Without Prime Alpha Knox, none of this will work. We all know it. He’s the leader. The glue.
“Knox?” I ask softly with a slight quiver in my voice.
I tried to show him physically that I accept him as he is, but did he understand what I was trying to tell him?
The steering wheel creaks as his knuckles tighten. For a moment, I think he won’t answer. Then, without taking his eyes off the road, he replies.
“I don’t know if I’m ready.”
The words are flat, stripped of pretense, like they’ve been sitting heavy in his chest for days. Probably weeks.
In the rearview mirror, Knox meets my eyes for just a heartbeat before refocusing on the road.
He exhales, jaw tightening with familiar resolve. “But I don’t think I’ll ever feel ready. So I’m done being a coward. It’s time to step up.”
A grin explodes across my face before I can stop it.
“Seriously?” I gasp, hands flapping. “You… me… all of us… we’re really—?”
“Yes. Let’s make a Pack.”
I suck in a breath through my teeth.
He’s going to try. He’s choosing us.
‘Don’t freak him out, pretty girl. Play it cool,’Viper purrs through our bond, his amusement tickling the edges of my mind.
I purse my lips, but the strangled squeal of excitement and bouncing in my seat gives me away.
All four members of Scorch Squad just agreed to become my mates.
We’re going to be a Pack.
It’s not a drill. It’s actually happening this time!
Blaze, of course, has zero restraint and cranks down the window, sticks his head out, and howls into the wind. “Fuck yeah, Pack Scorch is coming for ya!”
Viper grabs him by the scruff and hauls him back inside, grumbling as he wrestles Blaze back into his seat.
Shade clears his throat. “Now that we’ve reached a consensus, let’s talk logistics.”
“Oh, come on,” I groan, flopping in exaggerated defeat. “Can’t we just bask in the moment? This is, like, the first time we’ve all agreed on anything without a fight.”
Unfazed, Shade presses on. “My research backs up what General Stone said. The claiming bite is most effective when placed during an Omega’s heat. With that in mind, does anyone object to mating during Halley’s next cycle?”
“No,” Viper answers immediately, burying his face in my hair again. He inhales deeply, groaning with satisfaction. “Fuck, the way she smells, won’t be long… she’s ripening.”
“Okay, can we all agree not to talk about me like I’m a walking fruit basket?” I mutter.
“I think you’re right,” Shade says, ignoring the commentary. “Everlyn seems convinced it’s coming soon.”
I sigh, resigning myself to the truth. “Yeah, yeah. So maybe this banana is nearly ripe. I can feel it coming.”
Blaze leans in, grinning like a wolf with a secret. “Oh, Sparkles, I cannot wait to take a bite.”
A shiver runs through me.
All four of them are going to bite my mating gland. And then I’ll be theirs. Forever.
