Page 96 of Knot All that Glitters: Part 1

Hale strokes a knuckle down my cheek, laughing with me, eyes soft. The happiness in my chest swells and burst in a flurry of movement. I throw myself at the alpha in front of me, climbing him like a tree, like I wanted to do the first time he talked to me. He helps, his hands scooping under my thighs to hold me while my arms wrap around his neck and shoulders. I meet his icy blue gaze with my own, intent on making sure he knows I mean my next words. “Thank you, Hale. Thank you for freeing me.”

And then, before he can say anything else, I kiss him.

Chapter 24: Our Little Omega wants to celebrate

Haven’s scent is stronger now, purer, sweeter. Even the bite of smoky chili is more intense, a pleasant burning at the back of my tongue.

Who would have thought that an alpha’s command could suppress a scent like that, but it must be the case. Or maybe it’s just that Haven is blooming now, without the heavy weight of her father weighing her down.

The scientist in me wants to study the effects, wants to see if it’s something I could replicate and test. But the alpha, the man in me, knows I never will. I wouldn’t subject any omega—anyone—to what Haven’s been through. Living under an iron fist for most of her life.

She murmurs something to Hale right against his lips, something that I can’t make out. But whatever it is makes his nostrils flare and his grip on her ass tighten, grinding her against him. She moans, head tilting back slightly, putting her slender throat on display for us.

My teeth ache with the need to taste her, bite her. I want to mark her up and claim her so everyone knows she’s fucking taken. But that’s the alpha in me. The instincts.

I also want to wait until I know for sure she wants us. Until we’ve told her everything. Until she knows what we did and why we did it and we’ve proven to her that we’d never use her like that again.

When she came into the kitchen, that’s what we were talking about. Not that her father showed up. He didn’t. He doesn’t know she’s here. It’s just one more lie we’ll have to atone for.

Jude, Creed and I want to tell her everything. Our entire truth, but Hale doesn’t want to stress her out more. And discovering the men you’ve all but packed up with have been lying to you from the very beginning? Well, that would be super fucking stressful for anyone, but add in how unsafe Haven has likely felt for her entire life, and it’s likely to cause some extended damage.

And not just to her heart. It might damage her physically. Mentally.

We can’t just spring it on her. Not after seeing the effects of living with her father.

We have to keep her safe at all costs, and that means keeping her with us. Telling her would piss her off, break her heart and she might try to leave.

The thought of that is enough to make my heart thunder in my chest.

She can’t leave our protection. If she does, Frederick Bell might get his hands on her, might somehow undo all the healing we’ve helped her with, might figure out she’s been commanded to ignore him by an undoubtedly stronger alpha.

He might circumvent the extra layer of safety Hale’s just given her.

I would never forgive myself if that happened.

So our choices are to tell her the truth and lock her up in our house like a prisoner until we’ve handled her father and eventually she leaves us forever. Or keep lying to her about the truth of how we met, why we searched her out. She’s safe with us of her own choice, even if none of us will bond with her, no matter how much we might want to.

Between those two options, I’ll take number two every time.

“Our little omega wants to celebrate,” Hale announces, drawing me back to the present.

“Oh,” Jude purrs. “And how would you like to do that, button?”

Our girl’s cheeks flush bright pink. She buries her face in Hale’s neck, too shy to say, to ask for what she wants. She should know by now we don’t let that shit fly. If she wants something from us, she’ll need to ask for it.

“Tell us, mouse. Use that pretty husky voice and tell us what you want,” Hale encourages her. “Use your freedom to tell us.”

She lifts her head at that, a smile as bright as the sun beaming across her face.

“My freedom,” she echoes, running her fingers over his lips. “I’ve never been free before. Never been able to completely make my own decisions.”

He kisses the tips of her fingers, hefting her a little higher as the rest of us move closer, tighter. We were already right there, but now I can feel the heat radiating off of her body, smell her sweet pineapple and chili scent.

“You can do it now, angel,” I say, voice sounding hoarse as hell. That doesn’t happen to me. I don’t get overwhelmed with emotion, but something about Haven just makes it happen, makes me want to spill every single thing I’m feeling.

“What do you want, baby girl?”

She glances over her shoulder at him. “You,” she answers simply. “I want all of you.”

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