Page 5 of Knot a Chance in Hell

Having noticed the satellite dish outside, I pulled out my phone to let my family and friends know I’d arrived. The cabin did have wifi, but I didn’t have the password. Well, crap. I wrapped my arms around myself and took in a few deep meditative breaths. It would be alright. I just had to keep myself busy.

Wandering to the right side of the cabin, I found two unfinished rooms. One bedroom sized and the other twice as big. Tools and lumber lay spread around. The drywall wasn’t primed or painted. A weight bench with several weights sat stacked in a corner.

Atka and Kavik followed. Atka skipped around and sniffed everything. Kavik followed near me as if she were my supervisor making sure I didn’t do anything wrong.

“A house full of Alphas. I bet this is going to be a workout room,” I mused and glanced at Kavik who seemed to nod. “How is it living in a house full of males? I’ve only had sisters and then I went to an all girl school. I’m used to feminine energy, so all of this will be very new to me.”

Kavik said nothing, of course, but her tail swayed back and forth a little. Atka rushed over and bumped into me. His tongue lulled out and started out of the room, glancing back to see if we were following.

“Yes, we’re coming.” I gave him a good rub as I passed and headed to the other side of the house. “I bet the bedrooms are over there.”

My assumption was right. The first two rooms were a mess. Clothes on the floor, beds unmade, and beer bottles left on dressers and window sills. One room had a small totem pole in a corner and a shelf of smaller wooden sculptures. The other roomhad beautiful and realistic paintings of animals on the walls. The two rooms shared a bathroom between them.

The final room had its own bathroom suite, and I guessed it was the one meant for me because it was the only clean bedroom. The king sized bed had a dark and thick comforter with several pillows. A six drawer dresser matched the wood of the bed frame. Both looking as though they were handcrafted. A large closet with no doors sat against the wall opposite the windows and French doors leading to the balcony. I wanted to check out the view, but the wind had picked up and the sky was nearly dark as night.

I glanced at the time on my cell phone. Almost five. Perhaps it did get dark this early here.

Alone in a strange house in the dark with a storm looming. No phone. No neighbors close by. The dogs were there but my heart started beating hard and my breathing quickened.

Sitting on the bed, I grabbed a pillow and hugged it. Tears pricked my eyes. Everything would be okay. It had to be. If I wasn’t compatible with Kodiak, I could go home sooner than later. And if we did match?

My stomach flipped and tightened. If we did, we’d work something out. Maybe we could move south. Seattle wasn’t a long flight from here. Yes, a big city with lots of people.

My stupid panic wasn’t willing to be soothed. I buried my face in the pillow, and as I breathed in, a woodsy musk filled my nose. My trembling eased.

Deep breaths. I just needed deep breaths.

Kodiak and the others would be back soon. They had to come home. They couldn’t work in the dark. Certainly not in a storm.

Because there was no way I could make it through the night alone.

CHAPTER THREE – Kodiak

“Fuck! Can’t you make this thing go any faster?” I slammed my hands against the railing. The boat was moving too slow. “You’re like a fucking old lady behind the wheel, Silas.”

It was dark, but I could still see him scowl at me. “The water’s still choppy. If you’re so impatient, you can get out and swim.”

I cursed at him under my breath, stalking back and forth across the deck. It was a small vessel meant to carry us back and forth over the strait to the various sites in the Tongass National Forest we worked. It wasn’t built for speed, and since it was pretty old as well, we’d been stuck in our tent on Kupreanot Island when the storm hit with its chilling winds.

Stuck with our guest waiting at home for us.

I was such an ass. It should have been me to pick up Nicolette at the airport. But no, I thought we could fell that tree before the afternoon was out. Yet the massive Sitka Spruce proved to be a stubborn bastard.

“There’s Petersburg ahead.” Ezekiel motioned to the lights of the town, swirling with the morning fog and the light snow still falling. “Don’t worry, man. The dogs were with the girl all night. Plus, Sav probably came over to welcome her.”

I snorted and folded my arms. Dad wouldn’t have bothered. I was pretty sure he regretted selling that bit of land to Lancaster in exchange for seeing if his Omega daughter was compatible with me. For a little while, it was all about carrying on the Volkov family line, but I hadn’t heard about that in a few weeks. Thank God. But my dad’s silent brooding wasn’t good either.

“A girl like that isn’t going to want to cuddle your stinky dogs, Eze.” Silas slowly turned us toward the piers. “She’s oneof those spoiled Omegas terrified of getting dirty. Ain’t no way she’s going to handle living with us even for a week.”

“Hey, we cleaned.” It was the first real big clean I’d done at the cabin since we moved in last year. Between logging and working on our house itself, we didn’t have much time for anything else, especially how much we wanted to get done before the winter truly hit.

Did Nicolette like the cabin? Did she settle into her room? I didn’t even know her, and I was in knots over how she felt about all of it. I’d never actively looked for an Omega to start a family, and I hadn’t liked it when my father told me the deal he made. I’d been really pissed off for weeks, but something in me had turned at some point. Maybe, just maybe, we’d match, and I would have something in my life that made me look forward to… well, life.

“You don’t know what Nicolette is like.” Ezekiel was always the reasonable one. Much more even keeled than Silas and I. “We saw on her social media that she does a lot of charity work. She’ll have patience for our wild ways.”

Silas slowed the boat down further as he steered us toward our spot in the harbor. “We also saw that she spends a damn lot of time partying on beaches. Not that I’m complaining about all those bikini pics. She’s hot shit.”

Hot shitwas an understatement. Nicolette was absolutely gorgeous. Deep red hair, long legs, curvy hips, and eyes bright green as new ferns. Her dazzling smile… so full of life.

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