Page 45 of Knot That Delicate

“We can’t take advantage of her while she is going through a heat,” Carter snapped.

“And leaving her alone would be cruel,” Asher countered. “I don’t want to scare you, Juniper, but going through a heat alone is dangerous, especially your first one. Your first heats can be brutal, and you can have heart or breathing complications.”

I bit my lip as tears welled up again. “I don’t want to force you guys to do something you don’t want to.”

Asher’s eyes softened and his mouth dropped open. “I can assure you right now, it’s not about any of us not wanting to.It’s about what’s right. You’re not lucid during a heat, you can’t consent.”

“Well, I’m lucid now,” I said. “And I think I consent, if you guys want to. But I understand if you don’t want to. I mean, I’m just a stranger who barged into your lives.”

Dylan wrapped me in his arms, brushing away my tears.

“I think I want to do this,” I said. “But you guys need to decide. If you want to do it, because, realistically, if I choose to go through this alone...how would it work?”

Carter’s jaw clenched. “We’d have to lock you in your room. Or you would have to lock yourself in your room. We’d have to leave food for you. We couldn’t be near you. An omega’s heat is a powerful call. We wouldn’t be able to deny you.”

Asher added, “We wouldn’t even be able to stay in the cabin. We’d have to leave you alone entirely.”

“How can we make sure she’s eating or taking care of herself?” Dylan asked. “Omegas are notorious for needing care while going through heats. It would be cruel to leave her on her own.”

“I agree, but what choice do we have here?” Carter said.

I growled. “We could just...fuck. It’s just a heat. You know? We have fucks, we have fun, we do the thing, and we have the sex.” My voice trailed off and, next to me, Dylan bit his lip. I probably wasn't doing a very good job at seducing them, but I had more pressing issues in mind, like the insane cramping pain ripping through my stomach.

Asher’s gaze sharpened. “Juniper, have you ever had sex?”

I bit my lip and shook my head. He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply. Was the idea of me being a virgin that daunting?

“It’s just a bit of skin,” I muttered. “It’s no big deal.”

Dylan growled. “It is a big deal, and you need to make this choice foryou.”

“Well, I have made my choice. If you guys want to, I also want to have a heat with you guys. I’m not under any illusions that this means we are going to be together forever and everything is going to be perfect. We can go through the heat without bonding, right?” I asked.

The alphas exchanged looks and nodded. “It’s difficult, but we can do it. We have self-restraint in that department,” Dylan said.

“Good. If we can just go through the heat, have sex, do the knotting thing, and then we can go back to normal after,” I said, biting my lip.

Carter glanced at his pack mates. “Well, in that case, I speak for all of us and say we’re in,” he said. “But you have a decision to make.”

“I already made my decision,” I said, angrily stomping my foot.

Asher chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t think that is the decision he is talking about, sweetheart.”

I frowned. “Then, what decision?”

Dylan smirked. “Which one of us do you want to fuck first?”

Istared dumbly at Dylan, his words halting my impending tantrum. My brain short-circuited, and I couldn’t find the words to reply.

Which one?

All of them, my traitor body screamed, my core clenching at the idea.

I wasn't completely innocent. Sure, I hadn’t had sex, but I knew about it. I had been in my teens when I had been taken by Alec. So, I had been given the birds and bees talk plenty, and knew what sex was, how heats worked, and so on.

What I didn't know was just how badly pre-heat cramps hurt. It felt oddly unjust to be going through that much pain. I understood that it was biologically necessary to force anomega to go into heat and want to make lots of babies for the continuation of the species and all that jazz, but surely, we were beyond that by now?

Part of me thought I should have been terrified at the prospect of having sex, but I wasn't. I had been terrified at the prospect of having sex with Alec. There was no way in hell he would have been able to satisfy me during a heat. It would have meant a very painful and miserable time for me.

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