Page 16 of Knot Our Mistake (Knot Ours #1)

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN

brAN

It was like night and day. Our alpha left this kitchen with a stormy cloud above him, and when he returned after a hot shower and some time alone, he was different.

Not in a bad way. In fact, he returned to us far more enjoyable than he'd been in months.

The change in attitude left us scratching our heads, but neither Leo nor I wanted to confront him about the change and ruin it.

It wasn't just one night. It dragged on for a week, and then another, and it was a magnificent sight watching the grumpy alpha blossom into something gentler, something kind, something that seemed to genuinely appreciate our omega's company.

And the omega? She devoured his affection, loving everything he gave her and returned it in her own way.

"It's like my son is a whole new person," James's mother, Liz, muttered from next to me as she watched her son and the omega cook breakfast together.

Our omega, she loved to cook, and she was good at it too. "I'm telling you. It was the craziest transition. Like when he finally let himself give up the fight, he went all in."

"I for one am happy to see it," my mother, Jane, commented. "It means we are that much closer to grandchildren."

"I've already begun knitting blankets," Leo's mother chimed in.

"We can hear you," James barked. "And I'm sorry if showing our omega kindness is making you uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable? Oh no, honey, we call this excitement," Liz beamed as she walked into the kitchen for brunch, her hands held wide as she went toward her son, but at the last minute, passed him and went straight for Sophia, wrapping her arms around her and kissing her cheeks.

"Thanks for the hug, Mom," the alpha grumbled, going back to his task.

"When do you think we'll start a family?" his mom asked our omega, who instantly turned white.

"Well- I- I don't-"

"We've not discussed a future with the omega," James's voice was hard and commanding, letting the mothers know that while they are our mothers and we respect them, he is the alpha and won't take their prying. "We are just getting to know each other."

What the alpha didn't say is with each passing day, the omega becomes more of a tempting treat to our senses.

She may not realize it, but she is spiraling fast toward a heat, her scent calling to us, begging us to take her, prepare her, show her what our bodies could do to hers.

But we don't. We remain respectful, give her space, and at night, when she disappears behind a closed door to her nest, we disappear behind ours and show each other what a day's worth of lust can do to us.

His mother ignored all signs of his command. "But there will be a discussion?"

"Mom," James warned.

"What? It's fine if my son wants to remain childless with his partners. In today's society and with the omega shortage, it's no longer frowned upon. But I haven't held a baby in so long, and I sure would like to before I die."

"You've got a tendency to lay it on thick, Ma," James put a plate of sausage on the table. "If holding babies is what you want, I'm sure there are plenty we could scrounge up for you to manhandle."

"I do not manhandle children."

"Really? Because the way you ladies pass those things around, you could have fooled me," James smiled. "Wait, I've got a calf due anytime. Want to stick around for that baby?"

Liz's nose scrunched up. "No thank you."

With a laugh, James transferred the scrambled eggs onto a plate. "Didn't think so."

Leo pushed past me. "Our omega is doing an excellent job at maintaining the house. I've never seen it so clean."

He leaned over, kissing her cheek, and they exchanged a soft look before he pulled away, while James glared from a few feet away.

He was possessive. Not with us, at least in regards to her.

But possessive of her and jealous that we have allowed ourselves to show our affection so freely when he still hadn't dared to kiss her.

"How about on the farm?" my mother asked.

Before James could answer, Sophia cut in. "I've helped Bran garden. And sometimes they let me feed the cattle."

"Is that all? Seems like a waste," Liz slid into a seat.

"It's fine. Really," Sophia's smile was wide, forced, and I wondered what the mothers knew that we hadn't, but then I no longer cared when our omega bent over the table, placing a pitcher of orange juice while giving us all a view of her deliciously curvy ass encased in a clingy floral dress.

Damn.

This omega would kill us, and we'd let her.

Mine. Ours. Take her.

I groaned against the insistent demand of my beta. One that seemed to take on more strength the closer to her heat she got. The beta inside of me demanded a taste of her, and the sweet taste of her lips wasn't enough. I pushed him down, insisting he calms, especially in the presence of our mothers.

"She's practically a professional at pruning the garden," I supplied.

Leo's mother snorted. "I imagine so."

I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, so I changed the subject. "How's the bingo club?"

Leo and James looked at me, exchanging a wordless conversation of thanks that I changed the subject, knowing the moms could talk for hours about bingo. Not all heroes wear capes, I guess, because it did the trick, and while we sat down to eat, they were lost in their bingo stories.

It felt like hours before they left, and as soon as the door shut behind them, our omega instantly sagged against my side. "That was exhausting."

"Try having them as your mothers," James looked through the window, making sure they were truly gone.

"I think maybe I'm going to take a nap," she'd been doing that a lot lately, and I knew the upcoming heat was making her more tired than usual.

"I think we all need a nap," Leo leaned in, stealing a kiss from the omega before he disappeared down the hall.

The omega untangled herself from my side before offering me a kiss, then she stood on her toes and kissed James's cheek. "If you need anything, wake me."

Fat chance of that happening.

We waited for the click of her door before we left our spot, seeking out Leo in our bedroom. When we entered, he looked up. "Quite the change in there."

I loved that about him. Loved that he had no problem calling out our alpha. And I loved that slight tint of rosy cheeks that James got every time he did.

James looked down at the ground for a moment before meeting his gaze. "I've been thinking."

"Apparently," Leo snorted.

"You both like the omega," James started.

"There was never a time we hadn't liked the omega," Leo pointed out.

James glared for a moment. "Still. I just thought that maybe..."

When James didn't finish his sentence, Leo did it for him.

"You just thought that maybe since she was here, and she smelled so damn good, you might as well resign yourself to the fact that she's fucking ours?

Or was it jealousy that both of us were enjoying our omega, while you pouted like a child not getting his way for weeks?

Maybe it was the fact that you know your alpha craves her and you've ignored him too? "

"Yeah," James mumbled, deflated.

"Which was it?" Leo's taunting grin was going to set the alpha off, but the delta didn't care.

"All of it," James growled. "I was being an asshole, I see that now."

"So what do you plan to do about it?" Leo challenged.

"I don't know," the alpha sighed as he flopped down on our pallet.

I sat next to him, letting my long legs stretch out before us, before speaking.

"Well, I don't know what you should do. But if I was you, I'd start working on winning over our girl because time is literally ticking against us, and if you want to help our omega through her heat, she needs to accept you. "

His face blanched at the prospect of helping her ride out the demanding throes of pleasure and mating. Or maybe it was that he had to actually woo her after spending weeks dismissing her existence.

"It will be no hardship," he finally admitted.

"Are you going to go through with it? If she accepts, I mean?" I asked the question I knew Leo was wondering too. Would we be a family? Kids? A life with the omega? A chance to be fathers?

"I –" He nodded once. "I think I would like that."

The flutter in my heart was undeniable. The mere thought of finally getting what we craved made me so damn ecstatic, I had to fight to control it. Before I could respond, Leo's face broke into a wide grin, and he spoke. "We're going to be fucking parents."

James shook his head, though a smile was plastered on his face. "We need to wait until the omega accepts me. I wouldn't get so excited yet."

I wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Are you kidding? The omega loves us; there is no way she'd say no."