Page 92 of Knot Their Girl
“I just said it.”
“No, you asked a lot of questions in a snippy tone. If you want it, say it without the attitude.”
Ugh, of course he’s going to make me say it again. I wrestle with my rapidly-beating heart, breathing slowly as I gather my nerves and say, “I want to be in a pack with you. I need all of you in my life. I was stupid, and I really can’t imagine going back to the way things were before.”
Beside me, Colter grabs my hand and squeezes, while the two alphas across from us watch me with what must be gazes full of acceptance.
Pax abruptly stands, his chair scraping along the tiled floor. He walks around the table, toward me, and Colter lets go of my hand right when the alpha kneels on my other side. He grabs me by the back of the neck, colliding his forehead with mine. His body shudders as he lets out a long, harsh, uneven breath, and it blooms hot across my face.
“It feels like I’ve waited an eternity to hear you say that,” he murmurs, his chest practically purring in approval. “You’ve been mine since the first moment I saw you. I love you, Raeka Whittenhall—or should I say, Raeka Chase?”
I don’t know what chokes me up harder, the declaration of love or the fact that he called me Raeka Chase.
I’m not quite ready to say that L-word back, so I instead focus on, “Chase?”
“There’s already a pack Alabaster.” Pax pulls his forehead off mine and glances to Gideon and then Colter. “We should be pack Chase.” He kisses me, drawing the air out of my lungs as if he needs it to survive.
By the time Pax pulls his mouth off mine, Gideon stands next to us, ready to take his place. Once the über lets me go and stands to step aside, Gideon falls to his knees and takes both my hands in his. The way those blue eyes bear into me, as if seeing straight into my soul, make me lean into him.
“Not that it’s a competition, but you pulled me in the moment we first met, too,” Gideon tells me, his nose brushing up against mine. “In the beginning, my intentions were pure, but you became so much more to me than I ever thought possible. I love you more than life itself, and I can’t wait to announce to the world that you belong to us.” He ends that declaration in a kiss, though his lips are gentler than Pax’s.
When he lets me go and both alphas return to their spots across from us, Colter grabs my hand and squeezes once again, and I turn my head to look at him. The beta studies me intently, a small smile on his lips. He leans over to me and kisses me sweetly, backing up everything the two alphas said without a single word.
My head is spinning by the time we return to the meal, absolutely spinning out of control.
I have a pack. I have three guys, three mates.
Shit.
My mom and my sister are never going to let me live this down.
Chapter Thirty-Seven – Gideon
Once the aftermath of the heat is cleaned up and the house is back to normal, we fall into a routine. I grab the official paperwork; we’ll have to bring it downtown to make the pack an officially recognized pack—basically it gives any member of the pack rights to visit in the hospital, among other legalities. Raeka and Pax are going to change their last names, too, though they both want to meet with their families before that happens.
I still can’t believe it. Pax is the head of our pack, but he’s changing his last name to mine. It doesn’t feel real. It’s like I’m caught in a dream I can’t wake from, but I won’t complain. I was more than ready to become Gideon Alabaster, but it means a lot that Pax is willing to change his last name for Colter and me.
Pax is out of the house during most of the daytime hours that next week. He’s got to sell his condo in the city and speak with everyone he works with at Alabaster Security. Now that he’s not officially on a job, he needs to get back into the routine of things—as do I, although it’s been a much longer time since I’ve had any form of routine.
As much as I want to stay home with Raeka and Colter, I follow Pax’s lead and actually go to the office, to Chase Jewels HQ downtown. The secretary in the office is surprised to see me, but she doesn’t comment on it.
My office is a corner office in of the higher buildings in the city. With tall windows on both walls, it means I have a great view. I forgot just how spectacular the view is. I spent so long at home, focused solely on Colter, that I forgot just how much I enjoy being up here. Seeing the city below, seeing all the other tall buildings around—it’s stimulating. There’s always something going on.
My desk is covered in a thin layer of dust. I have to clean it before I can sit down, and then my blasted work computer needs about a thousand updates before I can use it. While I’m forced to wait, I sit back and let my mind wander.
And no surprises as to where it goes.
I think about Raeka, about how she and Colter are back at home, about how badly I miss them already. For the first time in what feels like forever, I am out of the house and not worried that I’ll come home to find my nephew dead. My nephew is happy for the first time in over eleven years, and I have Raeka to thank for that.
Heck, I’m happy, too. She’s mine. She’ll be Raeka Chase soon enough. My scent match. The omega literally made for me.
Of course I don’t want to be apart from her, but Pax was right. This company is mine. I might’ve been absent for so long, I might’ve phoned it in these past few years, but I’m not dead, and shockingly, I feel inspired.
Inspiration hasn’t hit me in years, and I owe it to the beautiful omega who’s at home, waiting for me to get back.
While I wait for my computer to update, I pull out a sketchbook I always kept close, in the top right drawer of my desk. I flip it open and study the designs I abandoned when I was last in the office.
Tepid. Uninspired. Boring. The Greek omega symbol in various designs. Chase Jewels used to be a status symbol for wealthy omegas; it’s the legacy my parents left me and my sister. After hearing Raeka talk about how much she hates being an omega, though, I can’t help but wonder if, perhaps, the core idea behind it all needs to change.
