Page 100 of Knot All is Crystal
I snort derisively. “No, of course I haven’t. He wiped his fucking hands of me, Manny. I get that our mom was rough, and he got parentified or whatever, but that wasn’t my fault. I didn’t ask to be born. Why would he take it out on me?”
“I don’t think it was intentional.” His words are measured and careful. “I think he just wanted to get out. He wasn’t in any situation to raise a kid.”
“He could’ve tried.” I can hear how whiny and small my voice sounds, but I can’t stop it. “He didn’t even give me a chance.” As the words leave my mouth, my chest feels heavy. I don’t think I’ve ever taken the time to think about how abandoned I felt. Not all of the foster homes were bad, but they weren’t great. Bouncing around like that, with no stability, right after losing my mom and my brother walking away from me, left me all out of sorts.
My whole life changed with a fucking needle.
“You deserved a chance,” Emmanuel murmurs, pulling me into his arms and hugging me to his chest. “You did, Gage. And I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything about it. I have wondered what became of you for over a decade. It feels like fate that Crystal brought us together again.”
I sink into his familiar hold, letting the warmth of his embrace thaw some of the anger that encases my heart. “I’m glad she did. But I’m not happy that I’m gonna end up seeing your ass, man.”
He snorts and shoves me away gently. “You’re gonna have to get used to it quickly, Hiccup. As the Beta, you’re the one who’s going to have to pull us out of a rut and keep us all sane during her heats.”
“I feel like I’m getting the raw end of the deal here,” I complain insincerely.
“Oh yes, poor you. It will be so incredibly hard keeping her occupied when she can’t get a knot.”
I groan, throwing my head back. “I don’t want to think about your knot, dude.”
“I don’t think we’ll worry about it in the moment,” he says honestly. “All of our focus will be on our Omega and making sure she’s happy and taken care of.”
Our Omega.
Best rule I’ve ever broken.
Manny wraps his arm around my shoulder, turning me around and leading us back into the house with Burger hot on our heels.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Maverick Reilly
On my way, Manny my Man-y
Bringing Gagey Boy
We’re gonna hang out like a proper pack
How do you know where I live?
I have my ways.
And by my ways, I mean an account on a public records lookup site
See you soon
It’s notthat I don’t want to see my pack. I’d like to hang out with the guys. It would be good to get to know Maverick better and learn more about Gage as an adult.
But holy shit Maverick is a lot sometimes.
The knock on my front door comes faster than I expected.
Pain level: Five.
I can do this.
When I open the door, the other Alpha pushes past me, his arms full of paper grocery bags. Gage trails behind him with a sheepish smile on his face. “I tried to stop him,” he stage whispers. “But uh, you can see how that went.”
“Nope!” Maverick shouts, dropping the bags on my table. “This is a requirement. Pack bonding without our Omega naked between us.” He picks up one of the bags from the bottom and tips it over.
