Page 44 of Knot Broken

“That wouldn’t have gone well,” I replied with a wry smile.

“You said you have difficulty asking for what you want?” he asked. “Well, ask me. Whatever you need here, whatever you want, I’ll make it happen.”

Huh. No one had ever said that to me before. My smile was kinda tentative, but why? One look into his eyes and I could see Tex was sincere.

“OK.” Hearing the room go quiet in response to my voice was freaking weird and what was that growly note to it? “I’ll stay here, but if I’m going to go on a journey to find my inner wolf, I wouldn’t mind some company.”

“You got it,” Tex said, cradling my hand against his chest.

“A suite for four...” Candy was tapping something on her screen. “Got it. There’s a nice, private one right down the end.”

“Three,” Ethan corrected. He shot me a wary smile. “I’ll grab some stuff from home for Grey and Tex, and I can do the same for you, Nadia. If there’s any way I can help…?” His voice trailed away as his smile disappeared. “But you need to spend time with your mates, work out whether or not you want to bond with these idiots.”

“Ethan—” One of Riley’s alpha’s rumbled.

“If there’s anything you need, you’ve got my number.”

Just not his presence, it appeared. As he headed for the door, I nodded to myself.

“So, if you want to come this way?”

No, I didn’t want that at all, but I got up and followed Riley and Candy out of the office and down the hallway to my new temporary home.

Chapter 21

Tex

How the fuck did we end up here?

Today was supposed to be my grand declaration. In my head, I’d lay it all on the line, make clear how I felt about Nadia, and she’d feel the same. Falling into my arms, begging me to bite and claim her might have factored into the fantasy, but I was totally prepared to fight for her.

I just didn’t expect that to be in a place like this.

Walking into the suite, I saw it was pretty damn fancy, but as Grey took the lead, he pointed out some things I missed.

“Cameras.” He gestured at some small devices inset into the walls. “Call buttons.”

“Right.” The Taylor alphas had shown us the way, and their manner made clear they were all business. “We don’t usually leave unmated omegas in the same suite as their alphas,” Blake, the biggest alpha, said. “Nadia, we know Grey and Tex pretty well. They came through an outreach program we run when they were still kids, so we’re fairly sure they’re safe to be around.” He noted the way I bristled with a slow nod. “But the minute you decide you’re not comfortable with them around⁠—”

“You’re out.”

Ryan crossed his arms and then looked the two of us over. That had me bristling. If he thought⁠—

“You think you’re protective of Nadia?” Grey’s wolf was so damn close to the surface, I wondered how the five Taylor alphas dared to say a thing. For once, I was glad to stand beside him. “No one will hurt her or force her to do anything other than what she wants.”

“And what I want is to doom scroll and then a nanna nap.” We all turned to see Nadia was standing in the doorway of one of the rooms. She looked too small, too pale right now. “I’ll deal with whatever needs facing after that.”

When her door closed with a decisive click, the tension leached out of the room.

“There are cameras in the main room, but not in the bedrooms or bathrooms,” Colt said. “But there are call buttons everywhere. If there’s any signs of Nadia’s wolf surfacing⁠—”

“We press them,” Grey finished for him. “Got it.”

“One of us will be by in the morning to take you to get some testing done,” Fen said, pushing forward. “Riley always likes to get a baseline to compare data against, but boys?” He clapped a hand on my shoulder, just like he used to when Grey and I were kids. “I’m glad you found your mate and are forming a pack.”

“Told you.” Haze held out a hand to Colt, then wiggled his fingers. “Pay up.”

“You said all three of them,” Colt shot back but then nodded. “Though I think that will just be a matter of time.”