Page 29 of Knot Your Baby (Knot Forever #4)

Chapter 29

Zane

The early morning light filters through the kitchen blinds, painting stripes across the marble countertops as I flip another pancake. Behind me, Freya’s laughter mingles with Miller’s deeper chuckle—a sound that’s become more common in the pack house these past few days.

“I’m just saying,” Miller continues, “if Stone inherits Thorne’s appetite, we’re going to need a second refrigerator.”

“Or a third,” I add, sliding the finished pancake onto the growing stack. “Don’t forget, he’s got Freya’s genes, too. I’ve seen her put away an entire chocolate cake by herself.”

“That was one time!” Freya protests, but she’s smiling as she bounces Stone gently in her arms. “And I was eating for two.”

“You already had Stone by then,” I add with a laugh.

“Breastfeeding makes me hungry.”

“It makes me hungry.” I wiggle my eyebrows. “I haven’t had a taste in days.”

Freya bursts out laughing. “They’re not sore anymore. You don’t have to soothe them.”

“Sore? Convenient excuse,” Miller teases, reaching over to stroke Stone’s tiny head. “I want to wrap my mouth around those nipples again.”

“Maybe I’m ready,” she says as I place the platter of pancakes in the center of the table alongside the fresh berries and whipped cream I prepared earlier. “For all of you.”

“Including Thorne?” Miller asks.

She nods. “We had a good talk about everything. I told him I know I’m too much sometimes and I’ll try to rein it in.”

“The hell you are. You’re perfect. Just the right amount of everything,” Miller interrupts.

She smiles at him. “He said the same, and he admitted he’d been an asshole.” She laughs. “But then he told me how he talked to my dad about the time I worked at Le Petite Jardin, and he realized it was me he could smell all along. He thought the smell was from a customer.”

She muses for a moment before she puts a piece of pancake in her mouth. “Not the girl he momentarily locked eyes with. He admitted he smelled my perfume in the club years later.” She continues telling us about Thorne seeing a girl with blonde hair in the club. She wore a mask, like everyone else there, but he knew she was the blonde girl in the restaurant. He lost her again.

“He told me he knew his omega was out there, but one day he was convinced it was Maya,” I tell her as I glance over my shoulder. “Miller and I weren’t on board.”

Swallowing, she nods her head. “He admitted that, too. Apparently Maya came along, and she had the right perfume.”

“But she didn’t,” Miller adds.

“I’m just glad we finally have you. All of us,” I tell her as I place more pancakes on the plate in the middle of the table, along with crispy bacon and maple syrup. “Breakfast is served.”

“This looks amazing, Zane,” Freya says, her eyes wide.

Since she moved in, I’ve discovered her appreciation for food is truly remarkable. I love how she savors every bite with delight.

“It’s the least I could do since soon you’ll be baking again,” I reply, taking Stone from her arms so she can eat with ease. With his weight settled against my chest, my heart soars as he makes a contented sigh against me. He has this distinct baby scent, but the subtle sweetness of Freya’s omega essence clings to him.

“Thorne’s missing out,” Miller comments, pouring coffee for all of us.

“Early meetings wait for no alpha,” I say, repeating Thorne’s grumbled complaint from earlier when he’d kissed Freya goodbye and reluctantly headed to the office before dawn.

We fall into a comfortable silence as we eat, broken only by Stone’s occasional gurgle and Rosie’s hopeful whining from her spot by the door.

“Someone needs her morning walk,” I observe as our dog paws at the floor.

“Beach run?” Miller suggests, already calculating the timing in his head.

“After these pancakes, it’ll have to be a walk,” I grumble.

“You’re not working today?” Freya asks.

“Night shift.”

“No way,” she moans. “I thought—” Her face reddens.

Miller leans close to her. “What were you hoping for, omega?”

“I’m ready.”

I grin. “Oh, this is turning out to be the perfect day. First, we’ll take Rosie for a walk.” I glance out of the window at the cloudless blue sky. “Freya, you up for it?”

She hesitates, looking down at her pancakes, then at Stone. “I’d love to, but Stone needs a bath and a nap soon.”

“We can all bathe him and then he can sleep on the walk. Plus, Rosie will be thrilled for Stone to come too,” I say. “She’s been trying to adopt Stone as her own personal puppy since you two moved in.”

Freya laughs, and as if she understands, Rosie’s tail thumps enthusiastically against the floor.

The beach is nearly empty this early, just a few dedicated surfers in the distance and one older couple walking their matching Yorkshire terriers.

Rosie races ahead, her golden body bright against the darker beach, pausing occasionally to make sure we’re still following before she rolls over in the sand, wagging her tail in delight.

“She’s ridiculous,” Miller says with affection, watching the dog’s antics.

“Says the man who bought her a monogrammed life vest,” I counter.

“It was on sale.”

“It was custom made.”

Freya laughs between us, the sound carried away by the salt breeze. Stone is strapped to her chest in the carrier Miller insisted was ergonomically superior to all others when he came home with it yesterday.

Our pack baby’s tiny face is peaceful as he sleeps despite the wind and Rosie’s occasional eager barking.

“You two bicker like an old married couple,” she observes.

“Miller and Thorne argue more than me,” I explain, bending to pick up Rosie’s ball.

“Are you really quitting the fire service?” Freya asks me.

I stop and turn to her. “It’s time. I saw how Thorne was with you in the hospital. I get it now. The fear he had for you was no doubt the same for me.”

“It was,” Miller adds.

“So, I’m going into the office later to see how I feel about that.” I toss the ball for Rosie, who takes off after it.

We walk in comfortable silence for a while, adjusting our pace to Freya’s slower one. She’s still recovering from everything, though she rarely complains.

Miller watches her with the same assessing look he gives all his patients, and I’m sure he is cataloging any minute change in her color, her energy levels, her ease of movement.

“Stop doctoring me,” she says without looking at him. “I’m fine.”

“I said nothing,” he protests. “But let me take Stone.”

“You were having doctor thoughts.”

I laugh at Miller’s offended expression. “She’s got you there.”

“How do you know that? We’re not bonded yet,” Miller says. Now surprise has taken over the offended look.

“I feel it.” Her voice is subdued, like she is worried about what she is saying.

“Me too.” He wraps his arm around her shoulder, pulls her to him and kisses her temple. “And now you’ve brought up the word everyone skirts around. How do you feel about bonding?”

The word “bonding” dangles in the air between us.

Her cheeks flush pink, and she shifts Stone in his carrier. “Well, I was thinking more about bondage first, actually.”

Miller chokes on nothing, and I nearly trip over my own feet.

“Excuse me?” Miller manages.

“You know,” she continues, eyes sparkling with mischief, “I think it’s important to test our compatibility in all areas before we make any permanent decisions. Like, what if you’re both terrible at tying knots? That’s a deal-breaker.”

I burst out laughing. “Are we talking about sailing or bedroom skills?”

“Both? I mean, what if we’re on a yacht and you need to secure me to the mast?” She wiggles her eyebrows dramatically. “For safety reasons, of course.”

“Of course,” Miller agrees solemnly, though I can see his lips twitching. “Safety first.”

“I’m excellent with knots,” I tell her, lowering my voice. “Fire service training.”

“I bet you are.” She winks at me. “But what about the doctor? Can he handle restraining a patient properly?”

Miller’s eyes darken. “I think you’d be surprised at my skills, omega. I could tie you up so beautifully you wouldn’t want to be released.”

“Promises, promises,” she teases.

“I’d blindfold you too,” Miller continues, his voice dropping lower. “Make you trust us enough to just relax and enjoy whatever we decide to give you.”

Freya stops walking abruptly. Her hand flies to her mouth, and her eyes widen. “Oh my god.” She looks down and squeezes her thighs together. “Slick is running down my legs.”

I laugh at her honesty. “Right here on the beach?”

“You can’t just say things like that,” she protests to Miller, but she’s grinning. “There are children here.” She covers Stone’s ears.

“You started it,” Miller points out. “With your bondage talk.”

“Well, I didn’t expect you to be so good at it!” She gestures wildly with her free hand. “I thought you’d blush and stammer like a Victorian gentleman being offered an ankle glimpse.”

“Disappointed?” I ask.

“Not at all. I am thoroughly pleased,” she corrects. “And drenched. Which is becoming a problem as we’re in public.”

I’m still grinning ear to ear, not at the bedroom talk, but because this is the Freya I met. She’s back loud and proud, and I couldn’t be happier.

Rosie returns with her ball, dropping the drool-covered sandy mess at my feet and looking up expectantly. I scratch behind her ears in reward before throwing it again, watching her bound away again.

“So,” I clear my throat, steering us back to the more serious topic. “About bonding, though. For real.”

Freya’s smile softens. “Is that what you both want? To bond with me?” She glances down at Stone.

Miller doesn’t hesitate. “Absolutely. I’ve never been more certain of anything. From the moment I caught your scent in the hospital. Even masked as it was. Something in me knew.”

I nod, remembering that night at the bakery. “And I could have sunk my teeth into your neck as I carried you out of your bakery.” My voice grows rough at the memory. “It took everything I had not to claim you on the spot.”

Freya’s eyes widen, and she touches her neck unconsciously. “Really? Even with all the smoke and chaos?”

“Especially then. When everything was falling apart around us, holding you felt like the only thing that made sense.”

She smiles at me, and my heart does a ridiculous flip in my chest. God, I’m gone for this woman. Completely and utterly gone.

“It’s what I want too,” she breathes. “To be properly part of this pack. In all ways.” She looks at us. “With all three of you.”

Miller squeezes her shoulder gently. “Thorne will be thrilled.”

“Talking of Thorne. I’ve been meaning to ask,” Freya says after a moment, her voice casual in a way that immediately signals the opposite. “What’s happening with his assistant, Maya?”

Miller and I exchange a quick glance.

“Thorne wanted to sack her,” Miller answers carefully. “But his CFO overruled him until he knew the reason, and Thorne didn't want to discuss it with him.”

“She’s still working at Stone Enterprises?”

“For now,” I confirm. “But she isn’t working for Thorne anymore.”

Freya nods, but I catch the slight tension in her shoulders, the way her hand moves protectively over Stone’s back. Whatever Miller may say about her physical recovery, the emotional wounds are still raw.

“She can’t hurt you anymore,” I hiss, hating Maya for doing this to her. “Or Stone.”

“I know.” She doesn’t sound entirely convinced. “It’s just strange to think of her still there, still part of your daily lives.”

“Not for long,” I promise. “And speaking of Stone Enterprises...” I pause, uncertainty suddenly gripping me.

“You’re finally going to tell us if you’re taking the job?” Miller prompts.

Freya looks between us, curiosity clear. “Job?”

“Thorne’s been trying to get me to join the company for years,” I explain. “Head of security operations. Since the accident, he’s been pushing harder. And now I’m ready.”

“And you’ll be safer,” Freya adds softly.

There it is. The real crux of the matter. Safety versus purpose. Security versus calling. The choice that’s been hanging over me for months—years, really.

“I’m visiting the offices today,” I admit. “Taking a proper look at what I’d be doing.”

“We should come with you,” Miller suddenly suggests. “Give Freya a tour of the place. Let Stone see where his father works.”

I expect Freya to demur, but she brightens. “I’d like that. If it’s not imposing.”

“Not at all,” I assure her, surprised by how much I want them there. “Might even help me decide.”

Rosie returns, this time dropping the ball at Freya’s feet. She laughs, bending awkwardly around Stone to pick it up and throw it—not far, but enough to set Rosie racing away again.

“For what it’s worth,” Freya says, watching the dog, “I think you’d be amazing at whatever you choose. But—” Her serious expression giving way to a mischievous grin. “I also have a business proposition for you, Zane.”

“Oh?”

“You should come work for me at the bakery. We could start a breakfast café section with your pancakes and bacon. You’d be the breakfast king of downtown LA.”

I laugh, imagining it. Being around Freya all day, watching her work her magic with pastries while I handle the savory side of things. It sounds perfect. Too perfect, maybe.

“I’d get no work done,” I admit. “I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off you.”

“That’s not a problem,” she says with a wink. “We’d have the kitchen to ourselves before opening hours. But I need to find a new place first. Thanks to Thorne, I’ve been paid in full by the insurance company, but now I have to start again.”

Miller and I glance at each other before I say, “Thorne is working on it.”