Page 5 of Knot What She Seems
I’m not amused by the tears of mirth forming in the corners of Teddie’s eyes. I cross my arms as I say, “I’m fucking serious. I’m going. You’re not. End of story.”
“You’re an omega! They’ll sniff you out in a second. End of story.” His head wavers side to side as he mocks me.
I suppress a terrified shiver at that possibility and embrace my stubborn side instead, a side that tends to emerge when I’m around my twin. “Not if I use scent blockers.”
“Those only last four hours tops?—”
“Just enough time, then. It’s not like I’ll be there all day. I can take more scent blockers between classes. First year is, what…mostly lecture classes to ease you guys into the physical regimen, right? I can swing that.” The words come out smoothly and confidently, and I’m proud of that; in all honesty, the fact that I can remain so calm about heading to the alpha academy helps make me a little more certain that I can do it.
Teddie rolls his eyes and swivels his head to glance at Caran, looking for backup about how outlandish my plan seems.
But Caran’s standing stock-still, his expression thoughtful, the way it gets when he’s been asked to do a big system security overhaul and his programmer brain takes over.
“No!” My brother stands up, realizing that his boyfriend might not immediately agree with him.
I smirk from my spot on the couch, pressing my point. “It’s gonna be some running. Endurance training. Some obstacle courses. I can do that shit easy peasy.”
“There’s all kinds of other stuff you don’t know about. And I heard they’re adding a class this fall. I’m not sure what it is. But not knowing is dangerous.”
“Pshh.” I flick my wrist dismissively. “Again. Not a problem. SinceDarling Ditzesonly expect me to do five classes a week so that I can spend plenty of time at their social functions scent-attracting potential mates—gag—I can totally pull that off.”
“You think I’m gonna let you walk into a school full of hormone-riddled alphas? You’ve got another think coming.” His arrogant, big brother, older-by-two-minutes tone shows up.
I shoot to my feet, and my voice is as sharp as a blade. “You think I’m gonna let you walk into a school full of hormone-riddled alphas when you’resick? When they might think they have a shot at taking our family down?”
He swallows hard, and I know I’ve hit a pain point. The war has made our family unpopular. Our position precarious.
They tried unseating us before. Killing off the weak link when the weak link was me.
It’s not far-fetched to think they’ll try again.
Especially if they catch wind of any frailty.
Teddie’s nostrils flare, and I can tell he’s trying to gather his thoughts for another argument, but Caran’s voice breaks in.
Tentatively, he ventures, “It could work. I could hack the systems and ensure the class schedules don’t overlap.”
“Don’t you?—”
“You need to rest, Ted!” Caran’s voice gets just the tiniest bit shrill, the emotion he no doubt battles back daily to keep from leaking out. There’s a desperate sadness in his tone, a begging quality, as he adds, “You need to rest so you can get better.”
My brother’s hands come up to his hair, and he tugs at it in frustration. “And what if that never happens, huh? What if?—”
“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.” Each word is punctuated by a step until I’m in my brother’s face. Until I can see every stripe in his blue irises. “You will get better. I forbid anything else.”
Sarcasm paints Teddie’s features red even as tears gloss his eyes. “Oh, well, if you forbid it?—”
“I do too.” Caran’s suddenly beside us, mouth set and expression determined. “I forbid it too.”
My arms go out, and I yank Teddie into me, curling in and smashing my cheek into his chest. Then I reach around and grab Caran’s waist, pulling him into a three-way hug. My brother’s heartbeat pounds against my ears. None of us acknowledge the tears spilling down our cheeks or the way the love between us all feels so strong and yet so jaggedly painful all at once.
Is there—in all the universe—anything more important than trying to save someone you love?
I don’t think there is.
That’s why, even if this is a fool’s errand, a stupid idea, going to earn me a black mark on the omega mate market, and going to be a living fucking nightmare…I don’t give a fuck.
I’m going to try.
