Page 22 of Knot Letting Go (Knotty Streak Omegaverse #4)

My runners slapped against the asphalt as I ran up the driveway and slowed as I neared the rear of the manor. Sweat glistened on my skin, but there had been a lovely breeze to keep me from looking like I’d been thrown into the ocean.

I’d cancelled my afternoon meetings in favor of a run.

I was no masochist like Konstantin was when it came to business.

I worked all morning, and I had a business dinner later.

I needed time for myself. Time to run off all the excess energy I had thinking about Aubrielle and how sweet her pussy tasted.

“Fuck.” I shook my head and stopped outside of the kitchen door. Yanking off my t-shirt, I whipped my face and let my heartbeat slow only for it to speed up again hearing Lillianna’s laughter inside and knowing that her sexy nanny must be there with her.

I combed my fingers through my hair and opened the door. How fast could I get Aubrielle into a bikini and then out of it again?

Walking inside, the first thing I saw was Lillianna standing on a stool next to Enid as she instructed her how to knead the dough. One of Callista’s mates, Evander, sat on the other side of the island with flour dust in his dark hair.

Where was Aubrielle?

“Uncle Quill is home!” I announced and held open my arms with a grin.

“Uncle Quill!” Lillianna shouted and then crinkled her nose as she turned to look at me. “Eww. I’m not hugging you. You’re all sweaty.”

“Hey, it’s just like hugging fish in the sea.” I came over and tickled her, and she giggled.

“Yeah, stinky and slimy.” Evander snickered and got a laugh too.

I chuckled and kissed the top of my niece’s head as she went back to her dough. “Whatcha making, Miss Mermaid?”

“Enid is teaching me how to make pasta. We’re making lasagna for dinner tonight and I get to pick which vegetables go in it.

That means no gross spinach, but I’m going to put in carrots because Aubrielle likes them.

” Lillianna nodded and patted the dough like it was a good puppy.

“Aubrielle and I got our materials to make our tails today. She let me pick my own and hers too. I knew just what color was perfect for hers. We will cut out our tails tomorrow, and she’ll show me how to work a sewing machine.

I’ve never even seen one before. I thought they were like those big wood wheels, but they're not.”

“A spinning wheel, dear. Ladies used to twist wool on them to make yarn and thread.” Enid patiently explained and added a bit more flour to her dough and Lillianna’s. “We have machines that do that for us nowadays, though.”

“No way. We got rid of spinning wheels because princesses kept pricking their fingers on the needle and falling into a deep sleep. There are only so many princesses I wanted to kiss and wake up before I got bored with it.” I went to the fridge and got out a bottle of water.

Where was Aubrielle? I peeked out into the dining room and through to the sitting room. No one.

“You don’t get to kiss all the princesses, Uncle Quill!” Lillianna chastised in that cute little kid way where you couldn’t tell if they were serious or not.

“Wait, I know this one. Um… Sleeping Beauty, right?” Evander glanced my way and I nodded. “Yes! I’m trying to learn all the fairy tales so I know what Isa is talking about. When she starts to talk.”

“Enjoy the quiet while you can. This one here is always talking.” I jerked my thumb teasingly at my niece. She crossed her arms and made a little shocked and appalled noise. I gave her my best smile. “You know I love you and all your stories, Lilli.”

“Yeah, I know.” She nodded and went back to her dough.

“While these ladies are busy in the kitchen, let me give you a tour of the new security system, Quill. I already took Konstantin around this morning, but you need to know the layout too.” Evander stood and motioned for me to follow him out of the room.

Wondering why I needed a tour, I took a big gulp of water and followed him out of the kitchen. I threw my shirt over my shoulder and walked beside the mountain of an Alpha. “Kon texted me all the new codes, so I have them stored in my phone.”

“Good.” Evander glanced over his shoulder and didn’t say anything else until we were nearly in the front foyer, almost as far from the kitchen we could get on the first floor.

His brows furrowed and darkened his expression.

“I didn’t want to talk about this in front of Lilli or Enid. No need to scare the girls.”

My body tensed, all humor from just a minute ago wiped away. “What’s going on?”

“I’m going to assume you know why Konstantin hired us.”

“Yeah, the fucking Pacettis.” The fact that Lorenzo walked onto that beach last Friday and scared Aubrielle still infuriated me.

“Right.” Evander grunted and folded his arms. “There was an enforcer following Lilli and Aubrielle today when we were out at a few stores. He didn’t even bother to try to hide it that hard.

Luckily neither of the girls saw him, but we did.

” He then added, “Turner is on duty with me today. He’s out patrolling around the manor.

It’s less conspicuous and thus less stressful for Lilli that I’m the one inside with her. ”

“What the fuck?” The plastic of my water bottle crunched as I squeezed it. The fuckers just didn’t give up. There wouldn’t be any place on this planet for them to hide from my wrath if they touched either my niece or Aubrielle. “Where’s Aubrielle now?”

Evander exhaled slowly and gave me a hard and considering look. “That’s the other thing. I sent her upstairs to take the rest of the afternoon to herself. She was barely holding herself together.”

My heart thudded hard in my chest. “Was she scared? Last Friday Lorenzo said something to scare the shit out of her. If she knew—”

“No, that’s not it. She never saw the guy.

” Evander continued to stare me down and turned his head to one side, giving it a small crack.

“She’s in heat, isn’t she?” I leaned forward with my hands in fists ready to deck him if he said he even went near her.

She was mine. He nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I figured, and you’re the Alpha who triggered it.

I can tell. Don’t worry, bro. I love Callista, and no other Omega’s scent can entice me, but it’s still clear to me she’s in heat.

So back the fuck off. You couldn’t take me on your best day. ”

“Wanna try?” I didn’t know why I was pushing it or even why I wanted to fight with him, but I couldn’t stop myself.

He shook his head and didn’t budge an inch.

“I made sure to keep as much distance between us today, but she’s been trying to hide it.

She did good this morning, but after lunch, I could see the pain in her eyes and her scent was off the charts.

You need to go take care of her, man. Callista would kick your ass if she knew you were letting her friend suffer. ”

“I’m not letting her suffer.” I growled and turned to look up the stairs.

“She’s just been avoiding me.” I knew she’d been in Konstantin’s room as I’d caught her scent in there yesterday, and strangely, that didn’t piss me off as much as thinking any other Alpha touching her.

Not that I’d ever shared with anyone else, but knowing she was taken care of when I wasn’t there settled some of the fierce Alpha instincts in me.

Yet she’d been avoiding me since I tucked her into bed after our pussy eating fest at the pool.

Now she was hurting and didn’t reach out to me or Konstantin. “Are all Omegas this stubborn?”

I hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but Evander chuckled. “Yeah, man. They are, but don’t let them fool you. That girl needs you.”

“How long has she been up there?” I was already heading to the stairs. It didn’t matter, really. Aubrielle’s well being was what was important.

“Nearly two hours. Go take care of your Omega.” Evander then called after me as I took the stairs two at a time, “Tell her not to worry about Lilli. We’ll entertain her.”

Yes, good. I tore down the hall to the nanny’s suite and burst through the door. Aubrielle’s sweet scent was everywhere, but she was nowhere in her room. Fuck! “Aubrielle!”

Not in or under her bed or in her closet or in her bathroom. I ran for Lilli’s room and then abruptly turned for Konstantin’s. No way she’d be in Lilli’s room but if Konstantin helped her…

I flung open the door to my brother’s bedroom and hollered for Aubrielle again.

Not there, but she had been. Her scent wasn’t as strong as it had been in her room. So she had left the kitchen and come to her room only to go… where? My room?

I grunted with each step I raced up the stairs to the third floor. “Aubrielle!”

Not in my room or the game room or gym. I was seeing red. Where was she? She needed her Alpha. If an Omega went too long without finding relief during heat, it could do permanent damage to her.

The roof!

I climbed the stairs up and out in record time. But she wasn’t there. “Fucking hell!”

She needed me and I couldn’t get to her. I didn’t want to screw things up. Even if she never wanted to see me again after her heat, I couldn’t abandon her now.

Pacing the length of the roof, I wanted to yank my hair out. “What am I going to do now? Call her on her cell? Would she even answer?”

Then I saw her.

Curled up in a nest of blankets in the garden, hidden by the hedges. No one would see her walking by, but from up here, I could see her gorgeous hair splayed out as she writhed on the ground. It was as if I could hear her whimpering from three stories up.

I nearly jumped off the manor in my need to get to her.

Why she was hiding in the garden, I didn’t know and didn’t care. I practically flew down the stairs and barreled out of the house. Aubrielle needed me, and I needed her more than I ever thought I could.