Page 112 of Knot All That Glitters: Part 2

Belinda gives a sharp nod and, keeping her chin high, she leaves the room, pausing on the other side to mutter, “this isn’t over.”

“Oh, it very much is,” North calls after her, waving like a dickhead. When the door closes, he glances over at Hale. “We’ll handle that for you.”

Our prime shrug. “She doesn’t have anything to use against us,” he says. “But if she becomes a problem. We’ll let you know.”

Haven shakes out her shoulders and steps around Creed, her relief flooding the bond. “Can we go home now? I’m feeling… kind of creepy crawly gross.”

Jude laughs, tugging her into him. “What does that even mean, belly button?”

“Like she has bugs crawling on her,” South says.

Haven nods and points at him. “Yeah, that exactly. I feel like I’ll never get clean again.”

“Oh, we’ll get you clean, baby girl. You can count on it.”

“And then we’ll get you dirty again,” Hale purrs.

Our omega flushes that pretty pink shade that I love so much, and shivers. Her sweet scent floods the room, making my dick jump and the Cardinals curse. “Let’s go,” Haven whispers, ducking her head, as though she’s embarrassed by her natural reaction.

She shouldn’t be. I’m not thrilled another pack is scenting how turned on she is, but I don’t mind so much that they know we do that to her. That she’s ours.

“Whatever you need, angel,” I croon at her, lifting her into my arms and heading out the door, knowing our pack will be right on my heels. Wherever Haven goes, the rest of us follow. “We’ll give you anything you need.”

My omega presses a soft kiss to the underside of my jaw and sigh contentedly. “I just need you. All of you.”

My heart fucking glows at her simple statement. Feeling how true the words are for her. She means them with all her heart. And there’s nothing better than that.

Epilogue

Vengeance is Mine!

“This is a nightmare,” Jude groans. “Truly, why do people enjoy this? Why doyouenjoy this?”

I laugh and glance over my shoulder at him, to where he’s dragging his feet behind the rest of us. Even Ren, who still walks with a slight hitch in her gait, a limp that makes me wince every time I see it. His cheeks are flushed, but that’s the only sign of any exertion on his part. His t-shirt is dry, his hair isn’t sweat slicked. And yet, he’s complaining.

I’m sure if he wanted to, he could dance merrily up the rest of this hill and not even be winded, unlike me. I’m sure my face is flushed. There are trickles of sweat running down my spine and the hair that’s escaped my double French braids is sticking to my forehead.

“Do you need a break, Jude?” I ask, slowing to a stop and using the momentary lack of motion to stretch my lower back while looking out at the surrounding vista. We haven’t even made it to the top, and it’s already gorgeous.

“Stop complaining,” Hale grumbles, handing me a water bottle with the unspoken command to drink. “Our pregnant omega is taking on these switchbacks like a trouper.”

Jude grins at the reminder that I am indeed carrying our first child. Pushing between Creed and Tic, he kneels on the ground in front of me, hands splayed over the very small baby bump protruding from my body. As he murmurs words I can’t hear, Hale taps the bottle in my hand as a gentle reminder. Rolling my eyes, I tip some water into my mouth and swallow.

“And me,” Ren says, bending to massage the muscle of her thigh just above her knee. “I’m a trouper too.”

I watch as she winces slightly but know better than to ask how she’s doing. She used to snap at me every time I asked until I snapped back that if she wanted me to stop asking, she had to actually volunteer the information. Since then we’ve come to an agreement. If she needs help or a break, she’ll say something, and I keep my worrying to a minimum.

Mostly.

Almost two years later and I can’t seem to stop myself from worrying about her, feeling that guilt.

Creed’s hand slides onto my lower back and gently massages the aching muscles there. “How are you holding up, baby girl?”

It’s sweet how much they worry about me, but I’ve had to remind them constantly that me carrying a baby doesn’t mean I suddenly turned to breakable glass. They have a tendency to hover, to coddle, to keep me from doing things I’m still totally capable of doing, just because they think I might hurt myself or the baby. And I’m not talking about skydiving or anything. No,I’m talking about things like using the step stool to reach one of the upper shelves in the kitchen, carrying a basket of laundry down the stairs, going on a hike like the one we’re on right now.

It took me three full days of begging for them to agree to this little jaunt through the woods, and even then they only agreed when I promised I’d pick an easy trail since Ren was coming with us. Tic, being who he is, verified that the trail was indeed listed as easy, but little did he know that trail ratings are all over the place and easy is usually more like moderate.

I don’t think they’ll be making this mistake again.

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