Page 76 of The Knot Before Christmas

So what’s changed?

“Next heat? That would imply we’d be around one another.”

He grins and this one is kind of scary. “I’ve changed my mind.” He chuckles. “We’re not leaving you behind. You're coming home with us. Because that, right there.” He points to the mate mark on my neck. “Means you belong to my little brother. And there's no way in hell I'm letting him leave our pack to run away with you. So, if that means putting up with your bratty ass for the rest of our lives, I’ll just have to fucking deal with it.”

He winks before turning around and walking naked into the hallway, then over to the bathroom.

What the hell was that? Did this Alpha asshole, who spent the whole time I was here hating me, letting me know how much he couldn’t wait to be rid of me, tell me I’m allowed to stick around?

“That was his way of saying you're growing on him. I give it a month, maybe two before he’s pulling his head out of his ass and grovelling at your feet to make him your Alpha,” Ian says.

My eyes snap over to him and I huff out a laugh. “Yeah, I won’t hold my breath on that one. And what makes you think I’d let him be my Alpha?”

Ian gives me a knowing look. “He’s your scent match, Little Doe. The sooner you two accept that, the quicker we can be a pack.”

“A pack.” My brows jump. “A pack with who?”

“Me and my brothers.” Ian frowns. “Keep up, Little Omega.”

My attention shoots over to Will who’s standing there, listening with his arms crossed, looking out the window. “Him too?” I point to Will. “He doesn’t want me.”

Will’s eyes slowly meet mine. “Says who?”

My eyes widen and my lips part. “But– you– I– What?”

He shrugs. “I never said I didn’t want an Omega. It was always the end goal for our pack to have one. We just didn’t want one in our lives right now. But, it seems as if we have no control over it, it’s not something we can just sweep under the rug. The fact is, Nova, you’re my Omega. It’s taken me a little bit of time to process that. There’s a lot of things we still need to work on. I think maybe first, we should take some time to get to know one another, feel comfortable, build trust, and then we could be a good pack.”

“You're serious?” I whisper in disbelief.

He walks over and crouches down in front of me. Cupping my face, he brushes his thumb against my cheek. “I like you, Nova. I want you. You're my Omega. I don’t want to control you. I just want to be with you. You make the rules. Not us. I can’t say we’re just going to be able to shut off our Alpha instincts, they ride us hard, because for the most part an Alpha just wants to make sure their Omega is happy, healthy, and safe. Taken care of. And I have a feeling you’re not going to make that easy for us.” He chuckles.

“Maybe.” I mumble, making him laugh harder. Each thing he says fills me with hope and happiness. All things I’m not used to. I’m also afraid of this feeling, of getting hurt again.

Will must be able to see it in my eyes, because his jaw ticks. “We’re not him, Nova. We would never agree to be yours and betray you.”

“But you're not mine,” I whisper. “Not officially. Yes, we’re scent matches, but I’m not ready to make you my official Alpha and sure as hell not with Nick.”

“Are you afraid that because you haven’t officially claimed us, we might go to other people?”

The idea makes me want to puke, cry, and scream at the same time. Them touching someone else who isn’t me makes me fucking murderous.

“Yes.”

He grins. “Don’t worry about that, Little Omega. I don’t want anyone else. And Nick? Let me deal with him. He might fuck with you, say hurtful things to get you going, but I won’t let him take it too far.”

I want to take his word for it, but I don’t trust him. Not yet. And I sure as hell don’t trust Nick.

“Just come back with us. Start over new. You will have a place to stay, a room of your own, and a nest. More money than you know what to do with, and a life where you don’t have to work your ass off for your next meal,” Will whipsers and fuck me, I feel like crying.

He’s offering me way too good of a deal to turn down. “We can work on things at your pace. You're in control, Nova. I wouldn’t dare try to change you.”

But Nick would.

Isn’t that the fun of it though? I love fighting with him. It’s a fucking kink at this point. It can’t stay like that forever though, right? That’s fucked up and toxic.

The fact is, the idea of never seeing him again or him being with someone else hurts. So, I’m screwed either way.

“Okay,” I whisper, my hands shaking as I wring them together in front of me.

---