Page 55 of Knot a Chance in Hell

I had to know. Waiting only prolonged our agony. “Kodiak…”

Kodiak grunted, working his jaw back and forth. His locked arms around me didn’t loosen. “Fuck. You guys know that all I’ve ever wanted was to have a pack and a mate, and to raise kids with them. A peaceful and simple life. I wanted this to work out so badly.”

Oh no. No, he wasn’t going to agree. My chin trembled as my heart slowly started to crumble.

“You guys are my brothers. Even when we’re fighting, that never changed for me. And I love you, Nicolette. I neverthought I’d fall so hard so fast, but it happened.” His voice dropped. “I’ve never been good at sharing.”

And that was the problem. I swallowed back a sob.

“But for you to be happy, baby, you have to be able to love all of us. And for my friends to be happy, they have to be able to love you. In the end, I want us all to be happy too.” He groaned and leaned his head against my shoulder. “Fuck me. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. It’s going to be fucking hell at times, but I want to try to make it work.” He lifted his head to look at Silas and then Ezekiel. Finally at me. “For all of us.”

Happiness like I’d never known made me squeal and jump up to dance. Except I realized that I was impaled by a huge knot and I wouldn’t be moving for at least another twenty minutes. Not that I minded. I could still wiggle!

“Oh fuck,” Kodiak moaned and quivered under me.

I laughed and pulled Silas and Ezekiel to me too. I hugged them all together. There wasn’t one protest from my Alphas.My pack.

A life in Alaska with three gorgeous Alphas was not something I ever dreamed of, but now it was all I wanted. Feeling each bite mark keenly, I knew I would never be alone again.

EPILOGUE – Nicolette

The applause echoed in the festively decorated school gym. My own whoops and cheers rang out from backstage. The children took their bows and motioned to me to join them. I laughed as I went out onstage and they surrounded me with hugs. My heart filled with adoration of my students, and I barely got a bow myself with all the children clinging to me.

Above all the clapping, I could hear my pack hooting and shouting my name. I hadn’t seen them for most of the day, because I’d been so busy getting everything set up for the recital. Even though I wasn’t in heat, I still hated being away from them for more than a few hours.

I escorted the kids backstage, congratulating them and wishing them all a merry Christmas. I’d already given them their gifts—teddy bears dressed like the characters fromThe Nutcracker—and even though we didn’t have the time to practice for that show this year, I promised them we’d perform it for the next holiday season.

After making sure everyone was changed, dressed in their winter wear, and off with their families, I finally found a moment to breathe. I closed my eyes and fanned myself, not wanting to push my body too hard, and mentally went over what I needed to do now to clean up the gym. I just wanted to cuddle up with my Alphas in front of the fireplace and sleep for twelve hours.

“Wake up, sleeping beauty.” Kodiak’s gravelly voice had me smiling even before I opened my eyes to see him. He held out a bouquet of red roses and smiled. “For the real star of the night.”

Heat flushed into my cheeks as I took the flowers and went up on my toes to kiss him. “Thank you. The kids are the real stars, though. Everything went off without a hitch.”

“Thanks to you.” Silas snuck in for a kiss. “You put together a fantastic show in less than two months.”

“I can only imagine what spectacular shows you’ll put on when you have more time.” Ezekiel took his turn to kiss me and let his eyes sweep down my body. “Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”

All of their gazes smoldered as they stared at me. I’d worn a red satin dress with a white lace sleeveless scoop-neck top and embroidered snowflakes along the high-low hem of the skirt. Proper for a dance teacher and yet still sexy.

This was the first time I’d seen my Alphas dressed up. Ezekiel had a white button-up shirt with a forest green tie with a Christmas tree pin. He’d rolled up the sleeves, and for some reason, that made me squirm with arousal. Kodiak had on a red sweater that accentuated the broadness of his chest and the muscles of his arms. While his beard wasn’t white, he could still pull off a hot Santa look.

Silas wore all black. Black shirt, black pants, black tie. My bad boy, and I fucking loved it.

“Only like a hundred times,” I giggled and then put on my we’ve-got-work-to-do face. “But I’m going to be a bit of a mess tidying up this gym. We’ve got to get the chairs put away, the floors—”

“It’s all done, baby.” Kodiak grinned. “The only thing messing you up tonight is me.”

“Hey,” Silas huffed and gave him a look. “Christmas Eve rules, remember?”

I chuckled at that. I didn’t want any of my men to feel left out on the holidays, so they all had to share me or use a random card draw to take shifts with me. Kodiak still had a lot of problems with sharing, but no one had come close to throwing punches.

Yet we really needed to clean. The school was kind enough to let me use their facilities tonight as long as I promised to tidy up. My heels tapped on the floor as I left backstage to peer out into the gym. My jaw dropped.

The place was spotless. All the folding chairs had been put away behind the bleachers, the floor had been swept, and even the garbage bins had been emptied. “Oh wow.” I turned back to my pack. “How did you guys do everything so quickly?”

“Christmas magic.” Ezekiel winked at me.

“Folks in this town adore you. Everyone wanted you to go home and enjoy the rest of the evening instead of cleaning, so they helped.” Silas lifted my coat off the hook I had it on backstage and held it up for me to slip into.

---