Page 184 of Knot What I Expected

We work. We do the job. We keep the mountain from burning down.

Then we give each other shit until the next call comes in.

But I guess it was a good job.

A-Feral is getting better.

Tighter.

And as weird as it is having Wreck officially acting as our Alpha, it works. Maybe because he doesn't want anything from us. No obedience for obedience's sake. No fucking power trips. No proving he's the biggest asshole in the room.

We each take turns wearing that crown.

Wreck leads when somebody needs to lead and gets the fuck out of the way when they don't.

Monster respects that.

Mostly.

I tip my head beneath the stream. The showers were something I'd rigged months ago because it didn't make sense to drag mud, soot, and half the fucking forest into the station every time we came back from a job.

Raised wooden platform.

Separate stalls.

Saloon-style doors.

Cold water.

Nothing fancy.

But we're in the middle of the damn woods. Nobody's wandering up here unless they have business with us, and it lets us hose the worst of the grime off before going inside.

The water sluices over my head and shoulders. Fuck, even ice cold that feels good.

I close my eyes. And immediately think about this morning.

Gabby.

Warm.

Sleepy.

Her amber eyes barely open when I'd bent over to kiss her goodbye.

I'd almost climbed right the fuck back into bed.

Honey Girl.

My Honey Girl.

My Omega.

I still don't completely understand how that works.

She's not like me. Not a Wolf. But Gia isn’t a Bear, and she’s Wreck’s Omega. So, I guess that’s not that unusual.

Besides, I know she's not human either, though she still hasn't told me exactly what she is. And really, that's okay. I can wait.