Page 10 of Knot Enough (Fruity Omegas #1)

“No one special, just someone I met once or twice,” Brett answered before kissing her deeply. I watched him look at me like he was trying to prove a point. A point he made pretty clear when he cheated on me.

“I hate to interrupt, but we were just leaving,” Finn said, his face stone cold.

His hand had moved from my hand to the small of my back.

He pressed closer to me, his scent giving me a small comfort.

Before Brett could respond, Finn turned me around, and we started walking back to the pack.

Finn’s pace was fast, but he paced himself well enough for me to keep up.

Within seconds, we had come back to the pack.

Immediately, I threw myself into Gabriel.

His arms wrapped gently around me, squeezing me tight.

“What happened?” He asked me softly, brushing a strand of hair out of my eyes. I didn’t answer and instead pushed my face further into his neck.

“What happened?” Graham asked Finn. Gabriel’s neck obstructed my view, but I thought I saw Finn shake his head.

“Do you want to leave, Lydia?” I lifted my face from Gabriel’s neck to find Sorren crouching down to look me in the eye.

His eyes were filled with concern and worry.

Yes, I wanted to go. I didn’t want to be anywhere near Brett, but this was an important event for all of us.

We couldn’t just leave because I can’t handle seeing an ex.

Though he was more than that. I shook my head at Sorren’s question.

“You sure? We can go. None of us will mind. I can always have them ship me the trophy they plan on handing out. It’s not even real gold anyway.” He continued, his eyes never straying from me. I nodded firmly .

“This party is for you. You should be here to receive it. We can go once they give it to you.” I tried to say with confidence, keeping all my emotions at bay.

This entire thing was for Sorren; he deserved to enjoy it at least for a minute.

Sorren stared at me for several seconds before standing up to his full height.

“Fine, but we're leaving as soon as that trophy is in my hands.” He said in a tone that brokered no argument. I nodded, relenting to his decision.

“Okay.” I agreed quietly. As if on cue, a large man walked up to the stage. He stopped at the microphone in the middle of it and adjusted it to his height. After he cleared his throat, he started talking.

“Alright, Ladies and Gents. I think it’s time to finally get to the main event of this party.

” He said, taking out a small card from his tux pocket.

Everyone’s attention was now on him as he continued to speak.

“For starters, I would like to thank you all for coming. As all of you know, this party and celebration is dedicated to Sorren Beckett. With his latest film, he earned the trophy for the best-directed movie of the year. Now, without further ado, I’d like the man of the night to come to the stage so we can officially do the handoff.

” The man finished and looked around the crowd, trying to find Sorren.

“Looks like it’s my time to shine,” Sorren said, winking at me and Gabriel.

He walked through the crowd with poise and confidence.

I almost found it hard to believe this was the jokester and flirty alpha standing next to me moments before.

He walked on that stage without a hint of the nervousness that I surely would have had if I had been up there.

He said a few words of thanks to everyone and to the man who shared the stage with him before he was handed the trophy.

He showed it to the crowd then walked off stage, waving to several people as he went.

It only took a handful of minutes for him to share a few words with some of the guests before he managed to get back to us.

“Alright, let’s go. I’ve had enough people for today.” He said, shaking off the past few interactions he’d just had. We were about to leave when a brunette omega came up to us.

“You did a great job with that movie. Wish I could have started in a role. It was a shame my schedule never matched.” She laughed loudly. Sorren copied her action.

“It’s all good, Bridget. I’ll be sure to send you an offer for another role when I find one that suits you, " he replied, keeping a polite smile on his face.

“Could you? I’d love that.” I didn’t usually get jealous, but the moment Bridget touched Sorren’s arm, Gabriel and I tensed.

My reaction made me curious, though it was not the time to be soul-searching when I wanted to kill another person.

Gabriel’s scent slowly soured, and I could feel a similar emotion to what I was feeling coming in through the bond.

Gabriel was usually more of the jealous type, and adding in the new element of scent matches, I’m sure it was way more difficult for him.

Sorren, to his credit, moved his arm away instantly, but the damage had been done.

Sorren continued on with the conversation before Bridget got called for by another woman.

We all hurriedly left the room before we had to stop to talk to yet another person.

Once we were out of the room and the stifling scents that surrounded us, Gabriel stopped walking.

I let go of his hand, knowing he had something to do before we went further.

The alphas looked at Gabriel curiously as he walked towards Sorren.

“Can I scent mark you?” Gabriel asked once he got inches away from Sorren. Sorren blinked in surprise before nodding.

“You never have to ask, scent mark away.” Sorren allowed with a smug look on his face.

Gabriel rolled his eyes as he grabbed the arm Bridget touched.

Gabriel closed his eyes, brought Sorren’s arm to his cheek, and rubbed his cheek on his arm.

Sorren watched him silently with a look of affection and satisfaction.

I rolled my eyes at how proud he was of Gabriel's scent marking him, but my heart clenched in sadness and envy.

Sorren looked over at me with the smug smile still on his face.

“The offer extends to you, as well.” He said, wiggling his eyebrows and holding up his other hand.

My face burned at the sudden attention. No one had shown any interest in me since Gabriel.

Sorren's attention might as well be as foreign as a distant country. Gabriel rolled his eyes again and returned to me, holding me from behind. He laughed, and I could smell the sourness that plagued Gabriel’s scent melt away.

Afterwards, we all headed back to the house.

No one asked me what set me off or what happened.

I think they trusted me to tell them when I was ready which I was grateful for.

Once we got home, Gabriel and I changed out of our clothes and into something more comfortable.

We ate dinner with everyone else and ended up cuddling in the nest. This was the first time in a long time that I felt okay, happy even.

With the alphas here, the happiness felt more, more than I could have imagined.

Gabriel felt happy around them. I wasn't sure how far I wanted to go with Sorren, Finn, and Graham, but it was nice having people to look after us.

It had been a long time since we had someone like that.

Omegas needed that; we needed to know we were safe and protected, especially with a pack.

I was glad the Beckett pack could be that for Gabriel.

Later that night, I woke up to find Gabriel gone.

His side of the bed was still warm, so he must have left a short while ago.

Feeling a little anxious about his absence, I decided to try to look for him.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes and grabbing my robe, I got up and headed to the bathroom to see if he was there.

When I found it empty, I left to look outside our room.

I reached the end of the hallway when I spotted Gabriel and Finn sitting outside on the porch.

I watched the way they both talked and looked at each other.

Gabriel was smiling, the smile he usually reserved for me and no one else.

It was the kind of smile that let you know his attention was entirely on you and that you meant a lot to him.

Finn’s gaze was wholly focused on Gabriel; he never wavered or looked bored when Gabriel talked.

It almost seemed that Finn was mesmerized with how the moon illuminated Gabriel’s body.

I couldn’t blame him; the sight was mesmerizing.

“Stalker. Enjoying the view?” A voice said from behind me. I jumped and nearly screamed if the mysterious figure who just startled me hadn’t covered my mouth. “Relax, it's just me.” The voice chuckled. I twisted my body around to find a ruffled-haired Sorren standing behind me.

“I wasn’t stalking them. I was just trying to find Gabriel. He was gone when I woke up.” I explained, pulling my robe tighter around me. Sorren’s smile softened, and he rustled my hair.

“You good now that you found him?” He asked, pulling his hand away.

A part of me felt a little loss at Sorren’s retreating hand.

Pushing that feeling away, I thought about Sorren’s question.

I was relieved Gabriel was safe and happy and enjoying time with one of his mates, but I was starting to feel anxious being alone in a new house with strangers.

“Do you want me to go get him?” Sorren asked.

I shook my head quickly. “No, please not. I don’t want to interrupt his time with Finn.” I said, looking back to glance at them for a few seconds. Sorren hummed low and slow.

“Do you want me to stay with you till Gabriel returns?” Sorren asked. I continued to watch Gabriel and Finn. At this point, Gabriel was straddling Finn’s lap. If he comes back.

“You don’t have to. I’m sure you have a busy day ahead of you. You should get some sleep while you can.” I said. I didn’t want to put Sorren out or trouble him.

“Nonsense, I don’t have to go in today. Besides, any gentleman worth his salt wouldn’t leave an innocent maiden alone in the streets at this time of night.” Sorren said, wiggling his eyebrows and bowing slightly.

“Since when was the hallway in your house the streets?” I questioned, rolling my eyes at his antics.

“First off, it’s our house now, and second, because I said so. Now, what will it be, princess?” He asked, holding his hand out. I looked at it and back at him. His face was full of warmth and patience. Whatever choice I made, he would accept it with grace.

“Okay,” I said with a soft voice. I walked past and guided him back to Gabriel and I’s bedroom. I opened the door and let Sorren inside. He looked around, but I highly doubted he could see anything in the dark.

“How’d you want to spend our time together?” He asked, keeping a little distance from me. I thought for a moment.

“We can watch a movie,” I said, taking the remote from the bedside table and turning the TV on .

“Sounds like fun. What are we watching?” He asked, following me to the bed. He waited for me to get comfortable before resting on the pillows and blankets. It made me less nervous that he decided not to use the blankets. I could have a larger barrier between him and I.

“A crime documentary. They are the best when I’m having trouble sleeping. Are you okay with that?” I asked before turning on a new one I had been planning to watch.

“I’ll have nightmares, but if it helps you, I’ll just sleep with my teddy bear tonight.” He teased. The light from the TV illuminated his face enough to show me that he winked. I laughed at his words.

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate the cuddles,” I replied.

“He does say I’m a good cuddler, " Sorren intoned. This time, my body warmed a little at the hidden suggestion. I wasn’t sure I was ready, but he didn’t push any further, and eventually, I ended up falling asleep in the middle of the documentary.