Page 81 of Knot All is Forgiven

The green-haired Alpha shrugs. "As long as you call me, I don't care what name you use." The light-hearted joke starkly contrasts the tear stains on his cheeks.

"That was lame," she huffs. But she can't hide the sweet joy that bubbles up within her from me. She clears her throat and continues. "Cyrus and Simon, I would like a piece of worn clothing, please."

"A gym shirt, preferably," I interject. "For the pheromones in the sweat."

The two Alphas nod and disappear, returning with t-shirts that they fold and hand to me. I place them on the table in front of Jordan, letting her decide whether to carry them out herself or have me do it.

She picks them up and clutches them to her chest. I think she thinks she's being sneaky with the way she inhales deeply from them, but we all catch it.

"Thank you for having us," I tell the three of them, meaning it. "I think it's time we get home." I place a hand on Jordan's lower back, guiding her to the door.

"Will we see you on Friday, Icarus?" Slime calls after me.

Jordan comes to a screeching stop, confusion marring her features. I was going to discuss Friday with her after gauging how the dinner went. But it looks like we're going to have this out now.

Nerves bubble up inside me, and she lets out a quiet purr, obviously feeling my stress through the bond. The tension between my brows loosens. "The guys invited me over for a… What did you call it?" I look back at Slime.

"A pack party!" he says with a grin. "Video games, pizza, beer… Just an Alpha hangout."

My Omega locks down the bond, her emotions no longer reaching me as she curiously examines my face. "And you want to go?" she asks me quietly. The other guys can probably hear her, but they're decent enough to pretend we have privacy.

"I think I do," I respond. "Is that okay?"

She gives me the softest, most gentle kiss and nods. "He'll be there."

Chapter thirty-one

Athena fidgets at thedining room table while I feed Dae and Blush. "Aren't we going to be late?" she asks, her voice straining with something I can't decipher.

The orange monstrosity of a cat yowls at me because clearly, I am not refilling his bowl quickly enough for his liking. "We'll be fine," I tell her as I straighten up the the kitchen as I pass through it.

Nervous energy courses through me tonight. Icarus is with the Stargazers for a 'pack party,' so he insists Athena and I go to the spa to keep me from sitting here alone.

Pack Stargazer.

Now that I know the origin of the name, it's somehow both more and less stupid than before. The meaning behind it is so cute and sweet that it is hard not to be endeared by it. Three sixteen-year-old boys named their pack after what they thought was my favorite flower.

When did they stop believing in me?

When did the steadfast belief that I'd be their Omega give way to doubt? Was it at seventeen? Eighteen?

I think back to that conversation at Meg's before they went off for college, where they tried to tell me they were concerned their future Omega wouldn't let them keep me around.

But at some point, they had believed that Omega was me.

When did it all go wrong?

I shake my head, clearing the troubling thoughts, and turn a strained smile at my sister-in-law. "Ready?"

She nods and slowly stands, her hands wringing in front of her. As we ride the elevator down and pile into my car, her nerves seem only to increase. Eventually, I can't stand it anymore.

"Athena, what's going on?"

She looks at me with sad, pleading eyes, then directs her attention back out the front windshield. "I need to tell you something. But I don't want to."

"Then you don't need to tell me," I tell her quickly. "Nothing is worth you being so upset."

"No," she says with a heavy sigh. She pushes her dirty blonde hair back behind her ears. "You need to hear this." At the stoplight, I turn to look at her. She puts a hand on my knee. "How much do you know about my former pack?"

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