Page 75 of Knot Her Mountain Men

Bear leaned close, whispering in my ear, “Want me to get a vasectomy?”

I blinked, turning to him. “You’d get one?”

“I want you to be comfortable,” he signed, face full of conviction. “I won’t speak for the others, but I’ll do it if you want me to.”

“You keep being the best alpha ever. I appreciate you so much, Bear, but let’s put a pin in that for a moment and approach it when things are less chaotic.”

He nodded firmly. “Whatever you need.”

Bear tapped my knee and signed out another question for the doctor.

“Do we have to come in for the birth control, or is that something we can take home and have on hand?”

“I can write you a prescription for both. If you’re able to come into town, you can get the injectable variety administered at any pharmacy, and if you’re caught unawares again, you’ll have the pill form at home.”

“Okay, great. Thank you.”

I took a long breath, drawing the relief into my lungs. Dehydration was something I could manage. The most important part was I didn’t have to worry about becoming a mother. It wasn’t a common mindset for omegas to detest the idea of parenthood, but I had long ago accepted I wasn’t that normal for an omega. Children were a sensory nightmare for me. I was pretty sure I had only survived taking care of my brothers and fathers because they were all older than I was. If I’d had to endure changing diapers and listening to toddler shrieks, I never would’ve made it.

Bear tapped me again to get my attention and signed, “Do you want the IV?”

“Could I skate by with some sports drinks?”

Dr. Martin pursed her lips. “Less ideal, but I can’t force you. I’ll get you a prescription for some rehydration tablets you can add to your water. The electrolytes and minerals are tailored for omegas.”

We picked up everything she prescribed, and I added the tablets to a lemon iced tea I grabbed at the store before meeting up with everyone else.

“Not pregnant!” I announced, beaming at both packs. “Big fan of no babies.”

I wasn’t prepared for all of them to hug me at once, and I squawked, trying to wriggle free from the absolute mountain of alpha everywhere around me. Bear carefully extracted me.

“Time to rest,” he signed sharply, eyeing down the congregated alphas.

“Clothes first, please.”

We swung by a few shops so I could procure a couple of outfits. I needed something appropriate to go to work in, but also something to wear at the lodge besides my woolen layers or the alphas’ borrowed clothes. It was weird shopping with an entourage, and even weirder to have no access to my own money to pay for what I needed.

“You don’t have to buy me things.”

Maverick gave me an affectionate smile and handed his card to the cashier. “We want to.”

I had only half listened to the heated discussion between Cooper’s pack and mine about who got to pay, but mine had apparently come out as the winner.

That was even weirder.

Mypack.

Bear was my bondmate, and the others were his pack, so they were mine too.

We moved on to the next store, Bear sticking close to my side.

“You guys are welcome to stay at the lodge as long as you want,” I overheard Kit telling Cooper while I was picking my way through a clearance rack of sweaters.

“We can stay until Morgan is settled, wherever that ends up being,” Cooper replied.

I couldn’t quite decide if I liked the idea of them hanging around. It was sweet that they wanted to make sure I was safe, but I already felt like I was and didn’t need a babysitter to prove it.

“You don’t have to stick around, Cooper. I know you guys have lives to get back to.”

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