Page 65 of Knot My Luck

I can feel the tension settling back in – subtle, but there. Devlin’s fingers tighten on mine again, and I can sense it, too. The change. The inevitable.

We’ve been so wrapped up in everything that’s happened, but I can feel the moment where the next chapter of our lives is about to begin. I look out the window, watching the patchwork of land below, knowing that once we land, things will change.

It’s not a bad change.

But it’s a change nonetheless.

When the seatbelt light dings, signaling we’re about to land, Cathal shifts beside us, a movement I almost didn’t catch in the midst of my thoughts. He looks at us with a soft, knowing expression on his face. His voice is low when he speaks, but it’s as clear as day.

“I’m not giving her up, Tadhg. Lorcan, either. No one is separating us.”

I blink, surprised by the fierceness in his tone. Cathal, usually sullen, is anything but now. I feel a rush of affection for him, both as the quiet leader of our pack, the one who balances us, who always holds us together even when we’re lost in our heads, and as my brother, who’s shown how much he can grow and change for the right woman.

“We’re not going anywhere, Cathal,” I say quietly, giving him a small nod.

“I know that,” he replies with a tight smile, but the intensity in his gaze doesn’t fade. “But I just want to make it clear. No one’s breaking what we’ve built. Not now, not ever. She thinks she’s coming to Silver for a couple of weeks, and that’s fine, if she doesn’t like it and she wants to leave. But I’ll be going with her. We all will. Everyone around the world needs homes building, we can work wherever our girl wants to be.”

His words settle over me like a warm blanket, and I look at Lorcan, who nods in agreement. We all feel the same. This pack, this bond – it’s unbreakable. And if anyone tries to come between us? They’ll have to go through all of us.

“Good,” Lorcan says, his voice full of the same quiet strength Cathal’s has as he repeats his words. “We’re not leaving her side, not now, not ever.” Then he adds under his breath, low enough that only I catch it, “I can’t wait to breed her and see her round with our child.”

Cathal shifts his gaze to Devlin, his eyes softening when he meets hers. She catches the emotion in them and smiles, something more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen before – like she’s seeing it, too. The weight of our words, the promise we’re making to each other, settles into her chest, and I know she feels it. We’re a pack. We were always meant to be.

As the plane touches down and the tires squeal on the runway, I feel it – like we’ve crossed a threshold. There’s no going back now.

We don’t speak for a while after we’ve collected our bags. We move in sync, the unspoken agreement settling over us. We’re a unit, a whole. Together.

But then Devlin speaks up, breaking the silence that’s settled between us. She doesn’t look at either of us at first. Instead, her gaze is fixed on the doors leading outside, where the night air waits.

“I need to collect my car, head home first,” she says, sounding sad and dejected. “To pack my things, water the plants and stuff.”

The words catch in my chest. I feel that pull again, that desire to never let her out of our sight, but I fight it down. There’s no reason to push her. Not now. Not after everything.

Cathal’s hand brushes hers, and I know he’s feeling the same. “We’ll come with you,” he says, his voice firm but gentle. “You’re not going anywhere alone.”

Devlin hesitates, her lips parting, but we both know what she’s going to say. She’s going to try to argue. But we don’t let her.

“You’re not going anywhere without us, a rún,” I say, my voice steady.

She looks up at us, and for the first time, there’s no resistance in her eyes. Only trust. A trust I’ll never take for granted.

“Alright,” she agrees, the word barely a breath on her lips. “How are we doing this then?”

“I’ll hop in with you,” I say before the others can claim shotgun. “They can follow in our car and then we’ll all head home. We can try living in Silver for a couple of weeks and see how things go, and if you don’t like it, we can reassess. Try Exeter, or maybe even look for somewhere new.”

Lorcan steps forward then, his expression serious. “You know we still plan to court you properly, right?”

She blinks, looking between the three of us. “I mean…we’re already bonded, so?—”

Cathal shakes his head. “That doesn’t mean we don’t still want toearnyou.”

My fingers tighten on hers. “We’re bonded, yes. But we still want to woo you, to give you everything you deserve. This isn’t just instinct. It’syou. And we’re going to make sure you know just how cherished you are.”

Devlin looks at us, eyes wide, lips parting slightly. Then, slowly, she grins.

“You’re really all in, huh?”

Lorcan smirks, his arm wrapping around her waist. “Sweetheart, weneverdo things halfway.”

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