Page 91 of Knot All that Glitters: Part 1

Hale glances at Tic, who nods. Of course, Tic is the one that’s going to actually feed me. He’s been doing it since the first time I set foot in this house. “That’ll work.”

Jude claps his hands together. “Excellent. I’ll just stay with our girl, shall I? Make sure she does a very thorough cleaning.”

Creed growls and slaps a hand on his shoulder before forcibly dragging the other alpha out of the room. “No, you’ll end up fucking her in the shower and she’s not ready for that.”

Jude scowls. “Easy for you to say. You were just inside our omega yesterday.”

“I was, and she got a fucking migraine afterward that knocked her out for a day.”

I frown as Creed and Jude disappear before pushing to a sitting position and looking up at Tic and Hale. “He’s not feelingguilty because of that, is he? I didn’t get a migraine because we had sex.”

Hale smooths my hair back. “Logically, he knows that. But it was still scary as hell seeing you after, little mouse, watching all the color drain from your face. The amount of pain you were in. I just came on your tits and I was worried we’d somehow hurt you.”

I tilt my head to kiss his palm. “It wasn’t you. It was the command. Like you said. It was my father.”

Both alphas bristle at the reminder, and Hale drops his hand from my face. “Go get cleaned up, omega. There’s a bottle of ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet. Then come downstairs. We need to talk about what we’re going to do going forward.”

“We aren’t telling her,” Hale’s voice drifts up to me from the kitchen. I think he means for it to be quieter, but his emotions are making it hard for him to stay that way.

I pause midway down the stairs and tilt my head to listen, my damp hair soaking into the shoulder of Jude’s shirt. “Not yet,” Hale continues. “She just went through hell. We don’t need to add to it.”

I frown at that. I did just go through hell. Possibly the worst week I’ve ever had with my father, sans the ones after my mother left us. Left me. But if they have something they need to tell me, I rather they would just do it.

I descend the rest of the steps and stroll into the kitchen. All conversation abruptly stops as four sets of eyes turn to look at me.

“What do you need to tell me?” I ask, lingering at the entrance.

“We thought you’d take longer, angel,” Tic says, ignoring my question entirely.

I nod at him in acknowledgement. “Turns out as soon as I got in the shower, my stomach tried to eat itself.”

“I’ll have your food ready for you in a minute.”

I give him a small smile that he returns before he moves his attention to the stove, where something is heating in a pot.

“What do you need to tell me?”

The other three alphas exchange a look and Creed opens his mouth but Hale cuts him off with a sigh. “We didn’t want to upset you, but your father showed up here.”

I catch the look that Jude and Creed give each other, catch the way Tic’s shoulders tense, but I’m too busy feeling nauseous all over again to make sense of their reactions.

All the blood rushes from my face and I sway. In an instant, Creed is in front of me, pulling me against his chest, offering me his strength.

“He knows I’m here?” I whisper.

His big hand smooths down the back of my wet hair. “Yeah, baby girl, he does. But he won’t get anywhere near you. I promise.”

Jude’s palm slides up and down my spine in a soothing motion. “None of us will. You’re okay, button. You’re safe.”

I shake my head. “He won’t just let this go.”

They exchange another look before Jude and Creed guide me over to the island, lifting me to sit on a chair. “He won’t,” Hale agrees. “Which is why we need to talk, to come up with a plan.”

I wrinkle my brow. “A plan for what?”

“For how to keep you safe.”

My heart thunders in my chest, and I can’t stop the flutter of hope there. Is this where they offer to bond me? Officially make me pack me? If they do, I’d be safe. My father would have no claim over me. The law always sides with the bonded pack over familial ties. Unless the omega speaks out against their pack. Unless they say the bond was forced.

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