Page 59 of Knot My Type

When Eliana finally appears at the end of the drive, all three of us converge on the front window like teenagers waiting for prom dates. She walks slowly, her hands buried deep in her jacket pockets, her expression thoughtful rather than distressed. But there's something different about her posture, a set to her shoulders that suggests she's reached some kind of decision.

The front door opens, and she steps inside, bringing cold air and the scent of melting snow. Her cheeks are red from the wind, and her hair has escaped its ponytail to curl around her face in a way that makes my fingers itch to touch.

"I've been thinking," she says without preamble, her dark eyes moving between us with steady purpose.

"And?" Kael's voice is carefully controlled, but I can hear the tension underneath.

She takes a breath, and I catch that scent again—that subtle change I noticed earlier, now stronger and more complex. Not distress, I realize suddenly. Determination. And underneath that, something that makes my alpha instincts sit up and take notice.

Heat. The beginning whispers of it, still days away but present enough to recognize.

"I want to ask you something," she says, seemingly unaware of the way all three of us have gone suddenly still. "And I want you to answer honestly."

"Anything," Fen says immediately.

Her lips curve in a small smile. "Do you want me to stay because you care about me, or because I'm an omega and you're alphas and this is what's supposed to happen?"

The question is blunt, direct, and completely fair. It's also the exact thing I've been afraid she might ask, because it cuts right to the heart of everything we've been dancing around.

"Both," Kael answers before either Fen or I can speak, his honesty as brutal as always. "I won't lie to you, Eliana. The fact that you're omega matters. It matters to all of us, in ways that are biological and instinctual and not entirely rational."

She nods, as if she expected this answer. "But?"

"But that's not why I want you to stay," he continues, his voice growing rougher. "I want you to stay because you make me laugh. Because you argue with me when I'm being unreasonable, and you're not intimidated by my moods. Because watching you write makes me understand why people talk about passion like it's a living thing."

Fen steps forward, his quiet voice carrying clearly in the sudden stillness. "I want you to stay because you see things others miss. Because you make our house feel like a home instead of just a place we sleep. Because you've shown me what it means to care about someone else's happiness more than your own comfort."

They both look at me expectantly, and I realize it's my turn to be honest. The truth sits heavy in my chest, complex and layered and more vulnerable than I usually allow myself to be.

"I want you to stay because you challenge me," I say finally. "Because you make me want to be better than I am. Because for the first time in my life, I understand what it means to love someone enough to let them go if that's what makes them happy."

The silence that follows is profound, filled with the weight of confessions and the electric tension of unspoken possibilities. Eliana's scent grows stronger, and I see the moment both Kael and Fen recognize what I caught earlier.

"Eliana," Fen says gently, "are you—"

"Yes," she interrupts, color flooding her cheeks. "I think so. Soon."

The admission changes everything and nothing. Heat cycles are intense, overwhelming experiences that blur the lines between choice and instinct. Whatever decision she makes now, we'll all wonder later if it was influenced by biology rather than genuine feeling.

"Maybe," Kael says carefully, "you should wait. Make your decision after—"

"No." Her voice is firm, sure. "I've spent my whole life letting other people tell me what I should want, when I should want it, how I should feel about my own choices. I'm not doing that anymore."

She steps closer, and her scent wraps around us like a living thing, sweet and complex and undeniably ours. "I want to stay. Not because you're alphas and I'm omega, not because of heat or bonds or any of that. I want to stay because for the first time in my adult life, I feel like I'm home."

The words hit me like a physical blow, so perfectly echoing my own feelings that I have to grip the back of the nearest chair to stay steady. Around me, I can feel Kael and Fen responding to the same emotional impact, the same recognition of something profound and true.

"Are you sure?" I ask, because I have to, because she deserves to be asked even if the question kills me.

Her smile is radiant, transforming her entire face. "I've never been more sure of anything."

The next few moments blur together in a rush of movement and sensation. Kael reaches her first, his large hands framing her face as he looks down into her eyes with an expression of such tender intensity it makes my chest tight. Fen moves to her side, his smaller hand finding her waist, anchoring himself to her warmth. And I find myself directly behind her, close enough to feel the heat radiating from her body, close enough to bury my face in the curve of her neck and breathe in the scent that's become as essential as air.

"We should go upstairs," Fen murmurs, and there's no question in any of our minds what he means.

But Eliana shakes her head, her hands reaching back to find me even as she leans into Kael's touch. "Not yet. I want to show you something first."

She pulls away gently, moving to her laptop bag and withdrawing a thick sheaf of printed pages. Her manuscript, I realize, as she sets it carefully on the coffee table.

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