Page 75 of Knot All That Glitters: Part 2

“That’s it?” Hale prompts after a moment.

I glance at him, but the hurt confusion on his face is hard to take, so I look away quickly, back to the bed that is big enough to fit five or six people. “I-um-I’m not sure what else you want me to say?”

“Fuck,” Jude curses. “I told you we should have let her pick out what she wanted.”

“That would have ruined the surprise,” Tic says, sounding distressed as hell.

“We can redo it, baby girl. Whatever is wrong with it. We can fix.”

“What don’t you like about it, mouse?”

I blink, my tired mind trying to make sense of what they’re saying. “I’m sorry,” I say quietly, and their bickering cuts off at the sound of my voice. “Is this… Did you do this for me?”

They all look at each other in confusion. “Who else would we have done it for, button?”

My mouth opens and then closes and when I finally make a sound, it comes out squeezed. “Janie.”

“Oh, angel, no.” Tic sounds heartbroken and all of them look it. “No.”

“You thought we brought you in here to show you a nest we designed for another omega?” Hale asks, horrified by the idea.

“She was… She was your fated mate. Of course, your nest is for her.”

They all just stare at me until I shift uncomfortably. But the Creed lets out a humorless laugh and shakes his head. “This is our fault. We never… We didn’t tell you much about our history, but baby girl, we bought this house long after Janie passed away. This room never belonged to her.”

“If I’m being completely honest,” Tic adds. “I kind of assumed it would be empty for the rest of our lives.”

Jude nods. “Yeah, big houses these days, houses meant for packs, they all have a nest. We couldn’t avoid buying one.”

“But you left it empty,” I say, looking around. “A nesting room doesn’t have to be a nest. It’s just a room until you assign a purpose to it. And you left it empty.”

Hale shrugs. “Maybe some part of us hoped that when we finished with your father, we’d feel ready to find an omega.”

“Or maybe you were holding space for Janie without realizing it,” I say softly, looking around again. “Maybe you still thought of this room as hers.”

“No, Haven. No, that’s not what happened,” Hale says fiercely. “We aren’t giving you Janie’s nest. We’re giving you your nest.It’s yours.It has only been yours.”

I want to believe him. I want to trust that this is my room that they never even remotely thought of it as Janie’s. But that’s a dangerous line of thinking too, isn’t it?

If I start to think of this room as mine, then I’ll start to think of this house as mine, this pack, these alphas as mine. But that’s just not the case.

They are Janie’s pack, Janie’s alphas. That’s what being fated means.

“It’s so pretty,” I repeat. “Perfect. Exactly the nest I would design for myself.” Jude grins and his shoulders slump, while Tic pats Hale on the back and they all seem to congratulate themselves. All of them but Creed, who is watching me warily.

“It’s perfect, but,” he prompts.

I shake my head. “I don’t think I can accept it.” Another shake. “No. IknowI can’t accept it. I can’t sleep in here. I can’t… this can’t be my room.”

I’m sure they can read between the lines. They have to know what I’m really saying. The guest room is fine for me to be in, because my stay with them is temporary. If I take this nest that they designed for me, claim it as my own, it’ll be like admitting I’m staying.

And as much as my omega wants me to stay, wants to burrow into this nest and never come out, my more logical side knows I can’t do that until I’m sure. I’m not there yet.

Hale’s brows furrow. “Whether or not you sleep in here, mouse, this is your room. Your nest. No one else’s. You understand?”

I give a jerky nod as tears fill my eyes. He’s saying it’s not Janie’s or some other omega who might come along after me.

“Good. Then we can move your things back to the guest room, if that’s what you want.”

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