Page 31 of Knot a Chance in Hell

Shit. I’d forgotten about that. “Ah, yeah. The Omega filled the washer too full and it became unbalanced. Had to pull the plug before she flooded the whole house. She’s a house-wrecker on every level.”

Shae raised her brows. “Heard she’s doing okay.”

“From Ezekiel?” I shook my head. Of course he’d say Nicolette was perfect.

“Nah, from Sav. He says she’s a fast learner.” She motioned for me to follow her to her workshop. “Come in here. Think I still got a box or two of Joe’s clothes. You can’t be walking around in that wet stuff. The girl ain’t going to want to play nurse if you get sick.”

A naughty nurse. Fuck, I had to stop thinking about her. I was getting hard again.

“Can’t see her wanting to have a thing to do with me no matter what.” No one needed to know Nicolette told me to fuck her not even half an hour ago. “She doesn’t like me and I don’t like her.”

Shae went to a pile of boxes in the far corner of her workshop and shot me a stern gaze. “And whose fault is that?” She didn’t even wait for me to reply, she continued on. “You need to be nicer to the girl. She’s going to be around for good.”

How much did Savva gab on to Shae? Everyone on this island was a gossip. Like they didn’t have anything better to do. “I don’t have to do any such thing. She’s already pitting the guys against me, and when she chooses one over the other, she’s going to break one of their hearts. Our pack is ruined, and it’s all because of her.”

“It would have happened eventually. Kodiak always wanted a mate.” Shae found the box she was looking for and popped it open to remove a worn pair of men’s jeans. She tossed them to me, and I caught them in one hand. “Besides, she doesn’t have to choose. If you have a real pack, you guys would share.”

A harsh laugh burst out of me. Share? Even when Ezekiel has been on the couch cuddling with Nicolette, Kodiak looked like he was ready to kill him. Never mind my own feelings of possessiveness. I’d wanted to bite her and proclaim she was mine after one kiss.

“Kodiak and Ezekiel are barely restraining themselves from beating the shit out of each other over her as it is. No way they’re going to share.”

“If they love and respect her, they’ll make it work.” Shae returned the box to its place and walked back to me. She nodded toward her still howling dogs, seemingly deaf to the noise they were making. “My dogs and I, we’re a pack. I’m the Alpha, but they have their own hierarchy in the bunch. When one of the females goes into heat, she mates with each of the Alpha males if I let her near them. It’s good for creating strong ties. They all care for her, protect her and the pups. Helps the males bond too. Each of them knows they’re worthy, and they create a stronger pack by working together.”

“We aren’t dogs.” I snorted. All that was bullshit in relation to people. Shae was a dog trainer and breeder. Her husband, Joe, died long before I could remember. She never remarried and dedicated her life to the animals. She didn’t know how it was between Alphas and Omegas. “It wouldn’t work.”

“Then you aren’t a strong pack.” The way she said it as a matter-of-fact was like a knife to the gut. No way was I going to stay here if she doubted the strength of the bonds between Kodiak, Ezekiel, and I. “Go on inside and change. You’re likely freezing your nuts off.”

“Yeah, thanks. I can change in my truck.” I stomped back to my pickup, grinding my teeth. We were an awesome pack. Kodiak and Ezekiel always had my back no matter how much trouble I created. We were not only best friends, but we worked together as a solid team. None of the small crews working the Tongass were as good as we were. Nowhere near.

Until Nicolette came along. Now it had all fallen to pieces.

“Hey, why’d you come here anyway? You need something?” Shae called after me.

“Nothing important.” I hopped into my truck and waved, not looking back as I drove away.

I loved my friends. I’d been trying to scare off the Omega for all of us. They were too blinded by her heat to see what was right for our pack. And now, after what happened between Nicolette and I this morning….

I slammed a fist against the steering wheel and hissed when I realized it was the injured one. “Fucking hell.”

Screw all of this. My head immediately went to having a drink. Just one. It wouldn’t hurt. One drink to wash away the pain and heartache, to erase Nicolette’s moans from my mind. If I lost Kodiak and Ezekiel, it would destroy me. They were the only reason I survived what Sarah did to me. They were all I had.

The memory of Nicolette’s mouth under mine and how good she felt against me.

I sped towards town. The pub would be quiet this time of day. No one there to bother me. One drink. Maybe two.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN – Ezekiel

We got back to town before the sun had set. Even before we had the boat properly tied up and covered for the night, we had old Gary shuffling toward us along the dock. He lifted his gnarled hand and bobbed his head. “Heya!”

“Hey Gary.” Kodiak didn’t even look up from the rope he was tying. I knew his mind was on Nicolette. It’s where both our minds were all day long. After last night when Kodiak behaved like a greedy bear and carried her away to lock the two of them in a room, I planned to take her on a sled run and get my own time alone with her.

“Hi Gary. How you doing?” I finished securing the tarp and jumped off the boat onto the dock.

Gary ran a hand over his bald head and sighed. “Silas has been at the Harbor for a good part of the afternoon. Still there right now.”

Oh no. It was bad enough that he’d gotten in a fight last night and I had to pick him up from the clinic after he got stitched up. I didn’t doubt another brawl was stewing. Silas wasn’t handling Nicolette being here well. More so, the fact that both Kodiak and I were compatible with her. He had bitched about the fact he might lose one of us to the Omega. None of us imagined the two of us might be compatible with her.

“Shit.” Kodiak grunted and stood up. “The bar still in one piece?”

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