Page 64 of Down Knot Out (Pack Alphas of Misty Pines #3)

Chapter Forty-Three

Chloe

T he scent of coffee and lemon cookies drifts through the living room as Holden sets a tray on the coffee table.

“Thought you could use a pick-me-up.” He slides a steaming mug toward Blake.

Blake doesn’t lift his head from his papers. “You’re a saint.”

He sits hunched over the coffee table, his broad shoulders curved as he marks up material estimates with bold strokes of a pen.

The scratch of the nib on paper mixes with the whir of the heater through the vents.

His hair has escaped its bun, falling in tendrils around his face.

When he pauses to check a measurement, the lamplight catches on his beard, turning the brown to copper .

Outside, the night turns the living room windows into black mirrors that reflect our little family, gathered in the living room of the Homestead.

Quinn had been put to bed over an hour ago, and Grady had shuffled off to his room on the first floor, but my Alphas are still hard at work.

With the Resort so close to opening, they’re burning the candle at both ends to meet the deadline.

Holden turns to where I sit, curled in the corner of the sofa, the dusky-purple knit blanket Dominic gave me tucked around my legs. “A cocoa for our writer.”

I accept the mug he offers, the ceramic warming my palms when I take it. His fingers brush mine, and his contentment pulses through our bond, steady as a heartbeat.

Next, he turns to Dominic, who lounges at the opposite end of the sofa, one leg stretched toward me, his tablet balanced on his knee. “And a fully caffeinated coffee for you.”

“About time.” Dominic pushes his reading glasses back up his nose. “Thought the doctor would never revoke the restriction.”

I pat his foot. “You were such a good patient, following his directions. ”

He sticks his tongue out at me and nudges me in the thigh with his toes.

“And green tea for you.” Holden sets the last mug beside Nathaniel’s laptop, where the Alpha taps away, cross-referencing numbers.

His sleeves are rolled to the elbows, exposing forearms corded with lean muscle, and the tiny furrow between his brows lessens as Holden’s vanilla sweetness fills the room. “Thank you.”

A week has passed since our final meeting with Gregory, and as I take them all in, I still can’t believe I get to keep this pack of Alphas.

Holden settles onto the floor beside Blake’s legs. “How’s the math coming?”

Nathaniel sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “The timeline’s tight, but we’ll make it. Abbott’s arrest brought us some breathing room with the permits.”

“And the suppliers aren’t trying to gouge us anymore, now that Harris Senior’s influence is waning,” Blake adds, circling a number on his page.

Dominic snorts, his attention returning to his tablet. “Amazing what happens when you expose a criminal conspiracy.”

I sip my cocoa, letting the warmth slide down my throat. My chest fills with a quiet pride as they work, these men who fought for our pack when everyone told them it wouldn’t last. These men who fought for me.

The transfer from Gregory Sinclair cleared this morning. A staggering sum, more money than I’ve ever had, more than I could spend in a lifetime. Blood money, as Dominic called it. Payment for my silence, for my childhood cut short, and for the mother I never got to know before Gregory ruined her.

I wait for a natural lull in the conversation to bring up what I’ve been thinking since I first sat down with our lawyer to draft my inheritance buyout. “I want to pay off the resort loan.”

Four heads turn toward me with expressions in varying levels of shock and confusion.

Blake freezes with his mug halfway to his lips. “What?”

“The Sinclair money,” I clarify, setting my cocoa on the side table. “I want to use it to clear the debt on Misty Pines. All of it.”

Silence follows, and Nathaniel closes his laptop with a soft click, his face unreadable. Blake sets down his mug, and Dominic sits up straighter, his tablet forgotten on the cushion beside him .

“Chloe,” Nathaniel says. “That’s your inheritance. It bought your freedom.”

I smile at how selfless he is. None of my Alphas had questioned what I’d do with the money, and I love them all the more for it. “And now I’d like it to buy the freedom of my pack.”

Holden releases a shaky breath. “Are you sure?”

Blake pushes back from the table, running a hand through his hair. “It’s… It’s too much, Chloe.”

“Yes, I’m sure. And no, it’s not too much.” I shake my head. “Not for family.”

The word hangs between us. Of the five of us, only Holden grew up knowing what it really meant. The rest of us have spent years trying to catch up.

My fingers twist in the soft knit blanket. “The money’s sitting in my account doing nothing. And I don’t want any debt hanging over our heads, especially not one with a clause that could force you and Blake out if the resort doesn’t open on time.”

Blake leans forward, elbows on his knees, his face lined with concern. “That’s your money. Your future. You don’t have to do this.”

“It’s our future,” I counter. “This feels like the next step, setting our pack up to move forward, with nothing holding us back. And I want to invest in the pack. In us.”

I give him a cheeky grin. “Besides, I still have the first deposit the publisher gave me before canceling my trilogy. So it’s not like I’m giving up everything. And Grady has reluctantly confirmed that monster smut is trending, so my new series will do well.”

Dominic sets his tablet aside and swings his feet to the floor. “It’s a good investment, but we’ll only accept it if your name goes on the deed.”

I blink. “That’s not why I offered.”

“I know,” he says. “But we’re not letting you pour your inheritance into this without protection. Not just for your sake, but so no one can twist this into something it’s not.”

Nathaniel nods in agreement. “You’re not an investor or a donor. You’re part of the foundation. We want your name on the deed. Or, better yet, a share in the LLC. It’s cleaner.”

“And we set terms,” Dominic adds. “You have full autonomy if you want to sell your share or donate it back.”

My throat tightens. “You think I’d do that?”

Dominic shakes his head. “No, but you should still have the option to.”

My throat tightens. “We’re bonded already. Why would you want to put such a thing in writing?”

“Because we love you.” Nathaniel shifts on the couch to be closer to me. “And real love doesn’t trap, it protects.”

Nathaniel focuses on his closed laptop, calculating numbers in his head. “The full amount would clear not just the construction loan but allow us to launch Phase Two right away.”

“Exactly.” I spread my hands. “This is a clean slate. No holding back. No obligations to anyone but ourselves.”

Dominic moves across the sofa, closing the distance between us. His hand finds mine, warm and solid. “You want to burn Gregory’s money on us?”

I lace our fingers together. “I want to use it to help build our future.”

Holden reaches across the coffee table to touch my knee. “You’re sure about this? Really sure?”

I laugh, not having thought they’d need this much reassurance to take the money.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” I repeat, heart full as I take in the presence of my pack. My family . “Let me do this for us.”

Blake’s expression shifts, the concern giving way to relief, and he moves to kneel in front of me, taking my free hand in both of his. “If this is what you want, then thank you.”

“We accept.” Nathaniel places a hand on Blake’s shoulder, another on mine. “And we’ll make it worth every penny.”

Dominic squeezes my fingers, his citrus scent wrapping around me. “No more Harris influence. No more Burton debt. No more Sinclair shadows.”

The tension that’s been coiled in my chest for days loosens. I hadn’t realized how much I needed their acceptance, their understanding. I look at each of them in turn, these Alphas who chose me, who fight for me every day.

“You know, with Chloe now as our bondmate, we need to finally settle on a pack name to register.” Dominic glances around at all of us. “I’d like to suggest becoming the Wright pack of Misty Pines.”

Holden sputters, his face turning pink. “What? No, that’s ridiculous.”

“No,” I cut in. “It’s perfect. I love it.”

“Me, too.” A grin spreads over Blake’s face. “I, for one, don’t want to be associated with the Harris pack anymore.”

“Can’t say I want the Burton name, either,” Nathaniel rumbles. “Being the Wright pack sounds wonderful. ”

The corner of my mouth lifts. “So, with that settled, who’s calling the bank in the morning?”

Blake laughs, the sound rumbling up from his chest. “I nominate Nat. It’s his father we have the loan with.”

With the issue of the deadline settled, we talk about next steps as we drink our beverages and eat our cookies. Then the pack disperses for the night to sleep.

Dominic’s fingers lace with mine as he pulls me away from my bedroom door and down the quiet hallway.

“Where are we going?” I whisper, though I know the answer.

His thumb traces circles on my wrist, sending shivers up my arm. “To my room. I want to give you something.”

When we reach his door, he pauses, fingers on the handle. For a moment, uncertainty crosses his face before he pushes the door open and guides me inside.

Dominic’s pheromones saturate his room, his citrus and musk enfolding me.

Unlike Blake’s forest room or Holden’s homey clutter, his space is minimalist. Charcoal sheets and blankets cover a king-sized bed, a single dresser of dark wood, and a chair in the corner with a book splayed open on the seat.

The only personal touches are framed architectural drawings on the walls and a small collection of polished stones on the windowsill.

He closes the door behind us with a soft click. The lamp on his bedside table casts a warm glow across the room, turning the shadows gold at the edges.