Page 24 of Tying the Knot
“Yep.” This is so awkward. There is no way we want a potential mate to be thrust into the middle of this shitshow.
I hear Eli growl to Dylan to go upstairs and clean up as I disappear into the living room.
The omega smiles up at me. She is really sweet and might’ve passed Eli’s cost of living crisis test. But even I know that something is missing.
“Something’s come up,” I say, crossing over to her. “Would you mind if we reschedule the rest of this for tomorrow if that’s convenient for you?”
“Of course,” she says, standing up. “Same time?”
“Yes, that’s fine.” I lead her back into the entrance hall, glad to see that the other three have dispersed.
Letting her out of the house, I close the door and lean against it, suddenly feeling like I’m missing out on this big thing in our lives. Yes, I wanted to remain impartial to the mated omega, and it’s in my nature to be the responsible one. Even as a child, I was this way. I was the one who tidied up and did my homework without being asked to. I chipped in, and my parents appreciated it, so it was reward enough to have their thanks and praise.
Pushing off from the door, I realise I’m curious about what happened with Dylan and the Happs omega. I head up the stairs, assuming Eli and Kal followed Dylan, and I find them clustered in Dyl’s room while he strips off.
“You said you didn’t want to know,” Dylan says, unashamed of being naked in front of us.
Not that I give a crap, anyway. Once we find our mate, we will be naked in front of each all the time.
“I changed my mind,” Eli says quietly. “Something happened that you have her scent all over you, and I need to know what it was.”
“We kissed.”
Silence descends. I chew the inside of my lip with a heavy sigh. “Dylan. That was inappropriate. She is mated.”
“Not anymore. Not in her mind,” he says. “Shekissed me, and I stopped her to make sure she knew what she was doing. I spoke to her a bit, and she said that her pack has lost her, and her bond was unravelling.”
That hangs there like a thick rain cloud, waiting to burst and pour freezing cold rain all over us.
“Well, shit.” I cross my arms. “What does she mean the bond is unravelling?”
“It doesn’t matter!” Eli roars, overly sensitive about this.
“She said it had been a few years since the bite had been renewed,” Dylan presses on, regardless of Eli's temper.
“Wow,” I mutter. “What a stand-up pack she got lumbered with.”
“Right?” Dylan replies. “She doesn’t deserve to be tied to them any longer. It’s not fair when we could have her and cherish her like the gorgeous omega she is.”
“Eli,” I say. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that nothing has changed. She is still mated to them, and even if the bond breaks tomorrow, we can’t just demand she mate with us and bite her. Not to mention how it looks…” He looks vastly uncomfortable as he says that.
“How it looks?” Kaleb explodes, sore on this subject due to his mum. “Fuck how it looks. If we can care for her, and she wants to let us, fuck society.”
“I agree,” I murmur.
Eli ignores Kaleb but looks up at me from his place, slumped on the edge of Dylan’s bed. “You are impartial, and you’re saying you think this is right?”
I clench my jaw. “It’s a difficult situation, but we all know that the omegas who came through here today weren’t right. I tried to be enthusiastic, but something is missing. The scents aren’t doing it for me.”
“Because they aren’t Morgan,” Dylan says.
“I need to think about this,” Eli says and stands up. He pushes past me to storm into his own room, slamming the door behind him.
“What was it like?” Kaleb asks. “The kiss?”
Dylan groans. “It was like kissing a chocolate orange while floating on a cloud with angels singing all around me and a warm breeze drifting over my soul.”
