Page 53 of Knot All That Glitters: Part 2

“Sorry, I drifted off there. What did you say?”

Hale shifts closer, a soft smile on his face, tinged with regret and caution. “I said why don’t you go cuddle up in the media room? We have some things to take care of today.”

I tense at the mention of the media room. It’s stupid, just a room in the house, but I haven’t set foot in the basement since that day in November where I realized what they were doing. I’m worried that if I see the scene of the crime, I might… I don’t know revert to that helpless, hopeless, heartbroken omega that broke on their back lawn.

Again. Ridiculous. I know this, but it doesn’t stop the worry from being there. The anxiety. The panic.

I can’t afford to fall apart like that again.

Though if I do, I have the feeling the Calloway pack will be there to help hold me together.

But for how long?An insidious little voice questions.

“I can just hang on the couch up here, right?” I hate that my voice is small and timid.

Hale keeps his expression neutral, but he slowly shakes his head. “Unfortunately, we have some people coming to the house today. It would be better if you stayed out of sight.”

I frown. “Then I’ll just hang out in my room.” The two alphas exchange a look over my head.

“I’ll hang out with you,” Creed offers. “If you don’t want to be alone.”

“That’s not really the issue,” I mutter, hopping up from the stool. “I’ll go to Ren’s if I need to make myself scarce.”

“Little mouse,” Hale growls. “No. Just go hang out in the basement.”

I glare at him. Why the hell is he pushing this? “I. Don’t. Want. To.” I bite off each word, making sure he knows I’m displeased. “It might surprise you to know this, but I’m not particularly eager to visit the site where all of my dreams of a safe and secure pack, of being withyoufor the rest of my life, went up in smoke, Hale.”

The two of them stare at me in shock, like this hadn’t occurred to them. Why would it have? To them, it’s a room in their house. To me, it’s a war zone.

“I don’t want to go down there,” I say quietly. “It’s where I realized you were using me.It hurt.”

“Oh, baby girl,” Creed mutters, taking a step toward me. “I’m sorry, we didn’t think.”

“Yeah, that seems to be a theme with you. You don’t think through your actions.” I shake my head, frustrated with everything. “But whatever. I’m over it. I’ll go… I’ll go down to the basement, if that’s what you need.”

I wait for them to tell me I don’t have to, that I can go to Ren’s or stay in my bedroom. Hale blows out a breath. “I’m sorry, mouse. If there was another way…”

I wave him off, not wanting to waste time arguing with him. “There is another way. You’re just too stubborn to let me do it. But whatever you need, alpha. Right? That’s what a good omega always says.”

I’m not bitter. You’re bitter.

I spin on my heel, intending to march down to the basement right this fucking second and prove to them I’mstronger than what they did to me, but Hale catches my wrist gently, tugging me back around to face them. His thumb rubs a circle over my pulse point.

“You know,” Hale says roughly, looking repentant as hell. I can’t stand it, so I drop my gaze. “Creed never wanted to be a part of that game, of keeping score. The rest of us added all of the points for him.” I stare blindly at the stretch of his t-shirt over his chest, thinking back to how resistant Creed was to touching me. How I took it to mean he didn’t want me, but really it was that he wanted me enough to give up a decade long revenge plan. “As soon as he met you, he knew.”

I lift my head to stare at the prime alpha hard, ignoring the feel of a set of gray eyes burning into the side of my head. “What did he know?”

Hale gives me a soft smile, his thumb strokes the curve of my bottom lip. “That you’re ours. That we were gonna fuck it up if we went forward with our plan. I didn’t listen.” He leans forward and the breath stutters in my chest as he presses a barely there kiss to my cheek. “He fought us every step of the way, mouse. Every. Fucking. Step. If you never forgive the rest of us… it’ll kill us, but we’ll understand. But Creed? He deserves your forgiveness. He deserves to have you.”

I frown when he pulls back. “What about the rest of you?”

He gives me that soft smile again. “We’re going to keep working to earn your forgiveness. For the rest of our lives, omega. So I hope you’re ready for that.”

I should remind him I’m leaving, that I won’t be here forever. But the words get stuck. A part of me is still hoping that they’ll do it, that they’ll make it up to me and I’ll be able to forgive them without feeling like a doormat or a pushover.

I swallow and instead go with the truth. Which is far, far scarier. “I really hope you manage it, Hale. I don’t like being mad at you. I don’t like feeling like I should hate you.” He stares at mewith wide, surprised blue eyes, like he never expected me to say that. Next to us, I can feel Creed doing the same. “Please, make it up to me.”

The prime of the Calloway pack nods, determination burning in his eyes. “We will, omega. I promise.”

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