Page 21 of Knot that Simple

Instead, I just left. I left her there and never even tried to use my words.

“Your mate looks great.”

Even if it was a day of celebration, people knew better than to start a conversation with me. But those rules never applied to my dad. He sat beside me, sticking his finger up to order another pint.

“She’s gorgeous,” I agreed.

“So why are you doing here alone? You look like you belong with the other pack. Poor fuckers…”

I sighed, not wanting to have this conversation with him. Today wasn't the day to try to put words in my mouth.

“I was always scared for you, Lorcan,” he confessed, making me turn his way.

“Scared why?”

He smiled, his age showing by the thin lines around his eyes. “Since you were a little boy, I told the pack your heart is too big. He can’t make out the words.”

I huffed. Yeah, I couldn’t make out the words, but I doubted it was my heart’s fault.

“It’s true,” Dad continued. “You are a protector. You care too much. You suffered all these years without an omega not just for you, but for your pack too. I understand that. More than just feeling responsible for your mother, I always felt responsible for your dads too. That’s what families do.”

His words felt like tiny daggers prickling my skin. I preferred everyone to think I was an old grump than to have the truth so easily displayed.

“But the thing is, son, the pack worries about you back. It’s not just you. Oisin and Tadgh are right now thinking about you. Your girl? I bet she is too.”

I snorted, and he patted by back.

“Once, you told me your dreams. You were a twenty year old lad, no pack, no omega. You said to me all you ever wanted was to have a family.” Dad looked around the bar, right to Tadgh and Alice, to Gabriela and Oisin, who just entered the room once again. “It looks like all your dreams came true, and yet you refuse living them.”

My eyes fell closed for a second, and I took a deep breath. I remained quiet, but this time, it was because I didn't trust myself to talk without my voice faltering.

“Live your dreams, son. They are waiting for you.”

With a last tap on my back, Dad went to my mother, and I watched him tenderly kiss her hair. The weight in my chest pulsed, taking up space until it was over my throat, wanting out. All the words I wanted to say begged to be left out, and I snapped my teeth together, as if I could keep them in.

After too longfor my taste, I was glad when Oisin told me Gabriela was ready to go. She was a liar; she wanted to go from the start, but she was too much of a people pleaser to say a word.

I wasn’t judging her. Some people took on the role of peacemaker, and if anything, it was the people around her who were to blame, the ones who couldn’t see when she was uncomfortable.

I could. I saw right through her.

I dipped my chin toward Darragh, thanking him for the pints he was feeding me for free because it was my mating day, even if I doubted Gabriela was ready for that.

She wasn’t ready to let go of Alice for a second, and I could understand that. They only had each other for so long, and now, they were brand new in a strange place.

Tension kept my shoulders up, even as I told myself everything was okay. It should be. She was here, beautiful and healthy. I should only be thankful, yet I found myself cracking my neck before it got too stiff.

“Ready?” I asked when I met them at the front.

Gabriela just nodded, and Oisin led her out with a hand on her back while Tadgh brought Alice to the car. I shouldn’t be so jealous of my pack, but I couldn’t pretend. They were so natural with her.

I wanted that.I needed that.

I took the wheel once again and turned right after the pub, my heart squeezing when our home became visible at the top of the hill. Away from most people, we wanted a place overlooking the sea. The view was breathtaking, and I knew it was the nicest house this side of Ireland.

“Olha, mamãe!” Alice gasped as we went further down the road.

My chest swelled in pride, feeling on top of my game since we picked them up in Dublin.

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