Page 45 of Knot All That Glitters: Part 2

“Don’t you dare ever do that to me again, Haves. You’ll send me to an early grave.” She nuzzles her face into my hair and I stroke her own wild strands, letting the presence of the one person who has always had my back, who has never abandoned me, settle against my skin, soothe the ache in my heart.

“I’ll try not to.”

“There is no try, only do,” she says in a terrible Yoda voice that makes me laugh again. God. That feels good. I didn’t think I’d be able to laugh today of all days. Not after everything I’ve learned. Ren takes a deep breath. “I’m staying the night.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to kick all of their asses in the morning.”

“Sounds good.”

“But I need my Haven cuddles first.”

I hum. “And I need Ren cuddles.”

We lay like that for a while, just hanging on to each other with all our might. Until there’s a knock at the door, and Creedgruffly calls out that he has food for us. Ren pats my head and tells me to stay right where I am, as she goes to answer the door.

Creed enters carrying a huge tray of Thai food and drinks, muscles bulging slightly under the weight as he slides it onto the small table by the window. He looks at me in the middle of the bed and I swear I see a flash of longing in his gaze. It’s almost enough to make me melt, but I force myself to remember that he’s a liar. He used me.

Ren moves until she’s blocking his view. When he growls at her, Ren snaps her fingers. “No. No, you don’t get to be all possessive over my girl. You fucked up. She’s not yours anymore. Get the fuck out of here. She doesn’t want you here.” A quick glance over her shoulder at me to verify that she read the situation correctly. “You don’t want him in here, right?”

“Right.” The word is hoarse, and partly a lie. I do want him here. I want all of them here. My omega wants the comfort only an alpha can give. But, I have to remind myself, not these alphas.

Ren flicks her fingers at him in a dismissive gesture. “You heard her.”

Creed gives me one more lingering look, then closes the door behind him. I have to bite my tongue to keep from calling him back, because as much as I don’t want to be around any of them right now, I also very much want them to make this right. To prove to me they didn’t mean it. That they really do want me.

But that can’t possibly be the truth.

No one actually wants me.

My omega whines and Ren whips her head toward me, colorful eyes narrowed. “What’s up, buttercup?”

I grit my teeth and shake my head. “Just my omega being stupid and wanting any alpha she can get her greedy little hands on.”

Ren rolls her eyes and drags the table closer to the bed. “That’s not true, babe.”

“Uh, yeah, it is. That’s what being an omega is. Proximity to an alpha makes you want the alpha.”

She laughs and shakes her head, scooping up a bowl of Pad Thai and sitting cross-legged on my mattress, facing me. “Uh, no. That’s not how it works. If it did, I would cream my pants during every rehearsal because of Giles. But I am decidedly not.”

“You’re on suppressants,” I remind her, because it’s the only way she can guarantee she’ll be available for rehearsals and shows. She stops them during the breaks between shows to have a heat and then starts them up again. Her doctor is not pleased with this method, but Ren says that a dancer’s career is so short anyway, that in a few years she’ll be able to stop taking the suppressants and have normal heats.

“Okay, yes, but all that time at the Academy and we never once felt compelled to say yes to any of the packs we met. We have some say, Haven. You know this better than anyone.”

I sigh and run a wearing hand down my face as she shoves a forkful of noodles into her mouth. “Holy shit, did Tic make this?”

Another sigh. “Yeah. he did. He’s very talented in the kitchen. It’s probably why I didn’t realize he was drugging me.”

Ren stops chewing as her eyes narrow. She swallows and then viciously spits out a few choice insults before muttering, “I’m going to cut his fucking dick off.”

A quick laugh bursts out of me, and I reach for a bowl of Tom Kah Gai. “Hence the comment about my stupid omega wanting any fucking alpha she can get.”

“Do you want Brian?”

I choke on the bite of soup I just spooned into my mouth and the next several minutes are me gasping for air and coughing as Ren pounds on my back. I look up at her through watery eyes. “Why the hell would you ask me that?”

“He’s an alpha,” she shrugs. “If your statement is accurate, then you would want him, right?”

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