Page 168 of Knotting the Firefighters
"Wait—you don't know?" She sounds genuinely surprised. "I assumed someone would have mentioned, given how obvious the tension is between him and Calder."
Mentioned what?
What am I missing?
"My Alphas grew up in this town," Hazel explains, settling into storytelling mode. "Were childhood friends with Aidric, Calder, Bear, and Silas before they all drifted apart—career paths diverging, different choices about staying local versus pursuing opportunities elsewhere."
Local history.
Small-town connections I haven't uncovered yet.
"According to what they told me—" Hazel's tone carries careful neutrality, reporting secondhand information rather than personal knowledge. "—Aidric wanted to make things official with Calder. Wanted committed relationship, recognized partnership, acknowledgment that what they had was significant rather than casual."
Aidric.
Proud, controlled Aidric.
Made himself vulnerable.
Asked for commitment.
My heart clenches with sympathy I hadn't expected, imagining how difficult that admission must have been for someone who guards his emotions so carefully.
"Calder refused," Hazel continues, each word landing like a small blow. "Said he couldn't commit because he knew he'd eventually be interested in Omega, didn't want to hold Aidric back from finding a pack that could provide a complete bond."
Rejection.
Framed as consideration.
Noble sacrifice that left both of them wounded.
"Essentially told him that what they had wasn't enough," Hazel concludes quietly. "That Aidric deserved pack with Omega, traditional structure, future that Calder couldn't provide as lone Alpha convinced he'd eventually want different designation."
Oh.
Oh fuck.
No wonder the tension between them is so volatile.
No wonder Aidric maintains such rigid emotional distance.
He risked everything, got rejected, and now circumstances have forced them back together in exactly the configuration Calder predicted.
The pieces slot into place with uncomfortable clarity—Aidric's resistance to our pack formation, his hostility toward Calder, his conflicted behavior around me specifically.
I'm living proof that Calder was right.
That he did eventually want Omega.
That Aidric's offer wasn't enough.
"Maybe it'll be easier for them to reconcile now that you're in the picture," Hazel suggests with optimism I don't entirely share. "Aidric seems to connect with you, even if he's being stubborn and hesitant about physical intimacy. Seeing that Calder's interest in Omega doesn't negate his feelings for Aidric might provide the closure they both need."
Or it could make everything exponentially worse.
Constant reminder of rejection, living embodiment of what came between them.
This is so much more complicated than I realized.
