Page 63 of Knot Only His

Minutes later, the song ends and Harlow plops down next to me, her eyes bright as Freya sings another song. This time solo.

“You guys are amazing, you know that? The way you take care of Jagger...” She leans in. “And I’m going to help you. All of you. That little boy deserves the world.”

“Is that right?” I ask, amused by her determination, but trying to act calm.

“Mm-hmm.” She nods seriously. “You need someone to help to keep him. And I’m very good at organizing things. I could pretend to be a good pretend mom. I think I’m too much of an alpha to be a good omega, but–”

Asher and I glance at each other, both biting our lips to stop ourselves from laughing,because seriously Harlow, you are not a good alpha.

“I can give it a good try,” she continues.

Parker raises an eyebrow. “You could, could you?”

“The best,” she declares, then hiccups. “Oh! Excuse me.” She slaps her hand on her chest. “But seriously, let me help. Please?”

The sincerity in her voice touches something deep inside me. She’s trying to take care of us all, and yet she is completely unaware that she is exactly like an omega.

And she’s exactly what we’ve been waiting for.

Chapter 16

Carver

“You agreed to do what?” I yell at Harlow as she tells me all about helping Coach Parker’s pack to keep his nephew. “Why the hell can’t the nanny pretend she’s with the pack? Why do they need a female at all?”

“The nanny is married. And because Jagger’s father has found an omega, and because of that, he’s put in an application for his child.”

The entire hockey league knows Coach Parker has been the only father to Jagger since his sister died in childbirth.

I glance into the distance. The sun dips low in the sky, casting a warm glow over the hills and ocean beyond.

I sigh. “And how willyou help?”

I lean against the balcony railing, the cool metal biting into my palms as I turn on my heels and watch Harlow fidget with her drink. She swirls the ice around, lost in thought.

“I don’t know,” she finally says, breaking the silence. “They’ve not told me exactly what I need to do. Maybe I just go to the house when the pack is being assessed. Make it look like Jagger has a proper family.”

“Proper family?” I raise an eyebrow. “The pack is asking you to step in as a substitute mom.”

She shakes her head. “No. It’s just for the little boy to have a female figure in his life.”

“But it makes no sense.”

“I don’t know enough.” She shrugs, her eyes flicking back to me. “And I know it sounds trivial to you, but it’s important to them to keep Jagger. And I think he deserves that kind of stability.”

“Stability?” I scoff. “You won’t be moving into the house. You won’t be his mom.”

“I know that. But I can still help them keep him. One day, the pack will have an omega, but until then, I can pretend I’m theirs.”

“You never told me anything about being theirs. You only said this was for Jagger.”

She sidles closer, her warmth radiating off her skin. “We’re alphas, Carver. I’m not there for the alphas. I can’t be. I’ll be there for Jagger because he deserves to be with a pack that loves him, even if they don’t have an omega. But I know what they need.”

“They want you there for more than just your heart. And you don’t see it.” I breathe.

She laughs lightly, shaking her head as if dismissing my words entirely. “Oh please, you still think I’m some omega in disguise?”

I lock eyes with her. The weight of what I believe hangs between us like thick fog. “What if you are? You’ve got that sweet scent...”

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