Page 67 of Knot For Keeps

My heart started beating erratically. I was pack lead, I was meant to be cool, composed, but I suddenly felt like a teenage boy who was about to ask a girl out for the first time.

“And you came here?”

“Because I don’t want to do this one alone. You and Theo totally caused it, with all those mind blowing orgasms.” Her eyes widened as she saw my own startled expression. “But, uh, I can do it alone, if you want. Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have come,” she started babbling, trying to extract herself from the blankets and failing miserably.

“Woah, woah, woah,” I rushed to say, grabbing her by her upper arms so she couldn’t escape. “I most definitely don’t want you to do it alone, I was just surprised. We caused this?”

“Omega get’s knots and orgasms, omega’s body thinks it’s heat time. Well not normally, but because I’ve never really satisfied a heat, now I’m getting knots my body is freaking out.” she explained. “It may be another day or so before it really kicks in, at the moment I’m just tired. I needed to talk to you first, to know where we all stood.” She shrugged.

“I would be happy to help you when it hits,” I told her with a smile, gently brushing a wayward curl out of her face. “I’m also pretty sure that Theo would try and stab me if I stood in his way as well.”

She laughed lightly and I pulled her into me. “What do you want to do right now?” I asked.

“Rest, maybe we can tell the others later?”

“Sounds good. Do you want me to stay?” She nodded into my chest, so I kicked off my shoes and joined her in my bed, digging my way through the various blankets she was still entangled in.

We laid there, her snoring lightly for several hours. I took the time to memorise every inch of her face, from the slant of her nose, to the curve of her full, pouty lips. The way her chest rose and fell under the blankets her small hands clenched close to her.

I was falling for her, there was no denying it.

Lavender didn't so much as flinch when Archer knocked on the door, poking his head in. Taking in the sight of Lavender asleep next to me, he smiled softly.

“I went to check on her and she wasn't in the nest,” he explained. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah, just exhausted,” I whispered as she stirred in my arms, her eyes opening blearily.

“Archer?” she asked gently, her voice cracking with sleep.

“Just me Lavvy girl,” he replied, walking over to us as she sat up and I followed suit. The action of removing the blanket from around, her scent a waft of concentrated lavender and vanilla through the room, making Archer still as his eyes widened.

“She’s in preheat,” I explained.

He swallowed, and nodded. Archer clambered into the bed, laying on the other side of him and pulling her in gently.

Lavender sat on the counter, looking sleepy and rumpled, stealing bits of the vegetables that Archer was cutting up. Judging by the shit eating grin he kept shooting her, he wasn’t mad about the extra work. Theo had even grabbed a pot of hummus out of the fridge so she could dip her pilfered snacks.

She had them wrapped around her finger, and she didn’t even realise it. Wearing the same men’s shirt and tiny sleep shorts, she looked like she was ready to crawl back into bed at a moment's notice.

I had been doing my research. Omega's needed a lot of rest before their heats, and could become extra sleepy in the days leading up to it to help prepare them for the fuckfest that was to come. The thought of what we would be doing soon made my pants tighten. The fact she actually wanted us there for her during her heat was mindblowing, and I was struggling to contain my excitement.

Heavy footfalls reached my ears before Kane meandered into the room. “Hey,” he murmured, never meeting Lavender’s eye or even looking her way.

He needed time, and I had reassured Lavender that it wasn’t her fault. Still, her face fell as he slumped into a chair at the table.

Opening my mouth to attempt to engage Kane in some sort of conversation, I was cut off by a knocking sound from the front door.

All the alphas in the room stilled, but Lavender was momentarily oblivious, munching on a bit of carrot and swinging her legs absentmindedly. Who the hell was at our front door? And why hadn’t our extensive security measures alerted us to someone being in the grounds?

While Lavender hadn’t heard the knocking, she noticed our reaction, looking around the room with confusion.

“Make sure she’s out of sight,” I ordered, looking at Archer who was closest to Lavender. With a nod, he put down the knife he was using and gently grabbed Lavender by the hips, lifting her off the counter and ushering her out of the room, ignoring her protests.

“Are you armed?” Kane asked in a low voice.

I wasn’t, but I had a gun hidden in the kitchen. With a shake of my head I strode over to the cupboards, hopping onto the counter to pull out my stashed gun kept at a safe height.

“You?” I asked simply as I checked the gun to ensure it was both loaded and clean—the tops of the cupboard got nasty and dusty very easily. Luckily this gun looked entirely usable.

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