Page 72 of Knot Your Romeo

Eli’s arm tightens around us protectively. “You’re not getting rid of us that easily, Omega. Heat or no heat, you’re ours now. If you want to be.”

“I do,” I whisper, the admission barely audible. “I want to be yours. All of yours.”

Emmie kisses me softly, sweetly. “Then you are. We all are.”

And for the first time in years, I believe that maybe, just maybe, I’ve found my place in the world. Not as a substitute or a temporary solution, but as an essential part of something bigger than myself.

A pack.

A family.

A home.

This connection is getting stronger.

You’re mine.I hear Emmie’s voice whisper, though her lips aren’t moving. The thought drifts through my mind like it belongs there, and I understand with startling clarity that this connection we have goes deeper than any of us understand. And somehow, that doesn’t scare me the way it should. Instead, it feels like the most natural thing in the world. The sense of belonging, of being cared for, of not having to suffer alone.

We spend the next day like this—the four of us tangled together in various combinations, meeting each other’s needs in whatever way we can. I find my voice. Asking for what I want. Eli and Emmie give me everything I need, but Beck still only has eyes for one Omega. But this is how this pack will work.

By the third day, both of our heats are finally breaking. Emmie’s fever drops, and her desperate need subsides into manageable want. My own symptoms ease, leaving me exhausted but clear-headed for the first time in days.

“How do you feel?” Beck asks Emmie, as she stretches languidly between us.

She gives me a soft smile. “Complete. Like I found something I didn’t know I was missing.”

“And you, Jude?” Elias asks. I contemplate the question. How do I feel? Emotionally overwhelmed, certainly. Confused about what this means for all of us. But also...

“Safe,” I say finally. “For the first time in years, I feel completely safe.”

Emmie reaches for my hand, intertwining our fingers. “Good. Because I don’t want this to end.”

“Even knowing how complicated it will be?” Beck asks gently.

“Especially because of that,” she says firmly. “The best things in life are complicated. Simple was never going to be enough for me.”

As we lie together in the aftermath, I know she’s right. Some families are chosen rather than born. And that’s what we’ve done. We’ve chosen each other. Now we just have to figure out how to make it work in the real world.

27

Emmie

I wake slowly, mybody feeling deliciously heavy and satisfied in a way I’ve never experienced before.

The afternoon sun streams through Jude’s bedroom windows, casting golden light across the tangle of limbs and blankets that have become our temporary sanctuary.

Beck’s arm is draped across my waist, his breathing deep and even against my neck. Eli lies on my other side, one hand resting protectively on my hip, even in sleep. And Jude is curled between my thighs, his Omega scent now calm and content instead of the distressed spikes it carried during his heat.

For the first time in days, my mind feels clear. No longer the clawing need that drove me to seek them out. Now it has faded into something manageable, and I can think with my heat clouding my judgment. And what I feel isn’t regret or embarrassment. It’s a wonder and sense of completeness.

“You’re thinking too loud,” Beck murmurs against my ear, his voice rough with sleep. “I can practically hear the gears turning.”

I turn in his arms, studying his face in the afternoon light. Without the careful mask he usually wears, he looks younger, more vulnerable. There are lines around his eyes that speak of years of responsibility, of putting everyone else’s needs before his own.

“I’m thinking about how right this feels,” I admit quietly.

His dark eyes search mine. “Even now? When your heat isn’t driving your decisions?”

“Especially now.” I reach up to trace the line of his jaw, marveling at how such a powerful alpha can be so gentle. But what if he leaves me again?

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