Page 32 of Knot That Delicate

I huffed. “I know, butyouare a fan of them. I’m trying to be nice here. Let me be nice.” I glowered.

“Nope,” he said, plucking the remote out of my hand.

How could I like a man and want to strangle him at the same time?It felt very paradoxical.

When I had stayed up late, I’d mainly done so to ensure the security of the property. Despite all the cameras we had up, I couldn’t help but feel that someone still needed to stay awake through the night. I was probably overly paranoid, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Clearly, Juniper didn’t know that, because she’d gone clambering up onto that kitchen counter, precariously so, without a second thought. If I hadn’t come along and grabbed her, she would have fallen any second. Part of me had wanted to scold her for being so damn reckless, but I quickly forgot that when she sassed and glowered at me. It was obvious something wasn’t right with her.

I could tell by the way she was restless—her foot never stopped moving, her fingers were constantly twitching, and her eyes couldn’t settle on anything for more than a few seconds. As soon as she mentioned human contact and cuddling, I knew exactly what was going on. Omegas thrived on human touch; we all knew this. Juniper seemed like an outlier, but I had my own theories—she’d been kept in a bad situation for so long, she had somehow managed to suppress her omega instincts. Apparently, it seemed, they were starting to make an appearance again. While that was a good thing, it was also a dangerous thing, because an omega in a cabin with three alphas had the potential to go awry.

When she’d climbed up onto that counter, she’d given me a spectacular view of her ass. She was only wearing a small, very old, tiny pair of boxers and one of my pack mates’ T-shirts. The underwear had molded to her ass, which had been displayed immaculately when she had leaned up to stretch for the bread. If I hadn’t been concerned about her safety, I would have been tempted to just stand back and enjoy the show.

Once she explained to me, I’d glowered a bit at the loaf of bread.What kind of snack was a loaf of bread?That didn’t have any protein or any vegetables in it; it was the worst possible thing for her to be eating. It was better than nothing, considering she was still underweight, but it wasn’t exactly a good choice overall. So, I took over, making sure she had a proper tray of balanced snacks. I even managed to find some chips that were made of vegetables that Asher really liked. There were even a few carrots from the garden I cut up, adding hummus to the spread.

That’s how we ended up debating what to watch on TV. Juniper kept picking out the most action-packed, muscle-man films she could find, clearly trying to cater to my tastes.

“Wait, is thatDating Omega?” she said, looking at the screen, furrowing her brow.

I nodded. “That trash has been on TV for years,” I said with a groan. I bet the only reason we had that on the hard drives was thanks to one of the sisters, because none of my pack mates would have downloaded it.

“Really?” she asked, turning to me with a smile. “I watched the first season with my mom years ago. There was only one season when I was around last. How many are there now?”

“Too many,” I groaned. “It’s such rubbish.”

Juniper nodded. “It is,” she agreed, “but it’s entertaining rubbish.” She bit her lip, and I could immediately tell she wanted to see it. But now that I’d voiced a negative opinion of the show, she wouldn’t dare ask.

“I wouldn’t mind giving it another shot,” I said, cocking my head to the side and grabbing the remote. “Should we start with season two?”

“Oh no, you don’t have to do that,” Juniper was quick to say, leaning forward to grab the remote out of my hand.

I shushed her, pulling her deeper and closer into my side. She fit there shockingly well, her head resting on my chest. “I don’t mind. But if you tell either of the guys we’ve been watching this, I’ll have to bury you in the woods,” I warned.

She laughed and nodded. “I understand that. You’ve got an image to maintain.”

I looked down at her, intrigued. “And just what image is that?” I wanted to know how she saw me. The tiny omega’s opinion was important to me, even if I didn’t fully understand why.

She tilted her head thoughtfully. “You’re a big, strong, tough guy. You act like you’reno brains, all brawn, but you’re actually really smart. I’ve seen you work with computers.” She gave me a small smirk. “And, apparently, you like trashy TV.”

I glowered down at her. “Keep talking like that, trouble, and I’ll put on a horror movie. One with extra blood and gore.”

Juniper grimaced. “If you do that, I will leave.”

I laughed. “I guess my cuddles aren’t that important, then,” I said, faking a small, dramatic sob.What on earth am I doing?I wasn’t the kind of alpha to joke around and fake sob, but something about Juniper made me feel lighter.

She pouted up at me before grabbing a piece of carrot and chomping on it thoughtfully. “Fine,” she said with a sigh, “I’ll behave.” She glowered at the TV, pouting.

Fuck, I want to bite that bottom lip.I couldn’t let myself think things like that, though. Juniper was only with us for a short time, and then she would be going home. Back to the life she deserved,where she’d be doted on by hundreds of different alphas and eventually spoiled and given a massive house.

It’s not that I thought that my pack mates and I were a bad catch. We were decent alphas, but we were very unlikely to be approved to court an omega. We were well off but not the kind of rich that attracted omegas. Not to mention my PTSD diagnosis fucking everything up, though I’d gotten a handle on it years ago, thanks to copious therapy.

I pressed a few buttons, and the TV show started playing. It was an old intro that was clearly quite dated, but Juniper sank into my side, immediately enraptured. It was a dating show where alphas and omegas talked to each other through a wall, never getting to see what each other looked like until they chose one another.

“This is so bizarre,” I muttered after the first ten minutes. “What if she ends up with someone who looks like a troll?” I asked, gesturing to the TV screen, picking up a piece of bread for myself.

“That’s the point,” Juniper said, leaning forward and plucking another piece of bread off the platter. “She’s choosing him for his personality, for his intellectual capability. She doesn’t care what he looks like.”

I scoffed. “Everyone cares what everyone looks like. You can’t have sex with someone who looks like a troll. It’s just not doable. If their face is that repulsive to you, then there’s no way in hell it's going to work. All they’re doing is setting themselves up for heartbreak.”

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