Page 52 of Knot Their Soldier: Part Three

"I don’t care what Omega magic dragged you back into the living, but that's traumatic. The friend I know wouldn't be calm about this. She'd be freaked out, trying to be cool about it but failing, and asking me to find answers. But you're standing in front of me, calm and telling me you're fine. It's… it's not right."

She pins me with a stare that makes me flinch.

A flicker runs through the bond. Knox’s guilt shifts, sharp and protective. Viper’s attention moves off the yard and locks onto Everlyn and Jason, reading them for threat out of habit.

But there is no threat here.

Just a friend who knows me so well that in the blink of an eye she sees that something fundamental is different about me.

Everlyn knew me from the first day I arrived at Barkrood Base after escaping my father and was granted sanctuary, long before Blackgate, and before Scorch Squad.

She and Jason were already close enough to count as family then.

After we lost Dazz, Ember, and Flicker, we shared in that pain together. While I was mourning both my Omega family and my Pack, they were the ones who stayed with me through those three agonizing months. Everlyn saw every ugly piece of that grief. She knew the version of me who hurt endlessly, apologized too quickly, detested her defective body, and carried fear into every room like a cloak.

Now she’s looking at me, and that fearful, anxious girl is gone.

Of course she notices.

"Your scent is weird, too," Jason chimes in unprompted.

I blink. "It is?"

He tilts his head and sniffs before Everlyn elbows him in the ribs.

"Ow." He rubs his side, though his attention stays on me. "Sorry. It’s only that it used to have more bite, like you were scared or upset all the time. Now it’s…"

He hesitates.

"Careful," I warn.

"Warmer," he settles on. "And sweeter than before."

My face somehow heats even more.

A deeply unsubtle round of sniffing follows.

Knox doesn’t react, which is suspicious. Viper looks away, which is worse. Shade goes very still, and Blaze leans closer to my neck with zero shame.

If Jason noticed with his Beta nose, my Pack must have caught it much earlier. They probably decided it was another strange side effect of me coming back from the dead, and didn't want to dig into it while everything is still so raw.

I might believe that too, except the warmth beneath my skin keeps rising, and every possessive look from my mates makes my scent bloom stronger.

"Look, I know," I admit, reaching for her. "I know something is different."

Affection pushes through the haze in my mind. Everlyn and Jason have always been tuned in to me, even when I didn’t know how to explain myself. Maybe especially then.

Frack, how many hours did I spend crying in her lap back at Barkrood? Half the time, I didn't even know why. I'd be overcome by a feeling of loss with nowhere to put it. Somehow she'd understood then, and I hope she'll understand now.

"I’m still me," I say, keeping my voice gentle. My hand squeezes her shoulder. "I promise. I’m sorry I don’t have an explanation for why I’m not more freaked out, but I need you to believe me when I say I’m okay."

Everlyn’s eyes narrow, and I pull my hand back.

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.

She's not looking at me like my understanding friend. Her stare is intense, too clinical to be comforting.

I swallow.