I blink, unsure of how to react. The guys are all quiet now, waiting for my response.
I know what Ishoulddo. The sane course of action would be to tell them thank you for their hospitality, then get my clothes from the laundry room and demand they take me to Clearwater.
Troy and Sebastian would try to persuade me to stay. Their growling at Carter’s words earlier was enough to convince me that they don’t want me to go. But Carter would take me, and somehow I know they’d all respect my decision in the end.
I chew on the inside of my cheek, mulling it over. “So…if I ask you to take me away from here, we could still, um, get together after the full moon has passed?”
This time, it’s Troy who lets out a low whine. He reaches for me and pulls me back against his chest as if he can’t bear to let me go.
But it’s Carter who answers, “Yeah, of course. We can take things as slow as you’d like.”
Even he can’t hide his disappointment at my question, though. And there’s something more—a hint of worry, perhaps.
I narrow my eyes at him. “What aren’t you telling me?”
He averts his gaze, staring at the wall opposite. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”
I lean forward and poke him in the leg. “Carter.”
“Emma.” He matches my tone but doesn’t answer me.
Fine. I turn to Sebastian instead, take his hand, and hold it between my palms. “You’ll tell me, won’t you? What am I missing?”
Sebastian throws a glance at Carter, then focuses back on me.
“Seb…” Carter’s voice holds a hint of a warning, yet not the command I heard him use earlier.
But Sebastian’s eyebrows draw together in a frown, his expression turning stubborn. “No, Carter, she’s right. Sheshouldhave all the information about this. How else is she going to make an informed decision?” He interlaces his fingers with mine and squeezes back. “If you leave, this full moon will be torture for us. To know that our mate is out there will chafe at us, and not having the mate bonds in place will hurt like hell.”
“That’s what we heard,” Troy adds. “We’ve never experienced it, but it’s supposed to be terrible.”
“Guys!” Carter explodes from the couch, then towers over us, his hands at his hips. “This is coercion. Now she’ll stay out of pity and put herself at risk.”
“I don’t pity you,” I retort, anger rising in me. “But what if I want this, too? Did you think about that? I feelsafehere, Carter. I’ve never felt more protected in my life, and everything in me is telling me I’m exactly where I need to be.”
I place my palm over my chest, where heat is gathered, a strange, shimmery ball of energy.
“We couldhurtyou,” he forces out through gritted teeth. “Not just by biting but by knotting you.”
“Knotting?” I ask, then remember the shape of Troy’s and Sebastian’s cocks when they shifted. “Oh, that’s what that is?”
I didn’t have a chance to explore Troy’s wolfy knot in the shower because he’d shifted to his human form, but I remember the bulge at the bottom. And yeah, I can see how that could present an issue. Clearly, human anatomy is different from theirs.
“We wouldn’t be able to hold back,” Carter snarls. “Already, I want nothing more than to get you on your hands and knees and shove my knot into your tight pussy. Every time I catch your scent, I can barely resist. When the moon takes hold of me, I won’t be able to. I’ll be on you so fast, you won’t be able to run away, and if you’re not ready for me,I could hurt you.” He makes an agitated motion with his hand. “Do you think I could live with myself after that? After I hurt my mate?”
My eyes well with tears. “I didn’t… I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
He collapses back on the couch and presses the heels of his palms to his eyes. “Yeah. You couldn’t have known. But you seem to be under the impression that I’m pushing you away because I don’t like you.” He lifts his palms enough to peer at me. “Nothing could be farther from the truth.”
His words resonate through me. He’s telling me the truth, finally. All of it.
“Can humans take a knot?” I ask. “I mean, are we even compatible?”
“Oh, yes,” Sebastian says immediately. “Several humans live with the New Hampshire pack, and also in Alaska. I’m sure there are more we don’t know of, but we’ve visited those packs, and I can tell you their humans areveryhappy.”
Carter snorts at this enthusiastic reply, then adds, “He’s right. But it takes preparation. You saw how large we are. You’ll have to work to let us in.”
My pussy clenches, and not in fear. The image of Troy looming over me in his office flashes through my mind. I’d askedhim to fuck me—and he’d refused. It seems he had more control than me.
