Page 69 of Knot All is Crystal
I’ve been alone for a very long time.
Not everyone is willing to put up with a partner who sometimes can’t get out of bed because of their pain level. It can feel like I don’t care about someone enough to push through it.
It’s hard to understand if it’s not something you’ve lived.
“I hope you don’t mind that I gave you an earlier arrival time,” Crystal says softly behind me. I turn around to find her close enough to get a whiff of her sweet and spicy peppermint scent. As I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her close, she rests her cheek on my chest and speaks against my shirt. “It’s only because I wanted to make sure you were okay with it one more time.”
Stroking my hand down the back of her head, marveling at how soft the wavy strands are, I feel at peace. She was always meant to be in my arms.
“Of course I’m okay with it. I’ve got a pack. I thought I was destined to be a lone Alpha, driven mad one day by my need for an Omega. This has all happened quite fast, but it’s exciting nonetheless.”
“And the Beta?” Her voice is small and tentative. “It’s new with him. We haven’t even gone on a date, officially, but before that could happen, I needed you and Maverick, that’s the other Alpha’s name, I don’t know if I told you that, to meet him.” She talks fast when she’s nervous, I’m learning.
But she doesn’t have anything to be nervous about with me.
Before I can tell her that, a loud knock rattles the door. I wince at the sound. Crystal pulls away and smiles tightly.
“I guess it’s time to meet the contestant behind door number one.”
When she throws open the door, she barely breathes before she’s swept up into the arms of a tall and slim Alpha with shaggy brown hair. “There she is!” he crows, spinning her in a circle. “Is this your place? It’s so nice. When am I moving in?”
She laughs and pats his arm. “Set me down, Maverick.”
When he does, I get a good look at him. He’s wearing baggy, tattered jeans and a tight white shirt under an open plaid one.
The Alpha looks familiar, but I can’t place where I’ve seen him before. As he turns to face me, no doubt about to demand an introduction, I feel a yanking in my chest that I’ve never felt before. It’s demanding I look at him, and when we make eye contact, the room nearly spins.
If deja vu were a person, it would be this man. Every bit of him feels familiar, and I find myself taking several steps towards him.
“Hey there. You must be my packmate,” he says, sticking out his hand. “I’m Maverick.”
“Emmanuel, but you can call me Manny if you want to.” When I clasp his hand, he pulls me into a bro hug, patting me on the back.
“Cool, cool, cool. This is so rad. I didn’t know I would ever find a pack.”
I step out of his arms and cross my arms in front of me. I feel exposed for some reason. “Me neither. But I couldn’t think of a better Omega to form a pack around, could you?”
“Hell no, dude, Crystal is the best.”
The Omega in question had stepped back to allow us to meet one another, but she moves to stand between us now. “Are we friends now? We feeling good? It’s not weird? I worried it would be weird.”
“Nah, he’s mine just like you are. I mean, not just like, because … well, because I don’t want to fuck him.”
My eyes widen, and I choke on my spit. “Right back at you?”
He continues as if he didn’t hear me. “But he’s pack. It feels right. I couldn’t be happier, bunny.” Maverick pulls Crystal to his chest, ignoring her feeble protests before planting a sloppy kiss on her lips.
“Bunny?” she says when he finally lets her pull away.
“Yeah, that didn’t work. Felt weird on my tongue.” He tickles her sides, and she snorts out a laugh.
I know I can’t compare my relationship with her to Maverick’s. It’s not a competition. We’ve all got to develop at our own pace. But should I have kissed her when I arrived? It’s not that I didn’t want to. I want to. But I don’t know the rules.
Are there rules?
Maybe I’m overthinking things.
Honestly, I never expected to have an Omega, much less have to get to know them while acclimating to a packmate, so I know this whole process will be a little clunky. I’ll need to roll with the punches.
