Page 108 of Knot Broken

Grey was trying oh-so-hard to keep it together. His tone was perfectly even, but as he sat down, I saw the tension in his popped biceps.

“No.” It was summer, so feeling sweat prickle across my brow wasn’t unexpected, but the flush of heat that washed through me was something else. Riley and the crew at Crowe Corp had warned me about this.

“Omegas formalise the mate bond when they feel ready, but often times that comes when they go into heat,” she told me. “Its your body’s way of signalling that it thinks these guys are father material. I’ve implanted an IUD as requested, so no babies until you decide that’s what you want, but I just want you to be aware of the signs. A heat doesn’t have to precede a mate bond or trigger one. You’re always in control.”

For a second, I just panted, feeling the most delicious sensation in every cell. It wasn’t Grant scurrying away like a frightened rabbit. While there was a time before I would’ve fantasised about it, now, he just didn’t matter. My mates did. Grey’s nostrils flared as he stared at me, seemingly cataloguing all the ways my body was making clear it was receptive.

“Take me home, Grey. What I need can’t be bought at a cafe.”

Sweeping me into his arms, he carried me outside, ignoring the fact everyone turned to stare. Out onto the footpath, then into the car, he didn’t even trust me to do my own seatbelt up.

Maybe because I was starting to squirm in my seat.

“Call the pack,” he said, voice activating his phone as he pulled the car out abruptly. Someone else beeped their horn, but he didn’t care. Down the road we hurtled.

“What’s up?” Tex said. “Cafe didn’t have your macrobiotic turkey bacon?”

“Nadia’s going into heat.”

“Oh shit!”

Oh shit, indeed. My back arched, trying to ease the ache there, but it didn’t work. Moving, moving, the cabin of the car felt too small, too plasticky, too everything. Luckily our house was only a few streets away. Grey threw on the park brake as soon as we stopped, only for Tex and Ethan to appear.

“Omega…”

Ethan’s voice turned gravelly, his eyes silver, as soon as he opened my door.

“Inside, now.”

Yeah, that. I clung to Ethan’s shoulders as he carried me inside. The lights were too harsh, the smell of cleaning chemicals hitting my nose, until my bedroom door was kicked open. Grey fussed with the light switch until a far softer glow illuminated the room.

“Nesting materials.”

Tex jerked the box open, starting to scatter the gorgeous blankets across the bed, which forced me to take over. The green one was too slippery, feeling synthetic. The muslin was soft but also kinda scratchy. With a thin whine, I tossed some aside until finally I found what I wanted. The air conditioner whirred as I started to remake my bed into a nest. The idea of it seemed ridiculous to me when Riley talked about it, but now? This was exactly where I needed to be.

“Look at you.” Grey’s wolf was riding him hard as evidence by the fact he looked almost twice the size, his dark body hair suddenly coarser. “What a beautiful nest, omega. Can we come in?”

My thighs rubbed together as I considered the idea.

“This will be the most vulnerable moment of your life,” Riley had said. “So you want to make sure that you trust the men who will see you through your heat. If you’re not ready, call me any time.” She pushed her card my way. “I can administer suppressants that won’t prevent you from shifting, but will help you get through it.”

But that’s not what I needed.

As my thighs spread, I felt the cool air. Slick soaked my clothes.

“Yes…” I hissed, feeling something twist inside me. “Yes.”

“That’s all we needed to hear,” they said, right before they tore their clothes off.

Chapter 50

Tex

Today was the day I was going to finally make Nadia mine.

“Something you need, omega?”

Grey’s cool tone, the way his eyes shone perfectly silver as he smiled down at our mate, had my hackles going up.