Page 82 of Knot the Alphas' Feral Omega

From the nest. Where the two of them had slept.Together.

The hope filling my chest like a bubble was nearly choking me, and I had to control myself so I didn’t go bouncing off the walls. I’d known that Lilah and Oliver would be spending time together—he’d made that clear when he kicked myself and Emmett out the day before—but I hadn’t wanted to let myself hope that things would gowell.

Based on the heavy scents of lust and panic and desire and satisfaction that had flooded the house—stemming directly from the nest, which had a firmly closed door—after Emmett and I had gotten home for the day, things had goneverywell.

Still, I didn’t want to let myself get too excited. There was every chance that things could take a turn for the worse, but I tried to push that fear down, too.

My hands shook a little as the coffee finally finished brewing, and then I heard the sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs. My entire body tensed, but I forced myself to relax and paint an easy smile on my face when I turned around to face my packmates as they walked into the kitchen.

Oliver was still wearing a rumpled pair of soft sweatpants and no shirt—a rarity for him. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him come down for coffee without being perfectly, impeccably dressed. Lilah followed closely behind him...wearing his shirt.

My heart exploded at the sight of the two of them, and I forced myself not to jump for joy as I lifted my coffee up to my lips and took a small sip of the scalding liquid. “Good morning,” I said casually.

Oliver nodded at me with a low grunt, making a beeline for the coffee, but Lilah froze, her cheeks pinking as she looked at me. Her eyes darted from me to Oliver and then back again, and she shifted back and forth on her feet as Oliver filled two cups and then brought one of them over to her.

“I have to go get ready for my day,” he said, gently pressing the cup into her hands and leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “I’ll come find you before I leave, princess.”

The rough, possessive growl in his voice made the color in Lilah’s cheeks rise even higher, and she ducked her head, mumbling, “Okay, Oliver,” and then stood there, holding the cup of coffee, as he left the kitchen.

And then it was just the two of us, and I could tell that my poor omega was feeling all out of sorts.

My heart ached, and I desperately wished I could fix it for her. So I carefully set my coffee down, brushed my hands down the front of my dress shirt, and stepped up to take Lilah’s coffee from her hands as well, setting it aside before I wrapped my arms around her waist.

“What has you so worked up, baby girl?” I asked gently.

She looked up at me, and her eyes narrowed as I smiled encouragingly at her. I was going for “helpful, unthreatening golden retriever,” but from the look on her face, I wasn’t quite achieving that goal.

“Aren’t you going to ask what happened yesterday?” she asked slowly, pursing her lips. Her hands rose to rest on my chest, almost like she couldn’t help herself, and I grinned down at her, my stomach swooping.

“I don’t need to.” I winked. “I could smell it when I walked into the house.”

Her color deepened, and her eyes brightened. She chewed her lip for another long moment and then asked cautiously, “Aren’t you...going to ask what it all means, then?”

I shrugged, tightening my arms around her, enjoying the feeling of her sweet, soft body pressed against mine. Her scent filled my nose, and this time, alongside her standard sweetness, I could smell hints of Oliver’s scent. And mine. And Emmett’s.

She was starting to smell likepack, and I didn’t think she even realized it. The thought made my heart thump unevenly for a moment, and when I finally gathered my thoughts to speak, my voice was a little raspy. “It means whatever you want it to mean, baby girl. All I know is that you and Oliver were able to spend the day alone together yesterday, and when you came home, you ended up in bed.” I lowered my voice. “I could smell how turned on you were, Lilah. And how much he wanted you. So clearly...something went right yesterday, right?”

She swallowed, her eyes darting back and forth over my face. She chewed her lip some more, and I could see the conflict there. She desperately—just as desperately as I did—wanted this to be the turning point. Her uncertainty was written all over her face, though, and I couldn’t blame her for being cautious.

Which was why it didn’t surprise me when she let out a breath and then fixed me with a firm look. “This doesn’t mean that I forgive all of you,” she said, her voice trembling slightly. “This...I mean. There’s still a lot that we need to work through. That you need to do to...make things up to me.”

She was trying so hard to be strong and firm, my sweet omega. It was adorable. I almost wanted to toss back my head and laugh, then scoop her up in my arms and take her to my room to show her exactly how I planned on making things up to her.

At the same time, though, I knew this was important. I knew I couldn’t rush Lilah along her own emotional journey, and if wewere going to make it past this without any resentment, we were going to take things at her pace.

“I know that, baby girl,” I finally said after a beat of meaningful silence. “I would never push you. You know that. I just want you to know that I’m thrilled we’re making progress of any kind. That’s all that matters to me.”

I leaned down and pressed our lips together, breathing in her sweet scent. My stomach twisted when she melted into my arms and gave a happy, soft sigh.

Things were moving right along, and Oliver was finally on board.

Now we just needed to make sure that nothing else went wrong before we gave Lilah our bond and took her for fucking keeps.

43

Lilah

Tonight was the night. Tonight wasthenight.

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