Page 115 of Trick Knot Treat

“She wants me to go to all these places. They are places she went when she was pregnant with me, when she was kicked out of home. She left notes about each place and said I need to go because it will change my life.”

He slides me the list.

“Go and have a beer here. Nothing will make you feel more alive than the coldest beer after a long day on the road. Talk to the people who live here, they live lives so different from ours. Remember, the world is bigger than just us.”

“What happened to your dad, Zaire?”

“He was never in the picture; it was just my mum and me. She was my best friend.”

I read through the rest of the list. If I can get out of my promise, I’m going to take this alpha on this trip. We’ll all do it together.

“Jace?” Felix prods.

“Bucket list?” He purses his lips and twists them wryly. “I wanted bonds. Not just any bonds, but the bonds of my scent matches. I wanted to wear them with pride and have a bonding ceremony where my mum stood there and smiled.”

Clint’s face gets stony, and he looks down.

Jace sighs. “Now, I see my dad standing there and Gian. The heart of my dream is the same, but…” he trails off and picks up a glass, saluting us with it.

We look at Clint.

“I wanted people who wanted to go and do things. Go on a picnic, go on a cruise, go on a drive, go camping, go snorkeling, but have people who loved exploring the world as much as I did.”

I’m seeing a theme here.

I turn to Felix. He scowls and picks up a wineglass, swirling the liquid inside.

“I wanted to see my bonded pack in my nest. Not just see them there but have them protect it, have them go feral over it.”

My eyes are wide, staring at the omega, but he’s not finished.

“I’m very possessive, and I would be absolutely feral over making sure no one would leave. I wanted them to make my nest smell like them and make me weak. Make me give in to their demands.”

“Um,” I say, but I feel too hot.

Far too hot.

Felix lifts his eyes and pins me in place. “Now, I know the faces of the people I want in my nest.”

I swallow, but my mouth feels like I ate a handful of sawdust.

“And you, Khione?”

It takes me a moment, and then I suddenly remember. “I wanted to take my pack home to my family.”

They stare at me, waiting for more, but I’ve already said too much.

“Hello, the house? I caught a sneak.”

I twist in my seat and see Harvest being manhandled by the very tall and attractive alpha in a shirt. Harvest is spitting and fighting, but the alpha just growls, and my best friend, that I have never, ever seen back down from a fight, lets out a wounded noise but stops fighting the other alpha.

“Good boy.”

Harvest blushes bright red.

Who the hell is that person who has body-snatched my bestie?

“Why are you cock blocking me again?” Clint wails. “Gian, go away.”