Page 66 of Knot Happening

"This is terrifying," she whispers finally.

"We know," I say gently. "But Belle, we're not going to force anything. We're not going to claim you or pressure you or try to override your choices. We're asking you to consider the possibility that what you're feeling isn't fear of us, but fear of how much you want this."

"What if I'm not ready?" she asks, and the vulnerability in her voice makes all three of us step closer unconsciously.

"Then we wait," Theo says simply. "For as long as it takes."

"What if I'm never ready?" She asks.

"Then we spend the rest of our lives proving to you that you're worth waiting for," Felix says, and the sincerity in his voice makes her breath catch.

She looks between the three of us, her eyes bright with unshed tears behind her mask. "You really mean that."

"Every word," I confirm. "Belle, we've been incomplete without you. We didn't even know what we were missing until we found you. But now that we have, now that we know what it feels like to be near our omega, we're not giving up. Even if it takes years to earn your trust."

"I want to trust you," she admits quietly. "God, I want to trust you so much it scares me."

"Then start small," Theo suggests. "Trust us with tonight. Trust us to keep you safe, to respect your boundaries, to be honest with you about what we want and why."

"What do you want?" she asks, and there's genuine curiosity in her voice now.

"Everything," I say simply. "Your laughter, your stories, your terrible jokes about library science. Your passion for helping people, your chocolate obsession, your way of making everyone around you feel important. We want to be the pack that supports you, protects you, loves you the way you deserve to be loved."

"We want to give you a home where you never have to pretend to be smaller than you are," Felix adds. "Where your intensity is celebrated, not tolerated."

"We want to prove that not all alphas are like the one who hurt your friend," Theo finishes. "That some of us know how to control ourselves, how to put your needs first, how to love without possession."

Belle is crying now, tears streaming down her face behind her mask, but her scent is shifting toward something warmer and more hopeful.

"I'm so tired of being scared," she whispers. "I'm so tired of hiding and pretending and convincing myself that being alone is safer than taking a risk."

"You don't have to be alone anymore," I tell her, stepping close enough that she can feel the warmth radiating from my body. "Not ever again, if you don't want to be."

"But what if…”

She's cut off by a sudden change in the air pressure, a shift that makes all of our instincts prick with warning. The temperature has dropped at least ten degrees in the past few minutes, and what started as a gentle evening breeze has become something stronger and more insistent.

I look up at the sky and feel my stomach drop. The stars that were visible when we came outside have disappeared behind rapidly moving clouds, and there's a greenish tint to the air that every alpha in tornado country learns to recognize.

"Shit," I mutter, pulling out my phone to check the weather alerts.

The screen lights up with emergency notifications just as the first tornado siren begins to wail in the distance, its haunting cry cutting through the night air like a knife.

"What's that?" Belle asks, her voice tight with new fear.

"Tornado warning," I say grimly, scanning the alerts. "Severe weather moving in fast. We need to get inside, now."

"The palace has a basement," Felix suggests, but I'm already shaking my head.

"Too far, and too many people. I know a better place." I look around, orienting myself in the gardens. "There's an underground shelter about fifty yards from here. Built during the Cold War as an air raid shelter, reinforced concrete, completely underground. It'll be safer than anything else on the property."

The wind is picking up now, strong enough to whip Belle's dress around her legs and send loose petals and leaves swirling through the air. I can hear the distant sound of the tornado siren growing louder, joined by others from neighboring towns.

"This way," I call out, taking Belle's hand and pulling her toward a section of the garden that looks like nothing more than decorative landscaping. But I know what's hidden underneath the artfully placed shrubs and ornamental stonework.

Felix and Theo fall into step behind us, their military training and security experience making them natural guards for our rear flank. The wind is getting stronger by the minute, and I can hear something that might be hail starting to fall in the distance.

"Marcus, are you sure about this?" Belle calls out over the increasing noise of the wind.

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