Page 38 of Knot Dead Yet

The bigger room had a cozy country feeling with an old-fashioned cherry wood bedroom set. A few shirts draped over a recliner and a sock stuck out from under the bed. One wall had several photos, and I recognized a few as downtown Winnipeg. Most were wilderness pictures like the ones downstairs. The scent had something male and earthy about it with a hint of citrus.

I looked back at Tiergan. “I like the pictures.”

“Thanks. I love being out in the woods and taking photos. Manitoba is a great place to get outdoors and go on adventures.”

I didn’t know what sort of adventures could be had in Manitoba, but his photos were gorgeous.

The third room was much more what I expected a single guy’s room to look like. Clothes strewn everywhere, unmade bed, empty energy drink bottles, and a grease dotted pizza box. It wasn’t a pleasant smell coming from it, and the chaos of it spoke to me only one name. “Ewan’s room?”

“Yeah, sorry you had to see that.” Alderic shut the door and gave me an apologetic look.

“More sorry for any girl that Ewan brings home.” I laughed, hoping to break some of the tension between the men and distract myself from my stupid heat.

We made our way up to the third floor. There was a room on either side and a bathroom at the end of the corridor lined with a few tall leafy palm plants. The room on the left was dark, but a massive bed sat at one end of the room and a weight bench at the other. The walls were a hunter green and only a few pictures of sled dogs hung from them. The masculine scent was heavy with oakmoss and sandalwood laced with smoky rum. It was deep and alluring and very Maddox.

I could imagine him throwing me on that big bed and driving into me…

Nearly gasping, I forced myself away and looked into the final room. The scent hit me before my eyes adjusted to see anything. Cedarwood and molasses curled around me, luring me into the bedroom. The overall tone of the scent bellowed Alpha male, and even though I realized this last room could only be Kane’s before I went to it, the smell of him would have immediately given it away.

Dark wood slanted diagonally on the back wall where the king sized bed sat. It was plush with a thick black comforter and several pillows of varying shades of brown to almost gold. A snowboard was propped up in one corner and a series of threehockey jerseys with his name on them were framed on the wall near the closet. A thick fur rug was on the floor at the end of the bed and a pair of cushioned slippers sat on it.

Slippers. My body was trembling from my heat, but all I could think about was that I didn’t peg Kane as someone who wore slippers.

The guys were silent. Were they waiting for me to pick a room to nest in? I couldn’t just pick a room. If I picked one over the others, there would be hurt feelings. Panic chewed at the edges of my already frayed self control.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. I hurried into the hall and to the bathroom. “I need to use the little girl’s room! Well, not that there are any girls in this house to make it a girl bathroom, but yeah…”

I closed the door swiftly behind me and leaned against it. That was pathetic.

There was a light knock on the door. “Kienna,” Alderic said my name softly. “We’re going down to the kitchen to get drinks and order food. Anything you need? Did you want pizza?”

“I’ll come down when I’m done. Pizza sounds good. Thank you. No olives though.”

At least the guys were giving me some space. Space to choose, I knew, but I had a few minutes to compose myself.

I splashed my face with cold water and trickled some down onto my chest. Nothing was helping with my heat. I didn’t feel the Omega call to nest in any room, if there was even such a thing. How did an Omega choose a place to nest? All the guys’ rooms smelled good, except for Ewan’s, but other than being filthy, he was the only pack member I hadn’t been drawn to.

Nesting just had to happen naturally, right? I couldn’t force it. Maybe the pack house wasn’t the place for me. But what if that place was my own room back on the west coast?

Fixing my hair and trying not to look like I’d run a marathon, I exited the bathroom and started toward the stairs. I froze when I heard shouting from below.

“I can’t believe you guys left the press conference for a chick!” Not one of the Alphas. Was that Ewan? “And Al, you didn’t even show up at all. What the fuck?”

“Kienna needed us.” Tiergan grunted.

“So what? What was another hour? The coach was pissed. I had to carry the whole conference myself since the entire fucking first line was playing maid to a stupid Omega!”

“We’ll make it up to him. Kienna’s important to us.” Kane’s voice was loud but he wasn’t yelling.

“Important as your careers? Important as the team?” Ewan yelled back. “You’re the captain, Kane. What does that say to the team when you up and leave them for a girl? Plus you all left me there. I had to grab a ride home with Thompson. How do you think it makes me feel to be left out of pack business?”

Alderic replied with quiet words I couldn’t quite pick up, but his cousin—who was rightfully angry—cut him off.

“No! You don’t get to tell me to calm the fuck down. You guys bailed out on your team. You’re always saying how hockey is life and the pack is the most important thing, but ever since that bitch came into our lives, it’s all about her.”

That was cruel, and I inwardly cringed. But he had a point. I was a distraction to what they loved.

Someone or someones growled, and another of the guys hissed out some words.

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