Page 33 of The Knot Before Christmas

We walk another few moments in silence, the frosty air nipping at my cheeks.

“Cars,” he says.

I’m confused for a moment, but then I remember my questions.

“You work on cars?”

“And bikes” he says, but he doesn’t elaborate.

“That's pretty cool,” I reply. “Could have used you a few days ago.” I laugh.

He stops again, looking at me with a confused, furrowed brow.

“Before shit hit the fan, and my car got beat to shit. It’s why I stole your van. Although it’s not your van, is it? Stole that too, didn’t you?”

He just glares at me.

“Anyways.” I roll my eyes. “It costs too much to fix. Money that I didn’t have, because my ex gambled or drank it all away. Honestly, it was a hunk of junk anyways, and wasn't worth the money to get it fixed.”

“What did you do?” he asks me, turning back around. “For work, I mean.”

“Waitress. Worked at this pub a few blocks down from my place. My boss was a fucking creep. Worked me too hard, paid me too little, and then harassed me. Tried to fuck me,” I scoff. “Fucking pig. His wife found out. He blamed me, she freaked. I got fired.”

“That’s fucked up,” Will comments.

“Yup, but that's the life of an Omega. No one takes you seriously. To the world we’re weak, in need of being cared for because we can’t do it ourselves. Jokes on them, because I've been doing pretty damn fine taking care of myself all on my own. No Alphas needed. Didn’t need them then, sure as hell don’t need them now.”

We get to the shed. Will doesn’t look my way, but I can see his body stiffening at my words.

Does he know? Does he know how hard it is for me not to reach out and touch him? To demand to know him better, so I can learn how to please my Alpha? To find out why he’s so much more quiet than his brothers.

Does he want me just as badly as I want him?

He sure as hell doesn’t know how amazing it felt to be held by Ian all night. That every worry inside me disappeared, and I had the best sleep of my life.

No matter how much I hate the fact that these Alphas are my scent matches, the fact is, something deep down inside me is betting on the fact they won’t hurt me.

We might not want each other—apart from Ian, who clearly wants me—but the bond between us is stronger than any of us could have expected.

Shaking my head, I follow Will inside.

“For an abandoned place, it sure seems pretty lived in. The house has most of its furniture, the power works, and look at all the stuff they left behind in here,” I say, looking in the shed. It’s filled with tools and other things.

“The person who lived here died. Everything was left behind. The son who owns it lives overseas.”

“Did some research, huh?” I ask, slowly letting my eyes check the place out.

“We take our job seriously. The media might have made a joke by coming up with that God awful name, but we do what we do well. Never been caught, always making out with at least a few hundred grand per year.”

“Not bad.” I nod my head, not sure why the fuck I’m complimenting these criminals on their robbing skills.

“Thanks,” Will chuckles softly.

My eyes drift toward his back as he grabs something from one of the shelves. His red curls peek out from under his hat.

His smell invades the small room and my pussy cramps. Damn him for smelling so good.

Ripping my gaze away from him, I grin when I find a sled. “Look.” I grab the wooden sled and grunt when I realize how heavy it is.

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