Page 61 of Knot All is Forgiven

"That's what happened to my sister," he says quietly. "Athena met a group of Alphas, and they all fell for each other. They met their Omega, and she wasn't into women and wouldn't let them keep my sister around."

"And it nearly broke her, right?" Maybe I can get through to this Alpha. Maybe he'll understand.

"It did. But she also knew from the beginning that she was a Beta and that it was a risk she was taking." His brow lowers as he glares at me. "Jordan knew she was yours, and you wouldn't believe her."

"You're a doctor, right? Would you have?" I say, throwing my hands up. "We were nineteen. There were no signs that she was going to present."

"I would have and I did believe her. She came to me for genetic testing to see if I could find out why she hadn't presented. And I knew she was an Omega. I couldn't figure out what was different and why she didn't present, but the Alpha in me knew the moment she walked into my office."

"Can I come inside, please? If we're going to talk, we may as well sit down. I don't think this is a conversation Jordan would want her neighbors to overhear." His face looks conflicted, andhe looks over his shoulder like he's trying to get confirmation from someone. My heart jumps. "Is she in there?"

"No, she's not. I'm just trying to decide if she'd want your scent in the house." He pulls out his phone and shoots off a quick text message. The phone pings a few seconds later, and he stores it in his pocket. "We can go to the cafe."

"I'm glad she hasyou, Icarus, but you know she needs us too." I take a sip of my Americano as I evaluate the Alpha before me. I can feel exactly what the guys were talking about. There is a kinship there, a sense of familiarity.

The guys and I had been friends since we were children, so there was never that moment of clarity that we were meant to be together. We just always knew. But, spending time with Icarus, I can tell that we complement one another. I didn't realize our pack was missing someone, but it's clear now we were.

Simon has always been the heart, with empathy in spades.

I'm the muscle, the hothead, but I protect my pack fiercely.

Rafe is the soul, balancing the two of us, helping us see reason so we don't act irrationally.

But Icarus is the brains that we've been missing. He's logical and able to look at a situation from all angles. If Simon were in his position, he'd be doing nothing but coddling Jordan and deferring to whatever she says.

If it were me, I'd force a meeting, refusing to accept that she may be hurting too much to make a rational decision.

But no, Icarus is here meeting with me, hearing me out, but keeping me away from Jordan because he hasn't decided whether I'm safe.

"You're good for her," I say. It's not a question and nothing I've witnessed, but I can tell.

"I try to be. She's had a tough go of it, and I don't fully know what happened after you guys broke her world. All I know about is some time in inpatient psychiatric treatment."

My thoughts are like a sports car screeching to a stop. I thought that was an exaggeration she hurled at me. "Do you know why?"

"It's not my story to tell Cyrus, but I hate to break it to you – you're not blameless."

"She said something similar to me when I showed up at HUG." Icarus shakes his head as he sips from his mug of tea, eyes hard. Before he can say anything, I continue. "I know, I know, that was a shitty thing for me to do and a bad call. You don't have to tell me. She handed me my ass."

"At least you recognize it." He rests his elbows on the table and buries his face in his hands. "I don't want her to get sick, but I can't force her to see you when she's already increasing her therapy appointments since you guys showed up."

My heart starts to crack in my chest. "Is it really that bad?"

"Yeah, it's that fucking bad," he snaps. "Just… don't be so aggressive. Give her some time to warm up to you."

"Does she even have time to warm up with the potential for scent sickness? And how can she if she refuses to see us?"

I feel like we're going in circles. Maybe we could figure this out if Jordan just sat down with us and talked it out. Instead, it's just her running from us and hiding away.

But that's not a fair thought for me to have.

I've got to reorient the way I see all of this because she's doing what it takes to protect her mental health.

This isn't something she's doing to me. This is something she's doing for her.

Icarus holds his hand out to me expectantly. But I'm not sure what he's wanting. Certainly, he doesn't want to hold my hand, does he?

He raises an eyebrow at me before rolling his eyes. "Your phone, dumbass."

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