Page 97 of Knot So Fast
"We're not gonna play this struggled commitment bullshit now that you exist to the world," he continues, each word deliberate and final. "So you can decide if your cock beingoutside this pack is more important than sticking with OUR Omega, and if that's more vital, I suggest you turn around and leave where you came from."
The silence that follows is suffocating.
We stand there, mirror images locked in a battle of wills, neither willing to blink first. The tension is so thick I can feel it pressing against my skin, making every breath feel like work.
The rest of the pack watches like spectators at a gladiator match, waiting to see who draws first blood.
I can feel their eyes on us—Kieran's knowing gaze, Dex's analytical stare, Caspian's practical assessment, Luke's barely concealed hostility. They're all waiting for me to either submit or explode, to choose between my pride and my need for her.
The flowers in my arms feel heavier with each passing second, their sweet scent a mockery of the romantic gesture I'd intended. Because Lachlan's right.
Flowers won't fix this.
Nothing simple will fix the complicated mess we've created.
The creak of a door breaks the standoff, and every head in the room turns toward the sound. Auren appears in the doorway, and my breath catches in my throat at the sight of her.
She's half-awake, swaying slightly on her feet, her hair an absolute mess—sex hair mixed with what looks like she's been tossing and turning, fighting with the sheets. She's wearing Lachlan's shirt, the fabric drowning her smaller frame, hanging off one shoulder and barely covering her ass. Just the sight of her in his clothes, marked by his scent, makes jealousy and arousal war in my chest.
She yawns, blinking slowly like she's trying to focus through fog.
"Too many scents in one room is going to drive me mad," she mutters, her voice thick with exhaustion.
I frown at the same moment Lachlan does, both of us recognizing the signs.
But it's Luke who's already moving, positioning himself closer to her with the kind of practiced ease that speaks of too many similar situations.
"And I told you to take a pill before you fell back asleep," he says, his voice gentle but exasperated. "But you didn't, did you?"
"Nope," she slurs, then groans, pressing her palms against her temples. "Fuck, I hate migraines. But the room smells divine but I think it's making me dizzy as fuck."
She sways more dramatically, and multiple curses erupt from around the room as we all move instinctively forward. But Luke is already there, catching her with smooth efficiency as her knees buckle, scooping her up in one fluid movement as if he'd been expecting exactly this to happen.
The sight of another man—even a Beta—holding her makes every possessive instinct in my body scream. I can see the same reaction in the others: Lachlan's jaw clenching, Kieran's hands curling into fists, Dex taking an aborted step forward, Caspian's entire body going rigid with the need to act.
Luke looks at all of us with an expression that's equal parts protective and fed up.
"Out."
My frown deepens, matching Lachlan's expression of disbelief.
The rest of the pack shifts uncomfortably, clearly not used to being ordered around by anyone, let alone a Beta.
"Your apparent Beta is actually kicking you all out?" I ask, incredulity coloring every word.
Luke's eyes narrow as he looks directly at me.
"Yes, which includes you, douche. And I still don't like your ass."
"No shit," I mutter back, but before I can argue further, Auren groans again. The sound is pure distress, and it makes something inside me twist painfully.
Every instinct screams to go to her, to fix whatever's wrong, to?—
"She's overwhelmed because all of you are in one room and she's not used to that shit, remember?" Luke's voice cuts through the Alpha posturing, sharp with practicality. "Five Alpha scents, all of them intense, all of them wanting her? After everything she's been through today? Her system can't handle it."
Kieran sighs, running a hand through his dark hair.
"We should have thought that through."
