Page 98 of Knot All is Forgiven

She snorts when she laughs, and it's so inconsistent with her image that I end up folding over in a peal of giggles. She lightly backhands my bicep.

"Anyways, as I was going to say," she says, exaggerating her words to break through my laughter, "there is no such thing as forgiving too early. One of my Alphas and I got off to a rough start, and when I forgave him, he felt so guilty and thought I should make him beg my forgiveness. He beat himself up a lot over it all." She pulls her hair over one shoulder, eyeing the ends of it curiously. "But I didn't need that. I just needed to know that he was mine."

Nora places a hand on her stomach and winces, making me jump to my feet. "Oh shit, are you okay? Do you need to go to the doctor?"

Now it's her turn to laugh at me. "Sit, Jordan. The baby just kicked the daylights out of me." I settle back down, and she gently rubs the side of her stomach. "This is a lifetime thing, Jordan. It's not just the courting. It's the scary moments where you're unsure if you'll ever be yourself again. It's moments of joy when you celebrate your Alpha getting promoted to the top position at his school and the despair when something you'd begged for was ripped away all too soon."

Her eyes get a little glassy, tears pooling in the corners. "Stupid pregnancy hormones," she mutters, wiping her face. "What I mean to say, Jordan, is that you can forgive even if it hasn't been made up to you. There is a lifetime of highs and lowsto experience together. Why hold off on the high because of a low that came before?"

Her words sucker punch me, and I gape at her like a fish. She giggles melodically at my expression. "Besides, I'm still using Chase's prior behavior as an excuse to get him to rub my feet." She kicks her feet up like a child and pouts. "Especially since I can't see them anymore."

With my trauma dumping session and Nora's very public court trial that exposed her trauma, I feel very close to this Omega. "Would it be weird to exchange numbers?" I ask after a particularly funny story about Nora getting stuck in her nest on her back like a turtle, her belly making it impossible to get out on her own.

"I would love that, actually." She doesn't hesitate to shove her phone at me, and I program my number immediately.

"Jordan." The scent of sweet blackberries overwhelms me, and I look up to see a sweaty, still shirtless Cyrus looming over me. "Do you have a moment?"

Nora flashes me a pretty smile and awkwardly hauls herself to her feet. "It was so nice to meet you, Jordan. Please stay in touch."

"It was nice talking to you, Nora."

"Oh, Nora? You're Joey's Nora, right?" Cyrus asks, taking a step back to give the other Omega space.

Her blue eyes light up. "You know Just Joey?"

"We're the ones who stayed in the house recently. My packmate, Simon…er, Slime, knows Joey." Cyrus looks uncomfortable, keeping a wide distance between them.

"Oh! Slime! From the safe house." She flips her gaze to me. "Well, it seems Lunarcrest is a very small, big city, huh? We will have to host you all for dinner. I just love to entertain."

Nolan comes up behind his Omega and pulls her against his chest. "You're too pregnant to entertain."

"I'm pregnant, not broken," she says with a slight growl. "But you're right. After the baby is born, please?"

There is zero doubt in my mind that this Omega has her entire pack wrapped around her well-manicured finger. The four of us exchange pleasantries, and I remember I'm here on the job and review the timeline for the campaign with Nolan.

Eventually, Nora sways on her feet, and he rushes her out, promising to review the documents I owe him as soon as I send them later today.

"How was the shoot?" I ask Cyrus, following him across the gym to where the camera crew is packing up. "Do you feel like you got some good shots?"

"I think so, yeah," he mutters. "I'm a bit surprised you weren't a part of it, though."

I wrinkle my nose, placing a hand on his bicep. "I got caught up with Nora."

"I did this to get close to you."

"You sound like a child right now, Cyrus." I peel away from him to debrief with the crew, ignoring his frustrated huffs behind me.

By the time I'm done with my team, he's showered and changed, pacing across the gym's entryway. I stand in front of him, making the massive Alpha stop short, and cross my arms.

"What is up your ass, Cyrus?"

His face curls in a snarl. "You! You are, Jordan. You haven't said anything to me after I cut myself open in front of the whole nation."

"I didn't ask you to do that!" I snap. I feel the weight of eyes on my back, and I grab him by the arm and pull him outside to speak a bit more privately. "Do not be mad at me for not jumping up and down that you spilled our business for all to see."

"I was trying to be romantic!" He runs his fingers through his hair, tugging at one of the curls. "I wanted you to know how I feel, and then you're just going to act like it never happened!"

"You don't get to decide how I handle this, Cyrus."

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