Page 156 of Knot All is Forgiven

Unfortunately for her, my hips have her ass pinned, and I'm not very inclined to let her go.

"Cyrus," she growls in that cute little Omega tone. "Let me go."

"You can't lean over like that and expect me not to come take advantage," I say as I rub a hand up her thigh. These little sleep shorts she wears around the house are almost unfairly hot.

Since we moved into the large two-story home outside the city last year, Jordan has spent a lot more time in the kitchen. She practices her baking frequently, and I can smell the cookies she's waiting on in the oven.

"How much time is left on the timer?" I purr, kissing down her neck.

The timer goes off.

"None!" Her giggle taunts me as she slips out of my grasp and pulls the snickerdoodles out of the oven. The warm cinnamon smell that wraps around the kitchen grows, making my stomachrumble. I reach out to grab one as she puts it on the cooling rack, and she smacks the back of my hand with her spatula.

"They're hot, C! You'll burn your tongue, and I don't want it out of commission for that long."

"Fine," I pout, wrapping my hands around her waist.

She looks over her shoulder, wrinkling her brow at what she sees. "What's going on, Cyrus?"

I groan, ducking my head. "My parents called. They want to see me." The words taste like bile, but I need to talk to Jordan about this. If anyone will understand, it's her.

Since we bonded, her parents have tried to reach out. Someone in our hometown was talking about our pack, and they overheard. She tried one phone call with them, and they blamed her for her late presentation and refused to accept that they had done anything wrong. They just wanted us to take care of them monetarily as they started to get up there in age.

Jordan doubled down on the no-contact and had to increase her visits with Dr. K for a few weeks, but she recovered from it.

And now I'm facing the same thing.

"Do you want to see them?" she asks, leaning back against the counter. "Why are they reaching out now?"

"Mom's sick." I'm surprised at how much it hurts to say. My mom wasn't an awful mother, but she let my father beat on me enough that she was complicit.

Still, it's my mom. And it hurts.

"If you want to go, I'm with you," she says slowly. "But you don't need to feel like you have to go just because she's sick. That doesn't change the way they treated you."

I run my hand through my loose hair. "I know. What if she's really sick and dies, and I regret not seeing her?"

"Have you regretted not seeing her before now?"

"No, not at all. I especially don't want to see my dad." Jordan takes my hand and leads me to the living room, where she shoves me down on the plush gray couch and perches on my lap.

"If you worry that you'll regret it, tell them you'll talk to your mother on the phone, but you're uncomfortable going in person. And I'll sit with you and hold your hand. But you do not owe them a relationship, Cyrus."

I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her tighter, sighing into her neck. "Thanks, Jay. It never used to bother me, but the more I'm around Icarus's parents…"

"I know exactly what you mean. It makes you mourn the relationship you were supposed to have with yours."

"Yes! So when my dad called, even though all those negative emotions swirled to the surface, so did the jealousy and the naive hope that maybe they're different now." I palm the back of her neck, rubbing my bite mark and savoring the way she shivers in my arms. "Thank you for understanding. I couldn't talk about this with the others."

She nods, kissing me softly. "It sucks sometimes to feel so alone in it, but at the same time, at least we have each other." I stretch my legs out before laying back, pulling her on top of me as we lay together in the quiet.

My hands trace her soft skin as her slow breathing calms my racing heart. She wiggles against me, sinking deeper into the crook of my arm. "If you would have asked me four years ago if I thought Cyrus Stargazer would ever open up emotionally, I would've choked on my coffee. I am so proud of how much you've grown, Alpha."

I chuckle, tipping her chin up so I can meet her gaze. "Thanks to you, Omega. You were patient with me and helped me learn how to let others in. I can never repay you."

"You don't need to repay me. I'm just glad I'm one of the people you chose to let in."

My lips crash on hers, and she melts into me as my tongue traces the seam of her lips. After a few minutes, we break apart, gasping for air. "I'm never letting you out, Omega."

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