Page 40 of Knot Their Valentine

Harlow

I'm just starting to relax against Cae, wondering exactly where the rest of the day is going to lead us, when the apartment door opens.

No one is expecting the door to open, so the second it swings open, we all snap our heads in that direction and freeze.

Two very unexpected Omegas walk in. My mother and Caelum’s mom, Marissa.

“Mom?” Cae and I both ask at the same time. Cae still has his arms around me with Lachlan close at our side.

I'm pressed chest to chest with an Alpha that already has a mate as our fucking mothers walk in.

The thing that makes this even worse is the fact that my tits are also hanging above the living room couch.

The two women walk in chattering cheerily, make it a few steps, suck in a deep breath each, and pause.

The two Alphas and I watch in horror as the mothers’ eyes flick between us and the painting and back. I'm expecting some level of outrage seeing as I'm not a part of this pack, and I have always known my mother's expectations of me are beyond my ability to reach… But even I am capable of realizing that hookingup with a pack that already has an Omega, isn't my finest moment.

Even though the other Omega really was their biggest selling point… I'm not sure either of these women really care about that, though.

Caelum must also be bracing for some level of shock and outrage because his hold on me tightens.

Lachlan takes a step forward like he wants to block their view of us. It's really sweet actually. If anyone knows just how overbearing these two mothers are, it's him and Quin.

But I should have known better.

These women never do what we expect. I think they find it more entertaining to leave all of us, but especially me, always guessing.

Because the next words out of my mother's mouth make my jaw hit the fucking floor.

“Harlow, finally! Oh my god, you have no idea how long we've been waiting for this! I am so glad you finally came to your senses, Cae!” She claps her hands together and actual tears fill her eyes.

Literal fucking tears.

It takes a moment for the insinuation to hit its mark. The Alphas both tense up as a burned edge saturates their scents.

She's my mother, and I love her dearly, but I'm not sure if there's another human on this planet that can enrage me quite like her.

I used to think Cae pissed me off more than anyone else… I can see now that I was fucking wrong.

Because as I stand here between the literal audacity of our mothers, I just wanna protect Cae from whatever bullshit this is.

“Now, we finally have hope for those grand babies!” Caelum’s mother whispers, the tears that had been filling her eyes a moment before start trailing down her cheeks.

“We can plan the most amazing bonding ceremony. Can you imagine, Rissa?”

Caelum’s entire body trembles against me. Lachlan’s muscles are tight, and he looks ready to start throwing punches.

Of course, that's also the moment Quin's head pops out of the hall. His face is red, his eyes bloodshot and glassy.

The tears that threatened to spill over the edge of his lashes put me on edge.

I've never been this angry with my mother before in my entire life.

She's done a lot of really shitty things, and I've always just forgiven her. Made excuses like, that's just how she is. She means well. She just doesn't know how to express it. She has a kind heart. She just doesn't have subtlety.

But I've never seen her more cruel than I do at this moment.

Quin doesn't move to get any closer to us. He simply stands there in the hallway threshold, halfway between the mothers and us.

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