Page 85 of Knotted their Beauty

Calista didn’t need to be here for this, and it’s a good thing she wasn’t considering how intense this has been, but having her here would make things perfect.

A perfect little pack, a happy little family. It would be nice for all of us to be together, to go out and celebrate or some shit. I’m not sure that’s a thing, though. Celebrating your first heat as a pack. A double heat at that. But it brought us all together, it solidified us as a real, bonded pack, and that’s important.

“We can celebrate when Cali gets back.”

I smirk as I look at Lennox again. “Good plan.”

“It is. Glad we both thought of it.”

“Please,” Ves whines, albeit muffled. “Just a nap. A short nap before that bastard sends someone to pick me up.”

“Would he do that?” Arlo asks as he turns his head toward our omega. “He’d send someone out here?”

“Without hesitation. I figure I have two hours tops before he gets ballsy enough.”

“Which means you get an hour and a half of silence, starting now.”

I close my eyes and smile, a sense of calm falling over the four of us, a level of contentment filling the room and blanketing us.

I hope this lasts.

These feelings, this calm.

I hope this is the driving force that keeps our pack strong, but I have a feeling fate has other plans for us.

I won’t think about that now.

I’ll try not to, anyway.

Right now I’m going to soak up all the positivity and love radiating from our pack, and I’ll bank it for later so I can look back on it with fondness when shit hits the fan.

I know better than anyone how short lived happiness can be, and something is telling me, ours is going to be extremely short.

Incredible, but short.

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

ARLO

“Why are the lights so bright in here?” I grumble, glaring at the supermarket ceiling.

“Here,” Lennox says, handing me a pair of sunglasses.

“People will stare if I wear these.”

“But you’ll smell happier and be in less pain. I don’t care what other people think, baby. Put them on.”

Sliding on the dark glasses has me sighing in relief. My heat made me very sensitive to light, sound, and scents. I want to be touched all the time, and last night I fell asleep with Lennox’s knot buried in my ass.

I think my alphas may have created a monster. Lennox loves my dirty talk, which is often muttered under my breath in the shower or before bed. I love being surrounded by my pack, but Ves is being run ragged by this case again.

His boss is being even more of an asshole than normal, and he has sent someone to get him twice in the last week.

Ves thinks it’s punishment for going missing during our joint heat. It was intense and so fucking incredible, but my grumpy omega wasn’t gone for very long. I finally lost my shit when I heard a car was coming to get him this morning while we were having coffee, and I suggested disappearing where no one could find us.

My omega stared at me for a long beat before deciding that was an excellent idea. Long term hotel stays aren’t great for omegas, and I already have enough anxiety about someone cleaning up after us. I would much rather do it instead.