Page 27 of Knotting the Cowboys

"Why?" The question comes out smaller than intended. "Why wait? Why care what happened to some Omega you'd never met?"

They exchange those looks again, but this time I can read them better.

Not conspiracy but care.

The kind of coordinated concern that comes from a bonded pack.

"William talked about you constantly," Austin says, settling Luna back in her high chair. She immediately reaches for me again, but less desperately now. "His granddaughter who should've been born an Alpha, who fought for everything twice as hard because of her designation."

"Showed us every letter you sent him," River adds. "Even the ones from when you were small. Little Willa telling him about school, about dreams, about how unfair it was that your parents named you wrong."

So they’ve know Grandfather for that long?

Years upon years.

My chest tightens.

I'd forgotten those letters, written in careful child's handwriting, pouring out hurts I couldn't tell anyone else.

Grandpa always wrote back, always said I was perfect as I was, that Willa was a warrior's name if I wanted it to be.

"He worried," Cole says simply. "Saw you getting ground down by a world that wanted you smaller. When you married Blake?—"

"He knew." The realization hits like cold water. "He knew Blake was wrong for me."

Everyone probably knew, but this was the “right” way.

The only way for an Omega to still “thrive” in a society that wanted us to stay small.

Heck, deep within, maybe I also knew they weren’t right for me.

But why would I reject them?

Alphas who promised me a future I knew I’d never be able to obtain on my own. Not with the help of a group of men who could give me the environment to flourish to whom I wished to become.

Only I didn’t read the fine lines…

Didn’t realize they didn’t see me as an ally, let alone someone they envision would do well in a society not meant for her rise or reign.

"Said the wedding announcement felt like reading an obituary," Mavi confirms. "That's when he started putting plans in place. Hired us to run the ranch, made sure the will was iron-clad, waited for you to need an escape route. We weren’t present as often as now, obviously, but we balanced it with our jobs and hobbies."

"But he died before—" My voice breaks.

Before I could reach him after escaping death.

"Three weeks before," Austin says gently. "We'd just gotten word about his death when the fire happened. He never knew you'd need us so soon."

The tears come again, quiet and inevitable.

Four men who'd been hired to tend a ranch became my rescue squad because an old man worried about a granddaughter too stubborn to ask for help. The irony of it—Grandpa taking care of me even after death, through these men who've been waiting, faithful as fairy tale princes.

Except they're not princes.

They're real, flesh and blood Alphas whose scents are making my skin prickle with awareness.

Every breath brings their combined presence deeper into my lungs—pine and earth and smoke and clean mountain air creating a harmony that speaks directly to primitive parts of my brain.

I shift in the chair, trying to ease the building tension in my lower belly.

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