Page 98 of Knot Your Pawn

“Ah, this is our Omega, Vera.” Mathew pulls me from between them and wraps his arms around me, holding me close in front of him. Possessive.

Cute.

“Oscar. Nice to meet you.” He nods, his eyes shooting up to Mathew’s face, and then to Jorge, before going back to me, like he’s expecting one of them to bite his head off for talking to me. “I’m with... I’m with Nathan and Logan and Jace.”

Poor guy.

To join their pack and then get dragged to something like this, all within a month. If he wasn’t already familiar with the work Mathew and Erika do, that’s got to be quite the shock.

“Are you ready for the raid?” Logan tries to make the awkward mood go away.

“Almost. Riley needs to take in some of my gear, but apart from that, I’m ready. You?”

He lets out a laugh. “From what I understand, we’ve got the easy task this time around. Not much to get ready for. I’ve got my clothes, and transport is taken care of for us. I think that’s it? What about you? Supplies? Weapons?”

“Weapons?” Oscar’s eyebrows knit together. “Does that mean you’re part of the group that’s doing the raid?”

“Yes.” I try to smile, hoping it will make him stop looking so confused, then I look to Logan. “Weapons and stuff are all taken care of. Gear was the last hurdle.”

“Even though you’re pregnant?” Oscar’s vanilla pheromones start swirling around him in distress.

“Yeah. Did you think Erika stayed at home for nine months every time she got pregnant? She didn’t stop working just because she was pregnant.” My words might have come out a little harsher than I mean them to, and Oscar steps back, surprised.

Whoops.

“Mathew and I are both going in. We’re not so far along that it’s much of an issue.”

“Is it safe?” That seems to be a genuine question.

“It’s never safe. Pregnant or not. But my mates are going in. They need all the help they can get. So, I don’t see a reason to stay back just because I’m pregnant.”

My mates need me and they’re more important than anything else in the world, so I’ll do —just about— anything for them.

11

Caleb

We spent the two hours before dinner in the nest, the whole pack together, making sure to share as much of our pheromones with each other as possible.

Then, after dinner, we each took a shower with pheromone masking products to get rid of as many of our pheromones as possible. It’s no good sharing those around when we’re on a mission, that would only make it easier to track us.

Jorge and Luca have already left, together with Erika, Nathan and his pack. They’re meeting up with Xavier and the others, so that they can go over what to expect and how they’re going to do things. It’s easier for them to do that in person.

Plus, that way they don’t have to be around the rest of us as we’re all getting ready.

I glance over to Vera, who’s adjusting some straps to make sure that the gear fits properly and won’t slide all over the place.

“Let me help.” I go over to her and try the straps she was pulling on.

They’re pretty stiff, which is probably why they aren’t budging.

I try to move them with two hands, which finally seems to do the trick, and adjust them so that they’re the right size. “Better?”

“Yes. Thank you.” She beams up at me and wraps her arms around my neck.

I lift her up, keeping her at my side. “You seem excited.” I nuzzle the side of her head.

“I am. This is the first time I get to go on a mission, and I’m really looking forward to it. I just hope I don’t mess up.”