Page 35 of Knot Alone

“No.” I pull back and look in his beautiful blue eyes. “Are you all right with… all this?” I wave a hand, like that can encompass everything happening.

“Am I all right with us sharing a heat with an Omega?” Graham teases.

“It’s more than that,” I say, heavy.

The smile melts away as Graham gets serious. “I know, Linus. And I’m okay with it.”

“Are you really?”

“I am. Really.” I want to grill him, to make sure, and Linus can see it. “I admit, I hurt a bit that first night. Yesterday.” He snorts. “I didn’t expect you to ever feel about anyone else the way you feel about me. But it only took a minute to realize that Maggie isn’t just for you, she’s for me too. We’re for the three of us.”

I thump my forehead against Graham’s. “What if she doesn’t want us?” I whisper.

“Then she doesn’t. We’ll send her flowers on Monday to apologize for any stress we put on her, and then we’ll make sure the sky hasn’t fallen in.” I snort out a laugh.

“It can’t be that easy.”

“Maybe not. But we fit together like puzzle pieces, darling. I think she can feel it too.”

Without a warning knock, the door swings open. I whip around to demand Iris tell us if Maggie is all right, but it isn’t Iris.

Standing in the doorway, looking down at my husband like he thinks Graham is the scum on the bottom of his shoe, is the same spineless, manipulative worm of a caseworker who caused our Maggie so many problems.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I demand.

“I’m here to prep you, sir.”

“The fuck you are,” Graham snorts.

The Beta puffs up like that would do any good against a man like Graham. “I am, sir. So, if you could kindly sit down, we can start making sure that Ms. Page meets your requirements.”

Graham snaps to his feet and is about to throw the man through a window when Iris appears in the open doorway.

“Mr. Peterson!” Iris shouts. “Get out of my office!”

“Iris,” he tries to soothe, but she isn’t having it.

“You’re already on probation. Get out of here and report yourself to HR. I’ll be there momentarily.”

The man opens his mouth to object, but Graham shifts closer to the door. Some part of the Beta, whether his animal hindbrain or the fact that he’s read Graham’s file, gleans what Graham is capable of. Either way, the man scampers out the door.

“Gentlemen.” Iris sighs. “You have my most profound apologies. Again. I know that’s not enough. When we’re done here and you’ve joined Ms. Page, I assure you I’ll make it clear to HR that whatever nepotism kept Peterson’s job will stop. Or I’ll make an official complaint to the Omega Alliance.”

“Someone informed my parents that I’m scheduled to spend the weekend with an Omega, Iris,” I say, and Graham takes my hand with a squeeze. “I don’t know who, but Graham hasn’t told anyone about this, and I told my office that Graham and I were taking a personal weekend.”

“You think Peterson told your parents.” It isn’t a question.

“I have no proof, but I know that Graham and I aren’t the ones who told them.”

“You have my word that we will investigate this, Mr. Lockridge. Even if it wasn’t Mr. Peterson, such a violation of confidentiality is unacceptable.”

“We’d appreciate it,” Graham says, putting an end to the conversation. Iris checks with me for confirmation, and I huff out an agreement. The more I stick my nose into matters trying to make that worm get what he deserves, the longer it will keep us from Maggie.

“I appreciate your trust. I promise it isn’t misplaced. Now,” she ushers us into the two chairs before her desk. “We need to have a conversation before I can send you to Ms. Page.”

I catch a whiff of Maggie’s scent on Iris as she goes by and I clamp my jaw to keep from rumbling. I hate the thought that someone else has seen Maggie when her scent is so rich, hovering on the cusp of heat. The sweet scent of her heat was present this morning, but not nearly as clear as I can scent on the caseworker.

“I’ll explain this to you like I did to Ms. Page: we’re going to compress two meetings into one. Usually, yesterday would have been your introductory meeting with Maggie. Today we would have conversations about whether you like one another enough to share a heat. In the future, we would have another meeting where I cover all the prep for her actual heat. But circumstances being what they are, we’re going to handle everything right now.”

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