Page 16 of Knot That Delicate

I walked over to the cupboard, grabbed a packet of cookies, and set them in front of Juniper. Despite her soggy nature, she was letting off the most delicious strawberry scent. If we were back in the city, I would have gone and bought some strawberries and made a strawberry shortcake or something like that. Just being around her was giving me a craving for it. For now, I would just have to make do with smelling the most delicious omega.

"So, you’re staying with us for a bit," I said with a cheerful smile as she sipped her hot chocolate.

She pouted and glared at me, but there was zero heat to the gesture."Well, I’ve got no choice, do I?"

"How far did you get?" I asked playfully.

"I don’t know," she admitted with a frown.

Before she could open her mouth and speak again, the door opened, and Carter walked in, waving at us both. "I’m gonna go clean up," he said, disappearing to the back of the cabin without another word, leaving me alone with Juniper.

"You know," Juniper said, turning to face me, "Dylan said I could have a weapon, you know, to feel safe."

I raised my eyebrows. That was something that Carter or I would do, but I highly doubted the security conscious Dylan would. "I think I know my pack mates a little better than that, miss," I said with a falsely stern glare.

Juniper huffed. "It was worth a try."

"Oh, it totally was," I agreed, laughing. "If you’d asked me or Carter, we probably would have given you a knife in a heartbeat."

Her eyes brightened and widened. "Oh, in that case, can I have a knife?" she asked with a smile, still clutching the mug of hot chocolate like her life depended on it.

I barked out a laugh. "I’m not going to give you a knife after Dylan already said no. I am not about to go behind my pack mate’s back. That’s not how packs work."

Juniper nodded. "I used to live in a pack—my mother and father’s. I even had some brothers," she said wistfully, stirring the hot chocolate with a spoon.

"Did you ever have a pack of your own?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No. Everything happened when I was still young, so…" She trailed off.

"How old are you?"

Juniper frowned. "I guess that depends… What date is it?"

I stilled, looking at her. "Are you saying you don’t know the date? Do you even know what year it is?"

She shook her head. "I think I know, but I’m not certain."

I resisted the urge to curse. How could she not know what year it was? Where had she been? And for how long? Clearly, this wasn’t a short-term thing she had endured. My pack mates and I would have to tread carefully, so we wouldn’t upset her too much.

I rattled off the date, and Juniper perked up, smiling. "In that case, I’m twenty-three. I think I’m turning twenty-four in a few months," she said with a smile.

I shook my head lightly. She didn’t look anywhere near that age. She looked a hell of a lot younger, but that could be because she was so underweight. She didn’t exactly have any curves or look that mature—that was something I was going to have to remedy quickly.

"Well, Miss Juniper, I look forward to wishing you a happy birthday in a few month’s time because we’re gonna be stuck here for a good three months. Unfortunately."

Juniper nodded. "I’m slowly coming to accept that sad fact," she said with a dramatic sigh.

I gasped in mock outrage. "Sad fact?Are you saying you’re not enticed by the idea of spending several months withme?" Waving my hand, I gestured to my body indignantly. "I’ll have you know, I am a delight!"

Juniper chuckled, her smile lighting up the entire cabin. "I’ll admit," she said, "you’re not awful.Dylan’sa grumpy sod, though," she added with a glower.

I nodded. "I have to agree with you there."

So, clearly, escaping was out of the question.

I had done my best to find my way away from the cabin, but it didn’t take me long to realise it was futile. As much as I wanted to scream and throw things at the grumpy alpha who had decided to come and get me, I was thankful he had appeared. I wasn’t going to admit that to him, though. It might have only been an hour or two since I left before Dylan found me, but I was already freezing to death.

I should’ve grabbed more jackets. I should’ve worn more shoes. Hell, I should’ve stolen some of their socks. Unfortunately, I was coming to the conclusion that, no matter what, I was stuck with these alphas for a while.

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