Page 5 of Knot Mine

“Yes, mom.” Rolling his eyes, Blake bats him away before asking, “Who’s turn is it to cook dinner today?”

“Hunter’s.” Evans and I answer in unison, with a distinct lack of enthusiasm for our housemates’ culinary skills. We were teammates, friends and we lived together in a house just off campus specifically for sports majors.

Blake rubs his face with a sigh. “So, rice and beans.”

“Yep. Rice and beans.” I chuckle as my phone buzzes with a new message. I don’t even look.

Evans drops his head down onto the tabletop with a grunt. “Urgh. Remind me why we let him cook again?”

Using the spoon, I stir my coffee. I’d ordered a toffee latte for some reason. I didn’t even like sweet drinks, but when I saw it on the menu, I’d impulsively chosen it. “Because everyone should take turns. He isn’t getting off the hook because he refuses to learn to cook.”

“I know, but seriously…rice and beans. Again. Like at least add a gravy or something.” Blake grumbles. None of us were particularly skilled in the kitchen, but anything was better than the dry dish Hunter served up each week. At this point, I was beginning to think he was doing it out of stubbornness to see who would cave first. The joke was on him, because I would eat beans and rice until I died if it meant he still did his fair share of the cooking and meal prep.

“I would be more than happy to come over and cook you boys something,” Sadie says as she strokes Evans' dark hair, her long nails running through the strands as he sits up.

He glances at me and Blake nervously before placing a hand over hers. “Babe, you almost killed us with the chili you made last time. I think we’ll pass.”

Blake murmurs, “I like my taste buds not on fire.”

Sadie clicks her tongue, glaring at him. “The recipe said to add like four peppers.”

“Yeah, bell peppers. Not those scotch bonnet fuckers or whatever they were.”

Evans chimes in with a wince, “And you added extra.”

“And the chili powder.” I remind her with a small smile. My tongue seems to tingle at the memory like it's traumatized.

It’s not even that the food was bad, it’s simply that it was way too hot to eat. So spicy that Hunter cried a little and Evanspolished off almost an entire carton of milk while panting like he was in labor. We’d decided, unanimously, that Sadie was banned from making us dinner again.

“Whatever. Eat your rice and beans then.” She huffs, getting to her feet. “Sage and I have Social Studies after lunch and I want to get a book from the library. I’ll call you later.”

She shares a kiss with Evans that’s not entirely appropriate for public viewing as his hand slides up her skirt to grab her ass, but we just ignore them, used to their little displays by now.

With one last wave through the window, they head back towards the campus library, and as soon as she’s out of sight, Evans whips round to face us. He taps the table, looking stressed, before taking a gulp of his coffee. “I need help. She’s trying to get me to have dinner with her parents this weekend.”

Blake and I share a look before he lifts a shoulder with a lazy shrug. “And?”

“And…we aren’t exclusive.” Evans eyebrow lifts as he crosses his arms. “I’m not her boyfriend or her Chosen Mate. Why do I need to have dinner with them?”

Blake pats our housemate on the shoulder with a wry smile. “I mean, you’re pretty exclusive.”

“No, we aren’t.” The denial is strong with this one.

Blake and I share another look. Sadie was over at our place most evenings and she stayed over on weekends. When she wasn’t around, she was blowing up his phone. They went out for food, to the movies, and studied together occasionally. They fucked like rabbits, and he’d seen her through her last heat and his last rut…if that wasn’t a relationship, what was?

“How many other Omegas have you been seeing lately?” Blake asks with a knowing tone, trying to lay it out for our clueless teammate.

His brown eyes narrow as he tries to think back, grasping at threads of memory, desperate to prove us wrong. “Well, there was that one cute omega boy a few weeks ago…”

“The one who ghosted you?” My words are pointed, heavy with implication, but it’s clear to see Evans still isn't putting two and two together.

Evans nods with a frown, still clearly confused. As an alpha, omegas seem to flock to us naturally, driven by their natures and pheromones. beta’s also find themselves drawn to us, not for the pheromones, but because of who we were and what we represent. We are, according to some, the top of the food chain and those survival instincts are strong, ingrained in the fabric of our DNA.

“My money is on Sadie getting wind of it.” Blake clicks his tongue as he shakes his cup, the ice rattling against the plastic. “She’s definitely been cockblocking you, man.”

“No. That’s not possible. I mean, I’d know if she was…wouldn’t I?”

Anyone who showed even the slightest hint of interest in him soon vanished, ghosting him or outright rejecting him before anything could progress. I doubted that Sadie was spreading rumors, but Blake was convinced she was using her connections and networks to do the dirty work. He said he’d seen her at a club once, and while he wouldn’t tell me what had happened, he was positive she was the type to use every tool at her disposal.

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