Page 24 of The Twelve Knots of Christmas
“Yeah, she’s certain. Can’t you smell how her scent has strengthened since yesterday?” Balthazar raised his brows and then turned his head to wink at me. “It’s absolutely delicious.”
“It is much sweeter.” Lucian said the words carefully, as if he knew there was more.
There was more. I swallowed hard. “I am,” I confirmed. My heart beat hard beneath my ribs. Keep it simple, Mariska. Don’t make it more than what it is. “Going into heat, I will need the help of compatible Alphas to make it through.”
“Done. You’re our Omega.” Balthazar sat back, proud and pleased. “You’ll move in with us as soon as possible. And all it took was one date with me.”
“Wait, no,” I protested the same time as Jasper shot Balthazar a hard look and hissed, “What the fuck, man?”
“I told you she’s the one for us. No use fighting against what was meant to be. This way she’ll be with us for Christmas, and we can ring in the new year as a complete pack.” Balthazar stated these things as if they were given facts. He didn’t strike me as one given to romantic daydreams, so he had to really believe what he was saying.
Maybe I made a mistake. If he was going to be this possessive, I shouldn’t let them knot me. But I couldn’t deny I was going into heat, and I refused to let it interfere with my plans.
“I think we need to slow down.” Lucian held up a hand, looking back and forth between the other two Alphas with concern.
“Nothing is meant to be.” Jasper ignored Lucian and snapped at Balthazar. His hands closed into fists. “You get it in your thick head every single time you meet an Omega. ‘She’s the one. She’ll be perfect for the pack.’ And every single time, it goes to shit. You’re devastated, and Lucian and I get the backlash of it. You do it this time and it will fuck up the holidays.”
Oh no. Fuck me. This had happened before? What sort of mess had I gotten myself into?
“This time it’s different. We’re all scent matches.” Balthazar stabbed the table with his finger with each of the latter four words and bared his teeth, a wild look in his eyes that dared his packmate to do something.
“Doesn’t matter.” Jasper shook his head, not backing down, and puffed up his chest as he started to rise from his seat.
“It fucking matters.” Balthazar shot back and stood, glaring at Jasper. “And besides, she just fucking asked to be part of the pack. What could be more clear than that?”
“No.” I verbally jumped between them before they started throwing punches. I held out my hands and signaled for them to sit. People were looking at us. Liz and Miss Eloise were watching. “Sit. Keep your voices down and listen to what I have to say. I wasn’t done yet.”
The two Alphas glared at one another for another thirty seconds before they lowered themselves down. Lucian was rigid on my left. His chest heaved with his breaths as if he had been about to go into battle too.
People lost interest and went back to their meals. Liz and Miss Eloise started to chat again, but I could tell their attention was still on our table.
I gave them a minute to calm and folded my hands on my lap. Their scents were off the charts. The richness of hot cocoa brewed over a pine log fire, the sharpness of citrus and nutmeg, and the cooler smell of peppermint and cedar. Even with the strong odor of meat and fried food in the restaurant, the Alphas dominated my senses. I felt too overly aware of them. I wanted space, but this needed to be settled before things got more muddled.
“I want to make it clear: I’m not looking for a pack.” I held up a finger to stop Balthazar from saying anything. “I am notlooking for mates. I don’t want to move in with you. I’ll still be going to California after Christmas. That’s my main focus. I want my heat to go as swiftly as possible so I can focus on my plans, and to do that, I need your help. I expect nothing from you, and I want you to expect nothing from me. This is a no strings attached situation.”
Jasper picked up his drink and chuckled dryly into it. He lifted it in a toast to me and drank the entire thing down.
“You’re not looking for mates?” Lucian gripped the edge of the table with one hand. He was trying to keep his face unreadable, but there was a gray hurricane of emotions in his eyes. “Did you already decide this before you agreed to the twelve dates deal?”
All at once, I felt like a mean bitch. My stomach roiled, making me feel nauseous. I hated that I had to do this. Hated that I was subject to my Omega hormones and had no control over how my body reacted to these Alphas. What I loathed even more was playing with their hearts. Lucian had been so eager to get to know me, so sweet and genuine. I didn’t like playing the bad guy. It was the worst feeling in the world.
But it was necessary.
“I’m not looking for an Alpha. I’m sorry.” I wanted to hold him, make everything better. “I hadn’t thought about the details, but yes, I agreed to the deal because I realized that I was going into heat.”
Lucian looked away and something cracked inside of me. I dug my nails into my palms. There was no choice but to be strong. My dreams, everything I’d ever worked for, was at stake.
Jasper had crossed his arms and leaned back, studying me with slightly narrowed eyes. I never wanted to hurt anyone, but he’d been right about me. I was not the Omega the pack needed.
“We’re going to help you through your heat,” Balthazar said slowly, each word clear and deliberate. His packmates whipped their heads to stare at him, and he didn’t flinch. “We’re going to help you, because that’s what good Alphas do. We’re still going to go out on our dates as well. By the end of it all, you’ll see that I’m right. You’ll be begging us to claim you.”
My jaw dropped at his unbreakable confidence.
There was nothing I could say to that. I needed their help. My future was in California. No matter what happened, that would not change.
Except, through that wee crack in my walls made by Lucian, Balthazar’s declaration wiggled its way inside of me, and a little voice wondered if it might be me who breaks by the end of the twelve days.
CHAPTER TEN - Jasper
