Page 116 of Knot My Fate

Angel is pale, as he straightens. “Her pulse is irregular and too fast. We must bring her fever down.”

“How?”

“The standard stuff.” Angel worries his bottom lip. “Keep her in a cool room. Washcloths damp with tepid water on her forehead, back of her neck, and her pussy.” His brow furrows. “But this ain’t a normal heat fever. We knew that this was a danger. The consultants at the Heat Wave Clinic warned us. If Paige can’t be bonded, then she needs rutting and intense dominant pheromones. But if what she’s getting from Rhett and then from us still ain’t enough, then…” His expression pinches. “We have twenty-four hours to bring her temperature down. After that, if she’s still this hot with a pulse like this, then we must take her to the hospital. We ain’t taking the risk of her slipping into a heat-induced coma.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Acorn Inn, Oak Hollow

Luca

“How is our Omega doing, Chief?” I pace up and down the wooden porch, for once barely noticing the calls of the birds and insects.

I squint against the harsh sunlight. I can only make out the blurred outline of Paige sitting on Angel’s lap beneath the oak.

“It was a good idea of yours for Angel to take her into the shade of that tree she loves.” Rhett leans against the back door of the inn, as if he’s relaxing in the sun.

But I know him better than that.

When I first met him, I reckoned he never felt scared or anxious. But then, in our late nights together, when he told me about the deaths of his pack, I learned that this is simply a mask he wears to hide that he’s frightened most of the time.

He’s more scared than I am of losing people.

“There is a breeze,” I reply. “It will help to cool her.”

Rhett crosses his arms. “That sister of hers, Sophie, called earlier to check on her. Sophie is recovered fully herself at the home of the Omega she’s not so secretly dating. Whatever Alpha they add to their pack had better watch out for Sophie’s teeth. She wanted to pass on that all the animals are fine after the fire. When I told her that the heat wasn’t exactly going to plan, she was set to drive right over here.”

“Why didn’t she?”

“I reminded her how territorial both Alphas and Omegas become during a heat and a rut. I swore that we wouldn’t let anything happen to her sister, and she swore that she’d slice off our knots if it did. I reckon she just gave me the shovel talk.”

Distracted, I shake my head. “What’s it got to do with shovels?”

Rhett doesn’t reply. Instead, he watches me pace.

“Have you eaten?” He asks, mildly.

I bat away his concern. “I’m not important.”