Page 49 of Knot a Tie
“Hmm… James?” I drop my arms and lean over to grab a blueberry muffin from the tray. I bite the top off it and chew, suddenly overly aware of the sexual tension that just went up a few notches. I drop it back down on the tray.
My scent.
Spencer called me Blueberry-muffins yesterday on the stairs. Did they have these in waiting for me or to remind them of me?
“What Spencer told you is true. I may have made a declaration about wanting you as our omega, but I wasn’t going to force you into it. We wanted to find you, court you and make an offer to your father…”
I choke on a bit of muffin. “Offer?” I scrunch up my nose.
“We do things right here, Rayne,” he says, just this side of insulted. “Of course we would seek your father’s approval.”
I nod, taking that in. That’s interesting and good to know. I’m glad he added that bit in. Perhaps, I should come clean myself about what I told Daddy. Trust is a two-way street after all.
“About my father. When I spoke to him yesterday, I told him I was formally declaring that I was actively seeking a pack. Perhaps, if you are serious about me and about becoming my mate, then you should get in touch with him. Plus, it will make it easier not to have to lie to him anymore.” I throw that test out there and like what I see.
James nods enthusiastically. “If you are on board with that, then we are more than interested, and in the spirit of this frank discussion, I should tell you that your father emailed me this morning to discuss this very thing.”
I swallow, a bit caught off guard by that. “He did?”
“He did.”
Well, he did say he was going to have a think about it. I didn’t know he was going to jump straight onto his emails and start contacting packs he thought might be suitable. However, it’s a good thing he contacted the St. Stevens pack. Things are aligning as I feel they should be. All we need now is Richard here and all will be right. We can make our announcement to court and then move ahead with the mating.
“Is that okay with you?” James asks, slowly, carefully, anticipating my answer in case it’s not what he wants to hear.
“We’ve gotten off topic a bit,” I point out. “I’m going to need more grovelling for failing to tell me that you already knew who I was.”
“In all honesty,” Spencer says. “We didn’tknowwho you were. We saw you and fell like idiots for you. We had no idea who you were. If we had, we’d have been able to find you a lot sooner and a lot easier.”
Okay, that makes sense, but one last thing… “What if you discover I’m horrible and you don’t want me after all. What then?”
“What if you discoverweare horrible, and you don’t want us?” Cameron counters.
“You first.” I cross my arms again.
James drops to his knees, startling me. The rest of his pack follows. “Even if you are the biggest bitch known to man — which I highly doubt having interacted with you these last couple of days — we still want you,” James says quietly. “Deep in our souls, we know you are our mate. Your scent affects us in ways that we can’t even explain, you being here has made our pack feel complete. Well, almost.” His eyes meet mine and I know what he means.
“You calm me,” Spencer says, shifting my gaze to him. “Before you came here, I was a loose cannon. Always looking for a fight. Now,” he shrugs. “I’ve never been so chilled and happy before. It’s all down to you because you belong here with me, with us. Christ, William actually speaks in full sentences since you arrived, if that’s anything to go by, you know how he feels too.”
I press my lips together and glance at William. “Do you feel what they feel?” I ask quietly.
His dark eyes meet mine and I see straight into his soul. “Yes.”
“And you?” I ask Cameron, focusing on the hazel eyes of the cute little pack puppy.
“I didn’t at first. I was attracted to you, obviously, I mean, look at you, and your scent definitely drew me in, but it wasn’t until this morning when you hissed at me, did I feel connected to you in the way that everyone else does. I think that’smyissue, though. It’s nothing to do with you.”
“Famous last words,” I mutter.
“No, really,” he stammers.
“What he’s trying to say is he was scared,” James says with a soft smirk.
“Hey,” Cameron spits out. “That’s rude.”
“But accurate.”
“Fine,” he huffs. “Might as well lay it all out there.”
