Page 104 of The Knotheads Next Door
"Absolutely," Wells adds.
Jasper just nods, his eyes never leaving mine.
"And I need time," I continue. "To figure out how to be... this. An omega. Part of a pack. Yours."
"You have all the time you need," Theo assures me. "We're not going anywhere."
"Neither am I," I say, making the decision even as the words leave my mouth. "I'm staying."
The relief that washes over all three of their faces is almost comical in its intensity. Theo looks like he might actually cry. Wells's shoulders slump as tension visibly drains from him.
And Jasper...
Jasper reaches for me with a small, questioning movement, giving me the chance to back away if I want to. When I don't, his arms wrap around me, pulling me against his chest with careful strength. His scent—pine and sawdust and home—envelops me, familiar and right in a way that makes my omega want to purr with contentment.
"Welcome home, Rowan," he murmurs against my hair, his voice rough with emotion.
I feel Theo join the embrace from behind, his arms encircling both Jasper and me, his cheek pressing against my temple. "We've got you," he whispers, the words a promise and a comfort.
Wells hesitates only a moment before his arms complete the circle, the four of us locked together in an embrace that feels like commitment, like belonging, like everything I never knew I was looking for.
The sun sets over the vineyard, painting the world in hues of gold and rose. Behind us, Gerald yowls impatiently from the car, clearly ready to be part of this reunion. And somewhere in the distance, the town of Vineyard Groves prepares for whatever festival comes next, blissfully unaware that my entire world has just shifted on its axis.
I still have questions. I still have doubts and fears and so many things to figure out. I need to talk to my parents, maybe even meet James someday. I need to establish boundaries and expectations and figure out what this unconventional pack actually looks like in practice.
But right now, surrounded by three alphas who somehow love me exactly as I am—stubborn and complicated and finally, finally where I belong—I know one thing with absolute certainty:
I'm home.
Chapter 32
Jasper
Life taught me early that people leave. That attachment leads to pain. That walls are safer than vulnerability. But as I hold Rowan against my chest, her scent mingling with mine in the cooling evening air, I find myself believing in possibilities I never thought existed.
She's staying. She's ours. We're hers.
The knowledge settles in my chest like a physical weight, both terrifying and exhilarating in equal parts. I breathe her in, letting myself absorb the reality that this isn't temporary anymore. That the 3 months, with all their artificial boundaries and self-imposed distance, are over. That what comes next is... everything.
Theo strokes her hair, his expression softer than I've ever seen it. "No more running, sweetheart," he murmurs. "Not for any of us."
Rowan's shoulders relax at his words, tension I hadn't even realized she was carrying melting away. But her eyes seek Wells, who still stands slightly apart from our embrace, uncertainty evident in the careful distance he maintains.
Ever observant, even now, she reaches for him first. "All of you," she says, echoing his earlier words. "I need all of you."
Something breaks in Wells's carefully composed expression—the final wall coming down as he steps into our circle, his arms completing the connection that binds the four of us together. For the first time since I've known him, Wells looks completely unguarded, vulnerable in a way I never thought I'd see.
"So," Theo says after a moment, his voice deliberately light despite the emotion underlying it, "does this mean we put your name on the house deed?"
Rowan laughs, the sound bright and clear in the twilight. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."
But then, softer, more serious: "I'm not going anywhere."
Four simple words that mean everything to me.
Gerald chooses this moment to voice his displeasure at being left out of the reunion, his indignant yowls carrying from the car where he's still confined to his carrier.
"Someone's feeling neglected," Theo observes with a smile.
