Page 158 of Trick Knot Treat

“What’s his name?” I ask. I hadn’t really paid too much attention.

Harvest chokes. “Name? His name? Um…” For the first time, I see Harvest panic.

“Yeah, who did you match with?” I ask slowly.

Harvest looks at his hands, the ceiling, the fridge, the oven, and then peeks at me. “Fine. It’s…” he takes a breath and then says it in a whisper, exhaling so I don’t hear it.

“What was that?”

“GIAN!”

Khione has been convulsing on my lap, giggling hysterically, but I don’t find anything funny. I just stare at the alpha, wondering if this is a joke.

“As is Jace’s Gian?”

Harvest growls. “Shut up. All of you, shut up.”

“My Gian?” Jace says, leading Felix and Clint into the room.

Harvest swallows hard and looks like he might run. His shoulders are stiff, and he leans away from all of us and absently scratches his chest, his eyes darting around the room.

“Well then, if it’s true, and you have scent-matched with Gian, good luck. He will protect you with everything in him, but he will demand absolute excellence at all times. Once he loves you, he loves you completely.”

Harvest relaxes a little bit. “He does?”

“Oh, yes, my brother is a creature of deep, intense feelings. Very intense. If he has claimed you, if he wants you, you are the first.” Jace absently takes a seat and reaches for the plate that Gummy slides towards him. “This looks amazing. Thank you.”

And that is the end of the conversation.

Felix regards the bikers coolly, but then he’s like that with everyone, and within a few minutes, Clint’s teasing charm has everyone relaxing and smiling.

“We packed up a truck for you,” Crash says gruffly.

Khione’s head snaps up. “What?”

“For you and Biohazard. All your stuff is loaded, ready to go. We’re going to come down and help you unpack, and then…” he sniffles. “I will let you go.”

For a second, he holds it together, and then he starts bawling.

Gummy laughs softly. “Come on, you big teddy bear.”

“My babies are leaving me.”

I watch in amazement as the alpha is enveloped in his partner’s arms. They cling to each other, one sobbing as if his heart’s broken, the other cooing at him.

Khione steals bacon off Felix’s plate while he’s staring in shock at the bikers.

She chews it innocently, watching her parents with a soft and amused smile.

“Okay, come on, Dad, pull it together,” Harvest says. “Khione needs to get home, and we need to hit the road.”

“We have houses you can stay in for a couple of days,” I throw out.

Their heads swivel towards us.

“You have a place for us to stay?”

“Of course.”