Page 58 of Knot Broken

“Is that what Riley said?” My fingers became claws and I was forced to curl them into my palm to hide that fact. “I’ll talk to her. There’s gotta be another way.”

“Suppressants or a managed first shift.” Grey didn’t seem surprised by this information at all. “While you were out shopping, I did some research.” He seemed drawn closer, almost against his will. “That seemed to be the only options for latent omegas.”

“Right.” Her head flopped back against the couch. “Or as I like to call them, shit option one or shit option two.”

Don’t give advice, that’s what my sister had told me. Just be there and listen. It felt like it took superhuman effort, but I sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Tell me about it,” I said. “How’re you feeling?”

“I’ll be fine,” she said with a wave of her hand. “It’s not as if I don’t have access to expert support.”

“Nadia.” I waited until she looked up at me. “You’re allowed to be scared, angry, sad, or nothing at all. I asked because I want to know.”

“Tex—” Grey growled.

“So, tell me how you’re feeling,” I reiterated.

“Shit.” There was something obstinate and childish in her reply that almost had me smiling, but instead I watched her closely. “It’s shit and I hate everything about this situation.” If my mate had stabbed me in the guts with a knife, it wouldn’t have hurt as much as this did, I was sure of it, but I stayed quiet. “Well, not everything.” A glance at each one of us had a small smile forming. “You guys have been pretty cool about things. Never had a guy go and buy Tim Tams for me before.”

“Grey—” I said.

“Already on it.”

The biscuit packet was torn open, the wrapper falling to the floor, and Grey offered the tray of neatly lined up biscuits to her.

“Double coated? Damn, you guys went all out,” she said, right before taking a bite.

Why the hell was that so satisfying? Because she was eating something I went and bought. Nadia’s scent sweetened as she licked her fingers clean.

“I don’t know what to do…” A sharp shake of her head. “Nope, I do.” Her hands smoothed over the knees that were pressed close to her chest. “I have to learn how to shift. If I can’t, then I’ll know that being a mother isn’t going to happen for me, but if I don’t try.” She searched her faces then. “I know I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” I told Nadia. “We’ll be there with you every step of the way, omega, won’t we, Grey?”

I thought we were on the same page, so why did my packmate look like he’d just seen a ghost?

“Ah yeah, sure,” he said.

Very convincing, I thought, shooting him a meaningful look. Grey might pull this moody bullshit with me on the regular, but Nadia? That crap could not touch her ever, I vowed. Grey needed to get the hell on board, or move out of the way and let me take care of Nadia.

Chapter 29

Grey

I’d made a big speech about being there for Nadia when she emerged from her room. So why the fuck was I standing here, looking down at her, unsure what the hell to do? Take a deep breath. I could almost hear my foster mother’s voice inside my head. See what’s in front of you, Grey, not what you assume. You know what needs to be done. You’ve got good instincts. It’s just a matter of learning to trust them.

Our mate is scared, the wolf growled. Her perfume is souring. Fix that.

Right.

I sat down abruptly on the other side of Nadia, then thought furiously about what to do next.

None of this was hard for Tex. His hand rubbed circles on Nadia’s back and she leaned into his chest, eyelids falling to half-mast. Physical touch, I realised, she seemed to like that. Glancing down, I noticed her feet, complete with chipped pink nail polish. Growing up with other foster kids, I’d watched enough rom coms to know women seemed to like foot rubs. I could do that, I told myself. My fingers spasmed, somehow losing the ability to do as I instructed.

Because I’d never, ever touched a woman before Nadia.

Too scared to when I was a teenager. My wolf was an unpredictable thing and he made his intentions clear any time a girl seemed interested in me. Baring his teeth, hackles up, I wondered how these betas could be so fucking oblivious. I was dangerous, out of control, so letting my guard down enough to have sex was impossible.

So why did something settle in my chest the minute I smoothed a palm over Nadia’s foot?