Page 159 of Knot All is Forgiven

Once we all have our milkshakes (peach for me, chocolate malt for Simon, cookies and cream for Rafe, banana split for Cyrus, and pistachio for Icarus), Simon loses all pretense of being calm.

"Why won't you show us what you've been painting?" He lets out a soft "oof," and I somehow know Rafe kicked him. "What? She's been hiding it from us for months."

"Because it's a surprise. I've told you." I sip to the bottom of my milkshake, the sound of an empty suctioning straw filling the air.

Icarus shudders, reaching for my glass. "It's empty. Stop drinking, sunshine. I can't stand that sound."

Sheepishly, I push it away. "Sorry, Vick." I kiss his nose before leaning into him. "But I will show it all to you guys tonight, okay?"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Simon shouts, jumping out of the booth. Rafe and Cyrus shake their heads at their eager packmate, and Icarus helps me out of the booth before dropping a few dollars on the table as a tip for the waitress.

Simon never wants to drive, but tonight, he's jumping behind the wheel before anyone else, and his lead foot is rushing us home. Dae and Blush greet us from where they lounge on theircat tower, the former angrily yelling for us to fill his food bowl again.

I stand in front of the door, nerves suddenly bubbling up my throat. I know I told the guys I would show them this, but now it feels so raw. I put my heart into this one. What if they don't like it?

Rafe must be able to read my mind because he puts his hand over mine on the knob and opens the door, whispering, "We're going to love it."

I step back, trying to look at my painting through their eyes.

It's a bird' s-eye view of my nest—not the one in this home, but the first one we built together. I tried my best to capture all the textures and colors, the blankets and pillows strewn around and sloppy after the heat we all spent together.

Like the picture of Meg's, with our empty milkshake glasses and straw wrappers, we aren't in this painting. I tried my best to capture our feelings in the inanimate objects that bore witness to our pack becoming whole. The teddy bear Rafe gave me turned on his side. The rope, loose and hanging from the side of the nightstand.

The ball gag, tucked into a corner.

I can tell when the guys see that because Cyrus groans, and the others laugh their asses off.

Rafe is the first to say something. "Jordan, this is incredible."

"You like it?" My voice is smaller than I thought it'd be. "I was trying to show the place my world changed. I wanted to capture how big moments can affect the world around you in small ways."

"It brings me right back to that moment," Icarus says, lightly dragging his fingers over one of the crumbled blankets in the painting. "When we left, I looked back at the room and thought about how much had just changed. That's what this looks like."

I point at the image of a button-up shirt sticking out of a corner. "That's Cyrus' shirt from when we bonded." The Alpha in question rubs the top of his neck, where my bite is prominently featured.

I go through the painting, pointing out what the items mean to me and sharing my memories of them. The guys fill in gaps in my memory from that time, showering me with praise for my work.

Simon is surprisingly quiet for someone so eager to see it, and I nervously await his opinion. He grabs my face, searching for something in my eyes. "That will forever be the most important time of my life," he says quietly. "Can we put this in the nest?"

My smile has to be blinding. I'm not sure why I worried they wouldn't love it.

But it's us.

Messy and chaotic, sure, but beautifully composed.

Icarus

"Doctor Knight, I thinkyou need to see this." My lab tech, Joshua, says as he comes through the door. Since I started the Omega Gene research, I've had so many Betas apply to have their genomes tested that I'm drowning in work. Joshua has been an enormous help in keeping everything running smoothly.

"What is it?" I ask, rubbing my temples. All I want is to get home to my pack, and I hope this isn't a complication that will keep me from doing that.

He sits down across from me. "Jordan came in earlier this week to give her blood for another analysis."

Of course, I knew this. Every year, she's allowed us to examine her genome to see if the gene mutated any more since her presentation. It's been helpful to compare how it behaves over time so we can talk to others about what to expect.

"Is she okay?" The idea that my Omega may be sick makes my stomach cramp. She can't be sick. She can't. I won't accept that.

Joshua passes the paper to me, and I scan over it. Nothing jumps out to me, and he must see the confusion on my face because he leans over the desk and points at three letters and the result next to them.

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