Page 161 of Knot All is Crystal
The tears keep falling.
Despite the tears, she’s beautiful in olive trousers and an ivory V-neck, her green and blue hair brushing her collarbones.
“It’s just a kindergarten graduation,” Gage whispers to her.
Puck hisses at him, “Leave our girl alone, shut up, and enjoy the pomp and circumstance.”
Hannah skips across the patch of carpet deemed the “stage” in the back of her kindergarten classroom, smiling broadly and waving at us. Her dirty blonde hair is in curly pigtails, framing the white mortarboard that took Crystal and Eve ages to pin on. Eve sits on the edge of the aisle, clicking her phone rapidly as she takes photos.
Maverick hops to his feet. “Yeah! Go, Hannah!” he shouts, earning dirty looks from the other families.
But Hannah doesn’t care. She beams and runs off the “stage,” diving into Maverick’s arms.
It turns out that Uncle Maverick is the favorite.
Whoever could have seenthatcoming?
Crystal’s laugh is quiet, but it breaks her out of the tears, and for that, I’m grateful.
Over the past two years, I’ve noticed that Maverick does ridiculous things to help the rest of us out of our dark thoughts. It’s not been easy because none of us got out of Prism unscathed, but we at least have each other to lean on.
I’m especially surprised at how well it works on Puck. Sometimes, I’ll wake up to take a piss in the middle of the night and hear the two of them goofing off and playing video games.
“We have to call my parents when we get there,” I tell my Omega as we pile in the car after the ceremony on our way to a restaurant and arcade combo Hannah requested. “They want to congratulate her.”
Knowing they weren’t getting any grandchildren out of us, Maverick’s and my families decided to adopt Hannah as a surrogate grandchild. She’s incredibly spoiled, but still so sweet and appreciative that none of us sees a problem with it.
“What’s your pain level today?” Gage asks from the backseat.
I roll my eyes as I hit the blinker and stop at the red light. “Two, same as it was an hour ago.”
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Maverick whoops. “So the trial is working?”
“The trial is working,” Crystal says happily. “The first one had the right idea, but the wrong execution. Luckily, Walter let Dr. Knight run with it. The man is a genius.”
It’s been twenty-seven days since I had a migraine.
Though my baseline pain is not at zero yet, with the barest of headaches lingering, my life has improved so much.
“I still hold firm that it was your bonding bite that did the majority of the work,” I say, peeking at my Omega from the corner of my eye. “It was clever of you to do it in an acupuncture spot.”
We pull to a stop at the restaurant and pile out of the car. Puck, Maverick, and Gage head in, leaving me with my Omega. I pin her against the car, pulling her hips to mine.
“Yes, Alpha Manson?”
“Just wanted a moment alone with you before the sensory overload that awaits us.” Taking her lips in mine, I soak in how she melts at my touch. I’ll never get tired of it.
We make out like teenagers for a few minutes before I pull away. Her lips are swollen and red, her pupils dilated, and a beautiful flush colors her cheeks. I give her a final kiss on her nose before grabbing her hand. “Now, when we get in there, can you help me beat Maverick in Dance Dance Revolution?”
“Anything for my lead Alpha.”
* * *
Puck
“Keep your eyes closed!”I admonish my Omega, who was seconds away from peeking. She groans and stomps her foot, looking too much like our niece.
“It’ll be worth it!” Maverick calls from across the room. “Promise!”
