Page 57 of The Twelve Knots of Christmas
Fury boiled in my veins. She was going to stay. There was no way we were going to fuck that up.
“Shut the fuck up, Lucian.” I snarled and pushed back my chair. If he said another fucking word, I was going to flatten him.
Mariska startled at my outburst and jumped up from the table. “I don’t know. I don’t know what to do now.”
The tears finally broke free and she took off out of the dining room and upstairs. Artemis was right on her heels.
“Fucking hell, you two.” Jasper slammed a fist on the table and ran after her.
With no one left between us, I flew across the room and slammed Lucian against the wall. Anger vibrated in every muscle. “What the fuck are you doing? She’s staying. She’s ours.”
Lucian didn’t fight back. He let me pin him there, but he held up his chin. “She’s not staying for Eloise.”
I knocked him back by the shoulders again. “I don’t care what the reason, she’s fucking staying, and we’re not going to convince her otherwise. If you say one more word about California to her, I’ll fucking smash your head in.”
“I care for her as much as you do,” he said in a quieter tone.
“I love her.” I’d wanted to tell her, but saying it out loud to someone still felt good.
“I love her too, man.” Lucian sighed and glanced up to the ceiling. The pack room was just above the dining room. “But Eloise doesn’t want Mariska staying because of her.”
“What?” I eased my grip on him.
“Eloise told me not to let Mariska stay because of her.”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” Letting him go, I marched back to my seat and grabbed my beer. I downed the rest of it. If Eloise didn’t want Mariska to miss out on the new job, then I couldn’t push it. I really wanted to push it, but dammit.
“Mariskahasto choose us. There can’t be any other factors in it. To know she really wants to be our mate, she has to make that choice herself.” Lucian ran his hands over his face and through his pale hair. Few things ever affected his cool, but I could see he was as messed up about it as I was.
I went over and pulled my packmate into a hug, patting him on the back. “I’m sorry. I just don’t know what I’ll do without her if she leaves.”
Lucian gave me a squeeze back. “I can’t imagine life without her now. She’s only been with us for not even a week, and she’s so much a part of our pack.”
I sighed and turned to start cleaning off the table. Lucian automatically did the same. I gathered the dishes, no longer hungry for even my barely touched cake. The weight of the world crushed my shoulders and made it hard for me to breathe.
I couldn’t lose her. That wasn’t an option.
“All we can do is love her.” I would give her a lifetime of love in the few days we had left. “And that has to be enough.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - Mariska
The weekend went by in a blur. Either I was sleeping, crying, or getting knotted by each of my Alphas in turn. My heat messed me up more than I ever expected. One second I was a ravenous nymphomaniac and then I was eating all the cookies while sobbing that I couldn’t remember my password to open my phone.
There was over two feet of snow, and the winds created drifts over twelve feet tall. The roads didn’t open up until Monday morning, and even then, my heat pains wouldn’t let me leave the house. I needed at least one of the Alphas with me constantly.
“We have to get to the hospital today.” I pouted into a pillow, snug in Jasper’s embrace. He spooned me from behind as we were locked together by his knot.
“As long as you’re feeling up to it. Bal’s truck should be able to make it.” Jasper kissed the back of my head and idly fondled one of my breasts.
I wanted to stay inside all day with his cock in me. “It doesn’t matter if I’m feeling up to it. We have to go.”
It was driving me insane not to be with Lyla at the house and not being able to visit Miss Eloise. Both of them assured me everything was fine, but when I talked to Lyla, she cut our chats short and seemed distracted. Usually she would ask me a million questions and tell me about her latest design. Not even Emberlee was willing to have a talk and only responded via text. Something was wrong and no one was telling me. I had to go and find out for myself.
“So if you need me to knot you at the hospital, are we going to give the nurses a show?” Jasper teased and kissed the back of my neck.
I lightly nudged him with my elbow and snorted. “No. No one else is allowed to witness your hot cock in action other than me.”
“Mm, you are a possessive Omega, aren’t you?” He pulled me tighter against him, a quiet purr in his chest. “I like it.”
