Page 59 of Knot That Delicate

Carter shook his head. “We're not. We're not going anywhere. We're not going to court any omegas. Our chances to get approved for an omega were slim, anyway. But we have fallen in love with you. The difference between us and you is that we've had our freedom. We have seen the world, we know all the different things our lives can be. I think what we're trying to suggest is you go to the Haven for a year. One year. Go see what the world has to offer. Go and talk to packs, get therapy, get healthy, do everything you can to discover who you are now, Juniper. Because, after a year of freedom, you may not be the Juniper you are now. And we love you too much to drag you into a life, to seal you into this life, in a bond, if that's not what you ultimately want after you have time and space. But, in a year's time, if you still want us, we'll be there with bells and whistles.”

“You would wait for me?” I asked, cocking my head to the side, wiping away my tears.

They all nodded.

“Of course, we would,” Asher said. “We would wait a hundred years for you, but you've got to admit, this isn't the best place for you to be right now. I mean, do you really see the downside in that?”

“Yes, there's a pretty big downside. The downside being that I won't have you guys. Who will I snuggle with?” I asked with a small whine. They all reacted to the sound of my whine, closing their eyes and taking a deep breath that, like my whine, physically pained them.

“We're doing this 'cause we love you, Juniper,” Dylan said. “Remember that we want you to go and experience life, and then if you want us, come back to us, and we’ll be waiting for you. We will have our arms wide open. Well, maybe not all of us. Asher may have his arms closed, but that is purely because he'll be holding loaves of bread,” he said with a wry smile. Despite the tears, I laughed.

I could understand their logic. I knew that it was probably a good idea, and, deep down, part of me actually liked the idea. But the surface level of me hated the idea of being separated from them.

“You'll have your family there, you'll have friends. You won't be on your own,” Carter assured me.

“But you guys seriously want this?” I asked. “You want us?” I looked between them pointedly. “Because if I go there, and I do all the right things, and in a year’s time, I still want you…”

“Then, simply send us a message, and we'll be there,” Carter said. “I promise you, Juniper, we will be there.”

The floodgates opened and the steady stream of tears I’d been experiencing turned into a flood. “I am so sick and tired of not getting what I want,” I said, crossing my arms angrily.

Looking to the sky as tears fell, I was pulled into three sets of arms, each of them whispering pleasantries and comforting words.

Asher spoke next to my ear. “We're doing this so you can have everything you want in the world, sweet girl. We promise we will do everything we can for you now and in a year’s time and in twenty years’ time, okay?”

“Iswear to God, Kane, I love you, but if you don’t go home to your omega soon, I’m going to lose my mind. And Lavender’s probably going to murder you,” I said, sitting up in the bed and glaring at my brother.

He was sleeping on an air mattress on my floor. How they even allowed him to do that was beyond me, because alphas weren’t meant to beanywherenear the Haven.

So, they were keeping me in a separate wing that alphas were occasionally allowed to go in under extreme circumstances, such as this. He was also only allowed in because he was a mated alpha and, therefore, seen as a lot safer.

Kane frowned at me. “I want to make sure you’re settled in,” he said. Although he was far too big for the little air mattress, hehadn’t said a single word of complaint, despite his feet dangling off the edge.

I gestured to the beautiful room around me. “Iamsettled in. I’m happy and I’m comfortable, brother.”

The Havens had somehow become even more beautiful over the last five years. The room I was in was decorated in soft blues and browns, and I loved it. It was calming and simple.

“You could still come stay with me, you know,” he said.

I grimaced. We had already had this conversation. Several times. “Kane, as I just said, I love you, but the last thing I want is to listen to you, your omega, and all your pack mates going at it at all hours of the day and night. I’ve seen the way you guys look at each other—I would rather not live with that, as much as I love you.”

They’d all visited on several occasions, and every single member of his pack was constantly glancing at each other with that secretivenudge, nudge, wink, wink look—the kind that meant clothes would be coming off in short order. I may have been living in a basement for years, but I’d sussed out sex pretty darn quickly.

I got the impression that, whenever omegas and alpha were mated, they were constantly going at it. I could understand because the frequency I’d wanted to jump my guys at the cabin was quite impressive.

Kane grumbled. “We could always add soundproofing,” he suggested.

I grimaced again. “Do you really think soundproofing is going to be enough?Reallythink about it,” I said, glowering at him.

He shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t want to leave you on your own.”

“I’m not on my own. There are so many omegas here. There are guards and therapists... Literally all I’m doing right now is going to therapy.”

“How’s that going?” he asked.

I cocked my head to the side. “It’s going really well, I think. I mean, we’re still getting to know each other, but I like my therapist, and I think we’re going to get along well.”

Dr. Sarah, my therapist, was slowly talking me through the entirety of the last few months. Our first appointment was only meant to be an hour or two, but it ended up lasting the entire day. As we ate fries, we discussed my entire history—from living with my family, to the basement, to the cabin.

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