Page 56 of Knot Broken

“Is this…?”

My hands flexed, then I gestured to the mass of blankets.

“Some omegas like to nest,” Grey explained. “Some don’t. I figured… Look, I’ll clear everything⁠—”

“Don’t.”

A hand on his arm and he went perfectly still.

“What happened?” Tex demanded, taking in the nest, me, Grey with a frown. “What did they say? Nadia⁠—”

“Not now.” Grey’s growl had everyone going quiet. “Nadia, rest.”

He held out my favourite sweats, and I quickly got out of my current clothes, the plush fleece against my skin instantly calming. Moving towards the bed, I began to fuss with the blankets. Some strange part of me was sure if I got them just right, it would settle the growing tension inside me. Climbing onto the bed, pulling the blankets around me, I discovered there was some truth to it. My phone in hand, I settled down to doom scroll until my heart stopped racing.

“Stay in here until you’re feeling better.” Grey’s voice was as soft as velvet right now. “No one is getting in here until you’re ready. Rest, omega. We’ve got this.”

“We need to know what’s going on,” Tex protested. “Nadia, together⁠—”

“Not now.”

I watched Grey escort Tex outside and felt a pang of guilt. Tex needed to know what was going on, but I… I was too full of all the information to be able to form coherent thought and I just had to hope he’d forgive me for that fact later. Later… I thought, bringing the blankets up close to my face. When I was a kid, I used to love winter because it’d give me an excuse to build a cocoon of warmth around me. With a sigh, my thumb moved, flicking past one post, then another.

That’s when the restless feeling finally faded away.

Trouble was, it left me feeling flat and kinda empty, which wasn’t a pleasant experience. Beautiful house interiors, gorgeous art, travel photos, all of the pretty things that social media could provide weren’t enough to stifle that, not completely, because as soon as I stopped scrolling?

I’d have to make a decision that would affect me for the rest of my life. A glance up at the door had me studying the painted surface. Mine and my so-called fated mates as well, and I didn’t know what to do about that.

Chapter 28

Tex

“We need to get in there,” I hissed, stabbing a finger at Nadia’s door. “Why the hell would we leave Nadia on her own to deal with whatever the fuck just happened?”

“Because that’s what she needs.” Grey’s eyes were as flat and cool as a winter sea. “You’re just thinking about yourself right now.” My hands formed fists, because what the actual fuck? “You need to talk shit out. You need to process things with other people.”

This was familiar territory, a fight I was more than willing to have, when Grey delivered the killing blow.

“So you don’t understand when someone doesn’t want that. That sometimes the dealing with someone else’s responses, thoughts, feelings, is just more weight to bear. That you need to process some of your own shit before you take that burden on. Nadia will come out of that room.”

He pointed at her door.

“She’ll be quiet and subdued, and we will need to do our damnedest to ensure we don’t make her life harder. Get more food, some nice coffee, anything but put more pressure on her. We’re the alphas, so we need to get our shit together and make sure we create an environment that’s safe for her to be vulnerable in. Can you do that, Tex?”

“But if she told me what she wanted…” I wasn’t always the quickest on the uptake, but Grey’s message finally filtered through. “That would be more work for her. Shit.”

“Shit,” Grey agreed.

“OK, then I’m going out.”

I grabbed my phone and wallet and shoved them into my pockets.

“Where the hell are you going?” Grey asked.

“Protect and provide, right?” A quick glance around and I could see that we had a fully functioning kitchen in the apartment. “Well, you cover the protect part, while I look after the provide bit.”

He nodded slowly, then said, “All right, but if you’re going to the shops, can you grab me a few things?”