Page 15 of Knot Our Mistake (Knot Ours #1)

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

JAMES

They didn't want her, didn't treat her right?

How?

How can they not see what a fucking gem the omega is, how fucking beautiful she is?

Not for us of course; we live on a farm, and a farm is no place for a girl like her with designer clothes, a luggage full of heels, and hair that always is perfectly done in ringlets down her back. But for another unit, she was perfect.

That thought soured my mood further. I didn't want to think of her with another unit, even when I knew it should be her destiny.

But last night with the curve of her hip under my palm and her warm back heating my chest, I'd never been so peaceful.

Her scent alone calmed the alpha in me, lulling us into the most peaceful of sleep.

Mine.

Ours.

Bite her.

Claim her.

I wish my alpha realized it wasn't that easy.

Hell, knowing that she was completely innocent, untouched by another alpha, even I was becoming weakened by the allure of my own omega.

Not like that fact changed much, but the possessive part of me wanted to be the only male who owned her, knotted her, made her wither and scream with the release that only an alpha could bring.

The thought only amplified when I found her in my bed, looking so damn cute and smelling like heaven.

I should have woken her last night, forced her out of our room, but she was sleeping so soundly, looking so angelic, and hell, it was plain to see that she had worked so damn hard to clean up our home.

She deserved to sleep, and a selfish part of me, the part that clearly won, liked having her in my arms with her scent surrounding me as she did so.

I slung a hose over my shoulder, dragging it to the goat pen so I could fill their water troughs.

If I worked hard, I knew that I could put this omega out of my mind at best, and at worst, I could come up with a solution that would work for us all.

One that involved one pretty brunette omega, with the perfectly wide hips, moving as far away from my home as possible.

Mine.

My alpha didn't understand. He didn't understand and he despised that I was trying to turn away what he wanted, but it was for the best. She wasn't made for country life. No omega could be tough enough for such things. Especially an omega that looks and smells as sweet as her.

She's handling it just fine now.

My alpha was right, she was. But how long could she handle it before she can't? How long will it be before our omega finds something better and leaves us like our beta had?

She can't if you mark her . My alpha growled his opinion, but I could never mark her without her permission, and I'm positive she would never give it, no matter how much I craved the ownership. Not after all the denial I'd done.

Mark her.

I growled my annoyance, ignoring the fact that the persistent pestering from my alpha caused my claws to extend, agitation consuming me.

I used them to cut open a feed bag, before willing myself to calm enough for them to retract.

No good could come from this line of thought, not when she couldn't stay, so I forced myself to concentrate on the things that mattered the most: my farm, my animals, my crops, and pushed the omega out of my mind.

It worked, sort of. At least I thought it did until I pushed through the door an hour after the sunset, only to have my senses assaulted by the mouthwatering smell of roasted beef and braised vegetables.

I could have written it off as Bran or Leo, but the sight of the omega standing in my kitchen, barefoot with an apron on that was far too big for her, protecting her floral dress was practically my undoing.

There was no way I could live like this. This, her, it was pure torture.

Mine.

And fuck, my alpha wasn't helping any. Always spouting ownership on something he had no business declaring he owned.

Her head turned, sensing me in the doorway, her face lit up, blue eyes burning excitedly at seeing me, and I felt like shit for staying away the whole day when she clearly wanted me near, even knowing that staying away was for the best.

"Hi."

Gods, that voice of hers. I closed my eyes for a moment before replying. "Hey."

"You didn't come home for lunch."

"I've got a pregnant goat. I was moving her pen."

"Oh." While true, it clearly wasn't the only reason I didn't come home, and she knew it. "I sure would love to see her."

"Maybe." I toed off my muddy boots. "She's ready to pop any day now."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yep. Actually, there are a few animals in various stages. We're about to have a nice collection of babies."

Her eyes grew soft at the mention of babies, and damn it, I had forgotten the pull that very word had on omegas.

That babies were their sole purpose in life.

And hell, if the circumstances were different and I could keep her, I'd have made that one of my purposes too.

But I can't. This place... it isn't for her.

"Well, I can't wait," she smiled as Bran and Leo walked in, freshly showered and looking good enough to get my heart pounding. Fuck, between these three, I was really in trouble.

"Can't wait for what?" Leo asked, reaching over and snagging a chunk of roasted potato off the tray.

"The farm babies."

He crowded behind her, placing his palm on her hip as he leaned over her shoulder, his other hand stealing another vegetable from the baking sheet. "It's my favorite time of year around this place."

Before he pulled away, he placed a kiss on her neck, and her sharp breath told me she was as caught off guard as I was. He grabbed some plates from the counter and took them to the table, and when he passed me, I hissed out, "What are you doing?"

"Setting the table," he shrugged.

"That's not what I mean, and you know it," I growled low.

"I'm tired," he sighed. "You want us to fight our instincts and not keep her because of your pride? If you're sending her away at some point, why can't I savor the time we have left?"

She isn't going anywhere.

I pretended not to hear my alpha. "You're only going to hurt yourself. Remember how you felt when our beta left?"

"Our beta wasn't worth shit compared to this omega. But I'd gladly suffer any of the pain over again to have some happiness with her here."

"Am I not enough?" It's the question I've asked before, but the answer was so sensitive it could change easily.

"You are more than enough. Too much in fact. But there is no cap on love, no limit, alpha... if you are determined not to feel, that is on you. Me? I want to feel it all. Every last bit because what if we never get the chance again?"

Bran walked by us, his voice quiet so that the bustling omega that was preparing our meal couldn't hear. "I respect you, alpha, but I'm with Leo on this."

I hated that suddenly there was a divide when we normally were so strong together. With annoyance, my chest rumbled before I bit out. "Fine."

Leo's eyes looked me up and down, and I knew what the heat in his irises meant, but instead he cleared his throat. "Go get cleaned up. Dinner is almost ready."

Then they walked by me, dismissing me, their alpha, and I did not like this feeling. My mind filtered through all the ways I'd pay them back, all the things I'd make them do on their knees, all the bruises I'd leave on their bodies in the throes of pleasure tonight for this dismissal.

It took me a few moments to gather myself before I stepped forward, walking past my family and the omega, to exit the room.

But even though I left, I could still hear them, still listen to the chatter and the laughter that I was on the outside of.

I could still feel the jealousy I tried to hide each time they touched her, talked to her with such an ease I doubt I'd ever be privy to.

And worse, the longing I felt to be a part of it, to be included, to be wanted by the omega as much as my alpha craved her, didn't seem to dissipate.

If anything, as each day passed, it got worse.

The want got worse. The denial became harder, nearly impossible.

As I stripped off my clothing and climbed into the shower, my heart pounding with mixed emotions, I couldn't help but wonder, what if I resigned?

What if I put forth the effort to win her over, to take what my alpha craved, and kept her?

She was paid for, after all. On paper, she was ours.

Would it be such a crime for her body and mind to belong to us too?