Page 42 of Knot That Serious

“—help Eli through her heat?” Jack guessed. Finally, he lifted his gaze, hazel eyes narrowed and intent on Beckett. “You’d be okay with that?”

Rolling his eyes, Beckett leaned back, content to watch Jack put the pieces together. “Why wouldn’t I be?” If Jack and Eli got their shit together, they could be a pack.

His heart raced at the thought, but he kept his excitement to himself.

Jack was stubborn. And so was Eli, for that matter. And he’d only known them for, like, a week. It was quick, and he wanted to tread lightly.

Not for the first time, he wondered why the two of them couldn’t just talk, put it all out on the table. It would solve all of their problems.

But they were too scared for that. Scared to lose each other, to fuck up the careful balance they’d spent their lives curating. Aside from the business, they were roommates and friends and soon to be… lovers.

“I get it. It’s scary, this possibility.”

Jack nodded. “What if it goes all wrong?”

“What if it goes all right?” Beckett asked, resisting the vehemence he felt. “We could’ve gone wrong, but we didn’t.”

“I know. You’re right,” Jack muttered petulantly.

Beckett resisted the urge to cheer.

“But I, I even asked her—the thought of it basically sent her into a panic,” he said, placing his hands over Beckett’s wrists, holding his touch to his own shoulders. “What if she really does want the Omega Center? Around people who know what to expect. I don’t want to pressure her into going through the heat with me. I don’t know what I’m doing!”

Beckett sighed. “When? How did you ask it?” Beckett demanded. They so clearly wanted each other—how could she say no?

“I-I don’t know—”

Beckett resisted the urge to growl. “Fine, it doesn’t matter. Did you think maybe she said no because she’s scared, too?”

“Who says I’m scared?” Jack asked, definitely scared.

“Who wouldn’t be scared,” Beckett retorted softly. “You guys have something special, and to introduce a new dynamic to your relationship is a big deal. But it’s the right move. Do you really want her to go to the Omega Center and suffer through her heat? Alone?”

“She said it wasn’t that bad. And I looked up the rooms—they’re cozy, not clinical. She said she’d take some of my shirts.” He muttered the last part and Beckett grit his teeth.

“Come on, man!” Beckett urged, shaking him again. “How can you not see it? She wants your scent for comfort! She’s perfuming while listening to us fuck, she’s—she’s your omega, and you need to be her alpha.”

Jack’s brows were furrowed. “I don’t know how.”

Beckett’s heart squeezed, and he pulled Jack in closer until they were chest to chest and Beckett could wrap his arms around him. “Yes, you fucking do, you stupid, stupid alpha. Just take care of her, like always.”

“Okay,” Jack said, and sucked in a breath, chest pressing to Beckett’s. “Okay, I can do that.”

Beckett grinned; he couldn’t help it. “Awesome. I’ll go back to my place and—”

“What? No. You’re coming with me, right?”

Beckett stuttered, pulled back, and tilted his head to the side. “Uh, what?”

“Yeah. Yes,” he said with more feeling, as if the idea only just occured to him, and he liked the look of it. “You know she wants you, too, duh. We can both help her through the heat.”

“I don’t think that’s—”

“You said to be her alpha. Well, as her alpha, I’m telling you she’ll want you there. So be there. Plus, you said your sister is an omega. So you know things I don’t! Help me. Please?”

Jack turned those hazel puppy dog eyes up at him, and Beckett knew he couldn’t say no.

His pulse raced, and suddenly Eli’s lingering scent sat heavier on his tongue. “You should be the one to broach the subject with her,” he caved. “I’ll bring dinner like normal”— God, Beckett couldn’t believe how fast it had become normal for him to bring them dinner— “and you can talk to her about it.”

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