Page 77 of Knot the Alphas' Feral Omega

It was humbling to see how much she trusted me, even though I was the source of the problem.

And I wouldn’t take that for granted, not even a little bit.

It took almost five full minutes of us just sitting there like that, me rubbing her back and making soft, soothing sounds to her, before her entire body stopped shaking and she sighed.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

I let out a humorless chuckle. “I should be the one apologizing to you, again, princess,” I said dryly. I stroked my hand over the soft strands of her hair again before she pulled away, and my heart clenched at the sight of tears in her eyes, glittering like diamonds. “Fuck.”

She shook her head, sucking her lower lip into her mouth and dragging her teeth over it for a moment. I ignored the way my cock jerked at the gesture and continued to focus on her as shelet out another shaky sigh and said, “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me.”

She growled, frustrated, low in her throat, and my wolf rose to answer, giving a soft, rumbling purr that immediately made her muscles unlock.

“What’s wrong is that I’m an asshole, I didn’t listen to anyone who told me something different than I wanted to hear, and now you’re suffering the consequences.” I swallowed thickly. “And I’m so fucking sorry about it. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do enough that I’ll be able to forgive myself. Not that that’s the important thing here, but it’s true.”

Lilah bit her lip harder, and then, slowly, her lips turned up in a tiny smile, and she reached out to brush her fingers through my hair with her trembling fingers. “It’s...not okay. I will never tell you that how you treated me was okay. But we’re going to get through it together.”

I nodded and pulled her in close again. She buried her face in my neck, and the contact with my omega made something inside of me unwind. I purred softly for her until she was a puddle of soft muscles and sweet limbs in my lap, and then finally, she pulled away, and I looked her in the eye. “What do you think, princess? Ready to go inside?”

I knew that going inside...things were about to get worse. But that was okay. I was going to be there for her every step of the way.

She swallowed and then jerked her chin in a nod. “Let’s go.”

***

Lilah

I was being silly—utterly ridiculous—and we both know it. But I still couldn’t stop the fear flooding me like the world’s most insidious virus.

Being with Oliver all day had softened me towards him enough that I’d forgotten that there was a real concern about going back to the house with all the new things for my nest. Now that we were here, my heart was pounding, and I could barely make my limbs move as we made our way through the house.

Oliver was right there with me, though, holding my hand tightly and making sure that I knew I wasn’t alone. I squeezed his hand right back, and he smiled softly down at me as we climbed the stairs and then stopped at the door at the end of the hallway.

Just the sight of the closed door of my nest made the stress symptoms inside of me surge again, and I squeezed my eyes shut as I forced myself to breathe slowly, in and out of my nose.

Oliver dropped the bags from Nests and pressed close behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his cheek on the top of my head. His touch confused my body, but I leaned into it anyway.

His scent said safety but also pain. It saidrejection, but also,I’m sorry.

I could smell the sorrow and guilt in his scent as clearly as he could smell my stress, and he continued to rub his cheek againstthe top of my head as I forced myself to reach out and open the door to the room.

The second that I looked inside and saw every piece of furniture and decoration I had so painstakingly chosen...my knees collapsed underneath me.

My heart screamed, and I squeezed my eyes shut, ignoring the tears slowly streaking down my face. My heart pounded, and Oliver sank to the ground with me, not letting me be alone even for a second.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He murmured the words over and over again. His voice was tight, and I could feel the tiny pulses of anguish through the faint bond still lingering.

I nodded, though I couldn’t make my voice work.I know. I know. I know.

That didn’t make itbetter, but I did know.

He held me there for...longer than I wanted to recognize. My heart pounded, and my head swam, and every few seconds, I felt like I was going to faint, and then I recovered. My body didn’t know if the nest meant safety or trauma, and if the alpha behind me meant rejection or affection.

Oliver continued to hold me and stroke his hands up and down my arms, and I let out a slow, shaky breath as, after what felt like forever, Ifinallystarted to relax. My muscles started to unlock, and my brain could think more clearly through the physical stress hormones my body was producing.

“I...I want to go in,” I finally managed, my voice tight.

Oliver stiffened behind me. “Are...are you sure? It’s okay if you don’t...”

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