Page 16 of Knot Sharing the Ice

For a moment, I'm speechless. It's the last thing I expected any of them to offer, let alone all of them. The omega in me whines at the thought of them leaving, but I push that instinct down hard.

"That's... that's not necessary," I find myself saying, even as a part of me screams that it absolutely is necessary, that I can't trust them, that I can't trust myself around them.

Carter's eyebrows raise slightly, but he doesn't comment on my response. Instead, he asks, "Is there anything else you need? Anything we can do to make you more comfortable?"

I shake my head, not trusting my voice. Not trusting myself to blurt out the answer the instinctive part of me has already come up with. He nods and turns to go, but I reach out, catching his wrist before I can stop myself. His skin is warm under my fingers, and I feel that spark again, stronger this time.

"Why are you being so nice?" I blurt out. "All of you. You don't even know me."

Carter looks down at where my hand is still on his wrist, then back up to meet my eyes. There's an intensity in his gaze that makes my breath catch.

"You're our mate," he says simply, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Our omega. Even if you decide you don't want us, we'll still protect you. It's just how we're wired."

I let go of his wrist, my hand falling limply to my side. "I don't need protecting," I mutter, but there's no real heat behind it.

Carter's lips quirk up in a small smile. "I believe you," he says. "But the offer stands, all the same."

He turns to go again, and this time I let him. As he walks away, I can't help but watch the way his shoulders move under his shirt, the confident stride that speaks of years of athletic training. I force myself to look away, focusing instead on the snow outside.

But I can still feel his presence, can still smell his scent—dark chocolate, rich and tempting. It mingles with the others, creating a symphony of scents that calls to something deep inside me. Something I've spent years trying to ignore.

I pull out my phone again, desperate for a distraction. But as I stare at the screen, I realize I have no idea what to say to Taylor. How do I explain any of this? How do I put into words the way my world has shifted on its axis in the span of a few hours?

So instead, I set the phone aside and take another sip of cocoa. It's sweet and comforting, but it does nothing to soothe the heat building inside me. A heat that has nothing to do with the temperature in the room and everything to do with the four alphas who keep stealing glances at me from across the room.

My mates. The thought sends a shiver down my spine, equal parts excitement and terror.

I'm not ready for this.

I don't want this.

Or do I?

I close my eyes, trying to center myself. One breath in, one breath out. Just get through the night, I tell myself. Just get through this heat, and then... then what?

I don't have an answer for that. So instead, I open my eyes and stare out at the snow, watching as it erases the world I knew, leaving only uncertainty in its wake.

Chapter

Eight

JAYCE

The puck slams into the back of the net with a satisfying thwack. I grab another from the pile at my feet, wind up, and let it fly.

Thwack.

Again.

Thwack.

My arms burn from the repetition, but I welcome the pain. Anything to distract me from the intoxicating scent of omega—of Ember—wafting from the breakroom.

Fuck.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the memory of her standing so close, her delicate hand fisted in my scarf as she inhaled deeply. The way her eyes had widened slightly, pupils dilating as she breathed my scent. "Salted caramel." The flush that had crept up her neck, staining her cheeks a rosy pink that made me want to trace it with my tongue...

I growl, shaking my head to clear it.

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