Page 12 of A Very Knotty Halloween
Jack is lovestruck, just like that. Or he’s wearing that goofy grin because he can’t wait to catch her and have her all to ourselves—take her to a private room where we’ll get to know each other as intimately as possible.
Jack is on the small side for an alpha, only six foot, with a thick head of red hair and hazel eyes. The freckles on his face get darker in the summer, and he burns like a motherfucker in the sun, no matter how much he tries to get a tan or the amount of sunscreen he uses. He is the best of us.
I mean that. He’s better than me, and he sure as shit is better than Cas, but that’s not hard to do. Cas and I… let’s just say we’re rough around the edges.
“She’s so much prettier in person than she is online,” Jack is busy saying, grinning ear to ear. His light eyes twinkle as he thinks of her, the excitement in voice his palpable. It’s hard to stand there with him and not feel that excitement rub off on you; it oozes from his every pore. He looks at me, wanting a response.
“She is,” I agree, because how could I not? How could I ever look at Marnie and say she’s not fucking gorgeous? She is. That thick, black hair… those big, dark eyes… fuck. If I’m not careful, I’ll get hard just thinking about her.
“Do you think she’ll be mad when she finds out the truth?”
“I don’t know.” And that’s the whole of it: I don’t know. Jack doesn’t know. Even Cas doesn’t know how she’ll react when she finds out we came here specifically for her. Cas may act likehe hates his stepsister, but if that’s the case, why has he kept stalking her online these past few years? They’re not friends—oh, no, they don’t follow each other—but as it turns out, her best friend shares just about everything online, on one site or another. It hasn’t been hard for him to keep up with her life through her friend.
And, as a result, Cas has kept us updated, too.
“I hope she’s not too upset,” Jack goes on, pacing the area in front of me, worry suddenly etched on his handsome face. I don’t like seeing him like this; if we were anywhere else, I’d do anything to put a smile back on his face. But tonight is the very definition of out of the ordinary. Tonight is a night like no other. I can’t make him feel better just yet, because we don’t have Marnie here with us.
That’ll come soon. Soon enough we’ll hunt her down. Once we have her, we’re supposed to bring her back to the compound, where we’ll get a key and have our own room for the night. Honestly? I don’t know if I can wait. I might have to take her right when we find her. Something about those big, black eyes drew me in like no other.
I thought, for so long, we didn’t really need an omega. We were fine the way we were. It isn’t like the three of us refused to touch each other, so we weren’t exactly sexually frustrated or anything, like some packs might be.
Ugh, I can’t imagine being in a pack and getting all skeeved out by being near another guy’s dick. Seems like a waste all around.
I was unsure of this whole thing. Cas spearheaded it, for obvious reasons, not wanting any other alphas to get their grubby hands on her, in the name of being a protective stepbrother.
Please. I’m not stupid. I know he wants her for himself. He’s been obsessed ever since the wedding, when he first saw her,and he got so scared at the possibility of a connection with her that he decided to move in with his dad and basically cut off all contact with his mom and, therefore, her new family.
Clearly that didn’t work out too well, seeing where we are now.
Jack frowns and reaches up to his neck, where a collar sits, fastened snugly. We all have one. Cas is getting his put on now. The safe words of every omega were programed into it, so that if they become uncomfortable or an alpha loses control, we’ll be stopped. Some sedative or whatever. I don’t like the idea of handing an omega total control, but I suppose that’s how it should be. We might be built differently, but just because we’re bigger doesn’t mean we call the shots.
“Don’t fiddle with it,” I hiss out. “What if you set it off? Last thing I want to do is drag you around while we chase our omega.”
He instantly stops touching the collar. “Our omega,” he repeats, sounding like he’s in utter awe—and he probably is. He’s always loved the idea of an omega in our pack, completing us. He’s a romantic like that. “I hope she wants to be ours.”
“You saw how she reacted earlier. There’s no way she responded to us that easily if she doesn’t want to be ours.” I say it like I’m an expert in the field of omegas, but I’m not. I never thought I’d give a shit, but here I am. Things change. You never know what life will throw at you when you’re least expecting it.
Finally, Cas comes over, a scowl on his face. He’s the tallest out of all of us, the typical alpha-next-door look: short, messy blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a body to match. He does not look happy about the new addition around his neck; I don’t think any alpha in the room is.
“This shit sucks,” he mutters, and then he looks at us both. His unhappiness about the collar is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his mood—let’s just say he’s not too happy with the things that took place during the party.
Did Jack and I go too far? Maybe, but she didn’t stop us.
When both Jack and I only stare at him, he asks in a huff, “What?”
“You ready?” Jack is the brave one.
“As ready as I’ll ever fucking be,” he growls out. “She doesn’t know I’m with you guys yet. I want to split up. I want to find her first.” My first instinct, along with Jack’s, is to open our mouths in protest, but one harsh glare from our pack leader silences us. “I don’t want to hear it from either of you.”
Right. Because we shouldn’t have done what we did at the party. I shouldn’t have gotten her worked up, shouldn’t have pushed my finger inside her, and Jack shouldn’t have crawled beneath the table and relieved us both.
“She’s mine first,” Cas growls out, the words final, dominance laced in them to the point where the words feel like knives, like he’s ready to maul anyone who dares question him or his authority.
“Whatever you want,” Jack says with a nod, eager to please, even now. He might act meek compared to a typical alpha, but he’s only meek when he’s with us. When it comes to protecting his territory or standing up to another alpha, he’s just as tough as the rest of us. “We didn’t mean to… overstep. Things kind of just spiraled.”
“It’s how it is when you find your omega, I hear,” I say, not wanting Cas to turn his full ire on Jack. I was a part of it, too—but I won’t apologize for going too far. When it’s right, it’s right, fuck the timing.
“We’re only here so no other alphas get their dirty hands on her,” Cas says, which causes both Jack and me to share a look.
