mine. She just hasn’t realised it yet,” he says with a snarl before turning and bolting out of the alley, back the way the two of them had come.

Watching his retreat, I wait until he rounds the corner, his disgusting scent disappearing with him. Once I’m confident he’s not coming back, I turn to where Corey haslowered himself to the ground, the small, fragile omega passed out, cradled in his lap.

“Fuck, Noah,” he says, his green eyes meeting mine and shining softly in the moonlight. “Her scent is…”

“Fucking heavenly? Even drenched in fear?”

“Yes, exactly. I want to devour her, yet I also I want to wrap her up and take care of her every need. My inner alpha has gone all possessive, wants to claim her.”

“Mine too.” I crouch down beside him. “Here, let me take her. I’ll carry her home. We’ll keep her safe while she sleeps this off and hopefully get to know her in the morning. I’m dying to know her name.”

Corey’s eyes flash, and I can almost see the internal battle taking place. He doesn’t want to hand her to me. He’s not ready to let her go. And frankly, I can’t blame him. He said his alpha was making him feel possessive. That’s not surprising. The way this omega smells and the way it calls to me feels like… more.

Like she might be our mate.

Corey caves, knowing I’m the stronger of the two of us, and slowly lifts her from his lap, passing her to me carefully so as not to jostle her too much.

She’s as light as a feather in my arms, her slight frame making her easy to carry. A deep, rumbling purr poursfrom my throat as I hold her close to my chest. Her eyelids flutter as she lets out a soft sigh, nuzzling closer into me.

“I think she’s been given something,” he whispers, his concern flooding our bond again and thickening his marshmallow scent. “It’s barely noticeable, but there’s an unnatural, chemically thread to her scent that IknowI’ve smelt before.”

Red hot, pulsing rage floods through me and I immediately regret letting that shady alpha get away. “We’ll file a report with Sargeant Hudson tomorrow. Offer to help track him down if need be.”

Corey nods and pushes to his feet beside me, leading the way out of the alley and onto the moonlight bathed street, eager to get our omega home and safe, hoping that when she wakes she feels what we feel.

Chapter Three

Rolling over, I groan as a ray of sun falls over my face, lighting up the back of my eyelids and sending a lance of pain through my temples. My head throbs like the music from the party last night is still beating through the speakers.

Tugging the blanket over my head to block the light, I try to go back to sleep. I must have overdone it last night. I can’t remember much of anything, letalone how I got home. But I can worry about that later. For now, I just want to go back to sleep.

The pain in my head builds, blocking me from dozing off and getting the rest I so desperately desire. My throat is dry as I swallow, my mouth feeling fuzzy. As much as I want to go back to sleep, I don’t think it’s going to happen—at least not until I rehydrate and take some painkillers.

Rolling onto my back, I take a deep breath, bracing myself for the pain that I know is coming when I sit up. Gods, I really overdid it. I should have known better than to chase vodka with wine.

Eyes still closed; I push myself to sitting. A sense of alarm rolls through me as I realise something doesn’t feel right. The mattress beneath me is softer than usual, the light hitting my face from the wrong side of the room. My pumpkin spice scent doesn’t saturate the room like it does at home. In fact, there’s not much of a scent here at all.

My heart pounds in my ears as my eyes fly open. Hissing at the shooting pain in my temples, I scan the room, taking stock of my surroundings. I’m definitely not at home. But there isn’t anyone in the bed with me either.

What happened last night?

It’s not like me to wake up in someone else’s bed. Ialwaysmake my way home—It’s the only place I feel safe.There are two rules I follow to keep myself safe when giving in to my omegas needs. Don’t let them know where you live and don’t stay over.

The room is bare apart from the bed I’m sitting in and a nightstand, with no personal effects scattered around. Even the bed cover is a neutral cream colour, my scent on it faint, and no other, like maybe this is a spare bed.

My brow furrows, causing a lick of pain to hit me between the eyes. The nightstand has a small lamp on it, a bottle of water to the side of the lamp, a packet of painkillers, and… a note?

Licking my dry lips, I scramble to the night table, my stomach pitching with the motion. Ugh. I really don’t feel well. I reach the side of the bed, swinging my legs out from under the blanket and perching there while I grab the water, a little surprised to see I’m still wearing my pumpkin costume. Opening the bottle, I down half of it in one gulp, only stopping to pop out some of the Panadol before finishing the rest of the cool, refreshing liquid.

My thirst sated and my dry throat soothed, I pick up the note, unfolding it and holding it open before me. It’s a typed note, in a generic font titled ‘Where am I?”.

What the actual fuck?

Where am I?

You’re surely wondering where you are and how you got here.

You’re in the spare bedroom of Noah and Corey of Pack Rhys because you were not in any state to be left alone last night. You might know Noah as the owner of the local gym and Corey from Linnara University Campus Security. We could not contact your friends and did not feel you would be safe left on your own.

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