Page 40 of The Knotheads Next Door
Jasper's jaw tightens. "Nothing happened."
"But something almost did," I guess, reading the truth in his expression. "You're giving me hell for scent-marking her, but you were what—making a move?"
"I was proving a point," he says stiffly.
"What point?"
"That she's affected by us. All of us. That her body is responding whether she admits it or not."
I stare at him, incredulous. "And you thought the best way to prove this was to, what, intimidate her? Get in her space? Make her uncomfortable?"
"I wasn't intimidating her," Jasper growls, standing up. "I was making her face reality. The reality you and Wells keep tiptoeing around like it'll go away if we just ignore it long enough."
"And what reality is that?" I demand, my own frustration rising to match his.
"That she's presenting as an omega. That it's happening faster than any of us expected. And that we need to deal with it before someone gets hurt."
I want to argue, but he's not wrong. Rowan's condition is progressing rapidly. What started as subtle shifts in her scent has evolved into more pronounced symptoms—the heat spike episodes, the increasing responsiveness to alpha presence, the emotional volatility.
"I know," I admit, deflating slightly. "I just... I don't want to push her. She's clearly terrified of what's happening to her body."
Jasper's expression softens fractionally. "That's exactly why we need to address it head-on. Before it gets worse."
Before either of us can say more, my phone buzzes with a text. It's from Crystal at the flower shop.
Rowan's not feeling well. Dizzy, flushed. Sending her home. Can you check on her?
A coil of worry tightens in my chest. "Rowan's sick. Crystal's sending her home."
Jasper frowns. "Another heat spike?"
"Sounds like it." I'm already grabbing my keys. "I'll go pick her up."
"I can do it," Jasper offers, surprising me. "I'm not working today."
"No, it's better if I go. I can assess her symptoms." What I don't say is that I'm worried about leaving Jasper alone with her when she's vulnerable. Not because I don't trust him, exactly, but because the tension between them is unpredictable, volatile.
He seems to read my thoughts. "I'm not going to pounce on her, Theo."
"I know that," I say, though we both hear the hesitation in my voice. "Just... let me handle this one. Please."
He holds my gaze for a long moment, then nods once. "Fine. But we're having a pack meeting about this tonight. All of us, including Rowan. This can't go on."
A pack meeting. Like we're actually a pack, not just three alphas who happen to share a house and an increasingly complicated relationship with our not-quite-omega roommate.
But he's right. This can't continue.
"Agreed," I say, already heading for the door. "Tonight."
I find Rowan sitting on a bench outside the flower shop, her head in her hands. She looks up as I approach, surprise and wariness crossing her face.
"Crystal texted me," I explain before she can ask. "Said you weren't feeling well."
"It's nothing," she says automatically. "Just got a little dizzy. Probably low blood sugar or something."
"Or another heat spike," I suggest gently.
She winces. "Can we not call it that?"
