Page 21 of Knot For Keeps

Archer’s hair was sticking up in various directions, something I knew for a fact was a result of him running his hands through his hair constantly when he was stressed.

The mood was sombre, and I didn’t know if I should speak. I didn’t want to anger or upset anyone further.

“Our job went sideways, the person who was meant to turn up didn’t,” Gage ground out frustratedly, pacing like a caged animal.

“Oh… I’m sorry?” I asked, rather than spoke.

“Lavvy,” Archer said from the armchair. “Come sit down,” the dejected tone of his voice set me on edge. I was about to refuse when Kane gently pushed me toward the armchair and I resisted the urge to laugh at Kane’s sudden softer man-handling, clearly Gage was the boss of the group. The overwhelming scent of alpha muddled my senses, yet I didn’t feel the urge to panic and run. In fact I wanted nothing more than to curl up on the laps of these strange alphas and bathe in their scents. My instincts were screaming comfort and security, even though the situation was far from it.

“I’m still going home today, aren’t I?” I asked quietly. The despondent looks on their faces gave me the answer I needed.

Still, I didn’t want to accept it. I looked at Archer. “Arch?” He couldn’t look me in the eye, staring at the floor instead.

“I need to go home!” I said louder, a desperate edge to my voice, looking between the downtrodden men.

“We want to take you home, and we will, it just can’t happen right now.” Gage spoke from behind me.

Standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by alphas, I was starting to feel claustrophobic, like the walls were closing in. I was meant to be home today, back to my nest, not another night in that sterile, cold room.

I sank into a nearby armchair, my knees weak. Had they ever intended to take me home? Was this all part of their plan, to give me false hope and keep me complacent? Goddamnit, I was so freaking gullible. It didn’t matter if their auras were calm or they gave off good vibes, my instincts were clearly broken.

“I can’t. I need to go home!” I whined, an actual omega whine that hit every alpha in the room in the gut, Several of them winced at the sound. An omega’s whine was painful to them, alpha instincts demanded they care for omegas, protect them, keep them safe, warm, and loved.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Archer openly wincing at the sound.

“Lavender…” Gage kept his voice low and gentle. “This will only be for a few weeks. I promise, you will go home, it’s just going to take a bit more time.”

“Weeks?!” I exclaimed, shaking my head. “No no no no, I can’t do that—I need to be back in the Haven—I’m due for a heat within the next two weeks!”

Gage frowned.

“We can get you medications to stop your heat from coming and keep you safe. We won’t go near you. You have nothing to fear from us,” he assured, looking off into the distance in thought.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Archer cursed loudly before speaking, “She can’t take blockers, Gage, they fuck with her kidneys.” I glowered at Archer, regretting how much I had told him on our late night video calls. Why had I been so trusting and chatty? Karma was chomping on my butt at this point.

“I really need to watch what I say to strangers on the internet.” I frowned at Archer. I had gone through a particularly brutal heat alone a few months back and had to explain to Archer why I had missed several video calls.

“So you’ve gone through heats with alphas before?” Gage asked. Not liking where the topic was going, I opened my mouth to answer, and again was cut off by Archer. Stupid stalker pen pal. He needed to take a long walk off a short pier.

“No, she does them solo, but she looked like a fucking corpse after the last one.”

“Shut up, Archer,” I growled. “ I would like to maintain at least theillusionof privacy.”

“Don’t Havens have trained alphas for these situations?” Theo asked. “I’ll happily volunteer as tribute, you know, for a good cause.” He grinned at me. There was no venom in his words, only playful excitement.

“Quiet,” Kane snarled at him.

“I didn’t want to deal with any of those knotheads.” I shrugged. “You see why I can’t stay?” I implored, looking at Gage with wide eyes. “I won’t say anything about you guys, your names, looks, or anything but I need to be safe and in my nest by the time my heat hits. No one can resist heats or ruts, and you promised no harm would come to me!”

Gage cursed, looking between his packmates and me curled up on the armchair, eyes wide with fear. “Lavender, we can’t. We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place here.”

“Take her back to our house,” Kane spoke, standing next to the armchair I was on. “We have the space for her to nest and be far enough from us that we won’t smell her, or vice versa. I don’t fucking like it, but we can’t exactly stay here, can we?”

I shook. That sounded so far from ideal, my stomach turned. Heats were mind fucks, they made an omega so desperate for alpha cock their senses became muddled. Many times I regretted my choice to do it solo when in the midst of a bad wave of heat cramps. Heats were only manageable because of copious toys. the guards wouldn’t let an alpha near me unless I had approved of them prior to the heat, an omega in heat was like a drunken sorority girl, totally unable to consent. Some omegas opted to ride out their heats with alphas, and all the more power to them. They came out of their heats exhausted but clearly happy and satiated, whereas I came out the other side looking like an animated corpse. I just couldn’t bring myself to get into a situation like that with someone I didn’t have a strong connection with.

“You can’t ask her to be somewhere unknown for a heat. That’s cruel, Gage,” Archer defended me.

“Well what do you propose we do?” Gage asked with a grimace.

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