Page 102 of My Knotty Mountain Men

“Love you too.”

The drive to the house feels like the longest fucking time. Every second that passes, I get more and more worked up.

My Omega is in need; she’s hurting, and I’m not there to help. Just like I wasn’t there for the three months, she was gone.

Shaking my head, I try to pull myself out of that mindset. It's in the past, something we can’t change. I need to think of this moment.

She was with Nolan and in good hands. He can take care of her.

It still doesn’t lessen my Alpha instincts any. The need to get to her, to tear the world apart until she’s safely tucked in my arms, is what's driving me right now.

Just as I’m about to pull onto the road that leads to our place, I see Thomas’s truck approaching at the same time. We lock eyes, a moment of understanding, and something inside me settles just a little. He goes first, and I follow after.

The Jeep is parked in the driveway when we get to the house, and the moment we park, we’re out and racing up the stairs.

Bursting through the doors like the damn Kool-Aid Man, we look around frantically and find Violet on the couch. She’s curled up in Nolan’s arms as he murmurs to her, almost rocking her body as he rubs his hand up and down her back.

She looks up, locking eyes with us before breaking all over again.

It’s like someone shoved their hand into my chest, wrapped it around my heart, and squeezed.

I’m over to her in three steps, pulling her from Nolan’s arms and placing her in my lap. She clings to me like a koala, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist before burying her face into the crook of my neck.

Deep, heavy sobs leave her as she blindly reaches for Thomas. He’s on his knees, wrapping his body around her from behind, sandwiching her between us.

We say nothing, knowing if we try to get her to talk in this state, it’s only going to make things worse.

So we do what our instincts tell us to do and purr. Deep rumbling purrs leave our chests and vibrate through our bodies to her.

After a minute, her sobs slow to crying, then to little whimpers before her breathing finally evens out.

For a moment, I think she’s fallen asleep.

“Thank you,” she whispers.

Hearing her voice, I let out a relieved breath. This whole time I’ve been in Alpha mode, the only thing on my mind was getting her to relax. My emotions haven’t hit me much until now.

Fear, worry, panic, everything I feel any time she’s out of my sight hits me like a Mack truck. But she’s here, in my arms, and she’s okay.

At least, I think she’s okay.

“Little One, do you want to tell us what got you so worked up?” I ask her, kissing the side of her head.

“And who we have to kill,” Thomas growls.

A shiver runs down my spine, and I can't help but grin. He’s normally the more peaceful one of us Alphas.

She lets out a deep, exhausted sigh. “It’s just all so fucked up,” she whispers. Thomas moves from his position at her back to sit next to us on the couch. She whimpers and wiggles her way over to his lap. I feel a moment of possessiveness, but I know I have to share. He needs to comfort her, too.

Violet snuggles into Thomas before blinking her big baby blues over at us. Her eyes are puffy and red. I hate that she’s upset, and I’ve never hated hearing her cry more than I do now.

“I wanted to get out of the house for a bit,” she murmurs, her eyes moving down to Thomas’s shirt as she starts to pick at his sleeve. “So, I went to go pick up some things for the party this weekend,” she sighs. “Everything was going fine. Despite my shitty morning, I was actually feeling better and enjoying myself the more I shopped. I’m excited, you know? To find out what we’re having. But, of course, things can’t go well for me for too long.” I can see the shift in her mood, going from neutral to pissed off again. “Sylvia was there.”

All three of us stiffen. Violet doesn’t need to say anything else before fury comes bubbling to the surface. Just the mention of that bitch’s name makes me angry.

“What did she do?” Thomas growls.

“Let me tell you this, that woman is fucking bonkers,” Violet seethes, shooting into an upright position, eyes wild as she gets a burst of energy. “This crazy bitch asked to buy my baby!”

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