Page 38 of Knot All that Glitters: Part 1

As it turns out, I probably wouldn’t have been able to imagine this.

I’m used to living in luxury. My father wouldn’t have it any other way, but his idea of luxury is the flashy, splashy kind. You can look at the Carrera marble tile that stretches all over the entire first floor, the elaborate statues, the gilt chandeliers and heavy ornate wood furniture and know that the person who lives in that house is wealthy.

The Calloway pack house is enormous. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of square footage. But its… strangely welcoming,homey. Tucked away at the edge of the city, in the area where there’s enough space and trees between the houses that you can’t actually see your neighbors, it feels remote.

Ren and I only drove for fifteen minutes to get here. But it feels farther.

The house itself is rustic. Stone siding along the bottom half, board and batten and wood across the top. It sits on top of a hill, with a long set of cement stairs leading from the driveway to the house. The landscaping is carefully curated to look like it’s not maintained in the slightest, an array of what looks like plants native to the area. But I’m not an expert.

Inside, I find hardwood floors, cozy, soft furniture, not a single statue in sight, unless you count the little knick knacks no bigger than a foot tall, which I don’t. They’re nothing like the art pieces my father has acquired to prove his wealth.

Jude and Atticus take the lead on the tour, showing me through the first floor with the living room, kitchen, dining room, and an office I’m told Hale and Creed share. There’s a laundry/mudroom right off the back porch. A gym with a cedar wood sauna that smells amazing when we step inside and two bathrooms.

The basement has a giant media room with a fully stocked bar and a screen the size of an actual cinema. I exaggerate, but you get the idea. There’s also a locked door at the end of the hall. When I asked about it, Tic wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling my back to his chest to urge me away from it. “That’s my lab. I keep the door locked because at any given time I might have an experiment going, and someone who’s unaware of that might end up ruining months of work.”

“One time,” Jude mutters. “That happened one time years ago. And you’ll never let me forget it.”

Behind me, Tic sniffs. “It was my thesis project for my doctorate, Jude. It wasn’t a minor mistake.”

I tilt my head up to look at him. “You’re a doctor?” I knew he’s a chemist, though from what I could find out he doesn’t have an actual job, just… researches things on his own. It’s speculated that his research is one hundred percent self-funded, only occasionally allowing investors.

I have my suspicions that my father might be one of those investors.

If he is, then that would mean Tic is likely working on something to unify the designations. Which would be devastating. To me and the world.

“The man’s a genius, and he will let you know it,” Jude teases.

Tic grumbles and tightens his hold on me as we head toward the stairs. His lips brush my temple and he murmurs, “I don’t have any experiments brewing at the moment, angel. I can give you a tour of the lab later if you want.”

As we ascend back to the first floor, I nod. “I’d like that. I won’t know what anything is or what it does, but I’d like to see where you work.”

The four of them exchange a look that seems significant, though I don’t know why. I only spoke the truth.

“The bedrooms are all upstairs,” Hale says, leading the way. My brow furrows at that. I’m pretty sure it’s not normal in a house this size for that to be the case. And if I recall correctly, there’s a door near the gym that we didn’t go into.

But I’ll sleep wherever they want me to. In fact, the idea of sleeping under a roof that isn’t my father’s has me feeling darn near giddy with relief.

Creed grabs my suitcase from by the front door and the five of us make our way to the second floor. “There are two wings,” Hale says, pointing to the right. “Jude and Creed’s rooms are down there.” His finger moves to the left. “Mine and Tic’s aredown there. And you’ll sleep here, smack dab in the middle of us.”

I don’t know why that makes butterflies flutter in my belly. Probably some omega instinct I don’t fully understand. “Is that okay?” Jude asks, shifting on his feet. He seems to do that a lot, like he just can’t stay still.

“Oh, yes, that’s great. It’s so great. Honestly, I’m just glad to be here. I’d be happy to sleep on the couch.”

Creed makes a grumbling noise that Tic covers up by saying smoothly, “As if we’d ever let you do that, angel.” He nudges me toward the door, urging me inside. “Let’s get you settled, and then we can talk about dinner.”

Jude laughs. “And by ‘talk about dinner,’ he means he can show you the six meals he’s already prepared and you can pick which one you want.”

He’s teasing Tic, I know that. I’m sure the other alpha didn’t actually prepare six meals for me. Who would do that? Especially when we’re just getting to know each other. But it still makes those butterflies take off again.

The blond alpha pushes open the door before I have the chance, and swaggers inside, flopping down onto the cream-colored bed.

I follow him and look around. It’s very… impersonal. It feels more like a hotel suite than a guest room in someone’s house. There don’t seem to be any personal touches anywhere. It’s nice. Don’t get me wrong, and cozy… well, cozier than the guest rooms in my father’s house, that’s for sure. But it’s lacking that warm welcoming feeling from downstairs.

Silly really, that it bothers me. It’s not as if the pack would spend a lot of time in their guest bedroom. It’s not as though they’d come in here to read and leave their book on the bedside table. Of course, this room doesn’t feel as lived in as the others. It’s not.

Still, my omega, that heavily suppressed instinct in my chest that I only ever faintly feel, hates this room. Hates that they didn’t take the time to make it more welcoming. Jude had said that Tic was anxiously preparing for my arrival, so maybe I’d expected more than this.

But that’s not really fair to them, is it? No, it certainly isn’t.

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