Page 97 of Knot on the Market

"Good morning," she says, her voice still rough with sleep, and when she moves toward the coffee maker, I catch the slight hitch in her step that suggests she's feeling the effects of last night's activities.

The knowledge that we did that, that we marked her in ways only she can feel, sends heat racing through my system.

"Morning, sweetheart," I manage, my voice rougher than intended.

She pauses in her coffee making to press a soft kiss to my temple, the casual intimacy of the gesture making somethingwarm settle in my chest. When she moves to do the same with Callum and Julian, the domestic picture we make feels so natural it's almost jarring.

This is what I want. Not just the incredible physical connection we discovered last night, but this. Morning coffee and shared space and the easy affection of people who belong together.

"Any plans for today?" she asks, settling into the chair beside Julian with her steaming mug.

"Work," Callum says with obvious reluctance. "Got three orders backing up that can't wait any longer."

"Same," Julian agrees. "Mr. Patterson's been calling about his quarterly reports, and I've been... distracted."

The way he says it, with heat in his eyes as he looks at Lila, makes her cheeks flush pink in a way that's absolutely devastating.

"I've got some work to do down at the station for a few hours," I add, though the thought of leaving this warm kitchen for the firehouse feels like punishment. "But tonight..."

"Tonight you're all coming back," Lila says, and there's something fierce in her voice.

The next hour passes in comfortable domesticity that feels more natural than anything I've experienced in years. Lila makes breakfast, eggs and toast and bacon that fills the kitchen with warm, homey scents. I help by doing what I do best when I'm happy. Cooking alongside her, adding touches here and there, making sure there's enough food for everyone.

Julian organizes his research materials from yesterday with characteristic efficiency, but I notice he keeps looking up to watch us move around each other in the kitchen. Like he's cataloging this moment, storing it away as evidence that what we're building is real.

Callum examines a loose cabinet handle with the kind of focus that suggests he's already planning to fix it later, because that's what Callum does, notices what needs attention and quietly makes it better.

And I just... exist in the middle of it all, watching the people I care for move around each other with increasing ease, feeling more settled than I have in years.

Because that's what this is, I realize as I watch Lila hand Julian more coffee without being asked, as Callum automatically steadies her when she reaches for something on a high shelf. Care….Love. Not just attraction or chemistry or the biological pull that brought us together during her heat.

Love. Real, complicated, forever kind of love.

The thought should terrify me. A months ago I was single, content with my job and my roommates and my quiet life in Honeyridge Falls. Now I'm part of something that doesn't have a name, something that challenges every assumption I had about how relationships work.

But looking around this kitchen, watching Julian explain something to Lila while Callum tests the repaired cabinet handle, all I feel is gratitude. Gratitude that she came here, that she chose us, that we were brave enough to choose her back.

"I should probably head out," I say reluctantly as the clock creeps toward nine-thirty. "Williams gets cranky when I’m late."

"Me too," Callum agrees, though he doesn't move from where he's been watching Lila wash dishes. "Got a delivery coming at ten that can't be rescheduled."

"And I promised Mr. Patterson I'd have his reports ready by lunch," Julian adds, closing his laptop with obvious reluctance.

None of us actually move to leave, though. We just sit there, reluctant to break up this perfect morning bubble we've created.

"Go," Lila says with gentle amusement. "I'll be here when you get back."

"Promise?" I ask, only half-joking.

"Promise," she confirms, rising to press a soft kiss to my lips that tastes like coffee and contentment. "Besides, someone needs to go grocery shopping if you're all coming for dinner again. I'm thinking something more ambitious than takeout."

"You don't have to cook for us," Callum protests, even as he leans into the goodbye kiss she gives him.

"I want to," she says simply. "I like taking care of you."

The admission makes my chest warm, because it's not about obligation or expectation. She genuinely wants to take care of us the same way we want to take care of her. It's reciprocal, balanced, exactly what a healthy pack should be.

Julian gets the last goodbye kiss, lingering and soft and full of promise, and I watch his careful composure melt completely under her attention.

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