Page 6 of Knot Your Kismet

I want to hug her now just like I wanted to hug her then, but I can’t. I’ll scare her. She’ll turn into the butterfly she reminded me of all those years ago and fly away.

“Something happened, didn’t it?” Calista asks, her voice turning to a whisper.

I swallow, my throat dry. “Yes. But let’s go back to the Omega Resort. Our pack is there waiting.”

Calista blinks rapidly, her startling blue eyes watering, but she doesn’t shed any tears. Instead, she steps closer and encircles her hand around my arm.

This really fucking sucks. This shouldn’t be happening.

But it is.

We’re going to ruin Calista’s life.

I stop Calista short upon hearing the yelling match happening in apartment number 241. I haven’t been here yet, but I can smell Calista’s fragrance in the hallway even though she’s standing next to me. It’s probably permanent from the years of coming in and out of this place and being the only omega at the end of this hall.

“Misters Kismet, you can’t just withdraw her. Her sponsorship has been paid for until the end of the year.” A woman’s sharp voice cuts through the flimsy door. I thought a place like this would have better security, but I guess the guard in the lobby has been deemed good enough.

“I don’t have a choice. You know as well as I do that the law states that no omega can be sponsored for the Omega Independence Program if they are the only one in the pack. We have to take her home.” Nolan responds with the same amount of venom as the female alpha. She’s the one that probably forced Calista into this arrangement.

Calista covers her mouth with her hand, stifling an uncontrollable sob. “The only omega? What? No.”

Shit.

Calista rushes toward her apartment door and flings it open, the thing probably never locked. I clasp my fingers on the back of my head. My brothers and I talked about this. We had a plan in place on how to tell Calista. It didn’t involve including the CEO of this Omega Resort. She had already pissed us off enough by not letting us talk to Calista over the phone to let her know we were on our way. Things could have been easier, but this woman has obviously been using Calista to make more profit. Pack Daines is known to be greedy, considering it costs half a million a year to send an omega here. Many don’t stay past a year, because they end up falling in love or their packs decide it’s not worth it and take things into their own hands to marry their additional omegas off.

But Jess was adamant about what Pack Kismet would do for Calista. They sent her here to learn how to be independent from a pack, and not in the way most packs consider their omegas independent.

Unfortunately, Pack Kismet can no longer keep their promise to her.

“Henry? Henry, what happened to my mom?” Calista asks, her voice shaking.

My heart slides into my stomach. My dad’s not here. If he were, we wouldn’t be in this position.

Calista freezes and glances around the apartment, her eyes settling on both of my brothers, who stand together, facing Ivy Daines. She twists and looks at me, her mouth agape before closing the space to Ivy.

“What’s going on, Ivy? Who are they? Where are my mom and Henry? They should have been here by now.” Calista purses her lips, shifting on her feet. She already knows the answer by the frown crossing everyone’s faces. She just needs confirmation.

Nolan steps closer to Calista, holding his hands out to her. “We are here to explain everything, Calista. We tried to call you earlier, but Ms. Daines interfered. We are Henry’s sons. Do you not remember us? I know it’s been a while since we’ve seen you.”

“I don’t care who the fuck you are. What happened?” Calista holds her hand up, stopping Nolan in his tracks. “Tell me now.”

Nolan glances at me, and I shake my head, this whole situation weighing heavily on us.

“I’m sorry, Cali. Your parents were in a car wreck. They didn’t survive,” Ivy says, speaking up for us. The alpha pulls Calista to her, engulfing her in her arms. “I’m so sorry.”

Calista’s arms remain at her sides as Ivy’s words sink in. I don’t know what to do or say, and I look to Nolan for what to do. He’s just as lost as I am. So is Lucas. He hasn’t even said a word yet. I’m surprised he hasn’t left already. He was dragged here from his home across the country.

“We didn’t intend for you to find out this way, Calista. We tried to call earlier, but Ms. Daines claimed you were busy. We came as soon as we could. We wanted to tell you in person before you saw it on the news. Our pack lost its heart. You need to come home with us.” Nolan closes more space, trying to entice Calista to turn to him instead of hiding her face against Ivy.

“You don’t have to go with them, Cali,” Ivy says, glowering at Nolan.

“She needs to be with her pack while we grieve.” Nolan tightens his jaw. I remain frozen in place, glancing between him and my other brother. As the oldest, Nolan is in charge. I’m not supposed to act unless he requests it, which I hate. I want to speak up instead of being silent.

“He’s only saying that, Calista. He knows if he takes you, it’ll be nearly impossible for you to come back here. He wants a refund. This is all about money. You know your mom wouldn’t want this for you. He can’t make you go. I won’t allow it.” Ivy’s words lace with a hot threat that makes me nervous. She’s lying through her teeth and she knows it. A sponsorship is nonrefundable. This isn’t about that. From catching Calista with an alpha tonight, I can see that Ivy doesn’t want to lose her as a source of income.

“Calista, don’t believe her. She’s lying,” I say, breaking Nolan’s silent command to let him handle things. “She’s using you. She doesn’t lose the sponsorship money. She uses the capability of using you for more profit.”

“I would never!” Ivy yells, her voice whipping through the air.