Page 64 of Their Knotty Pack (Starbrook City Omegaverse #3)

Bethany

I wake up Tuesday morning to lips pressed against my neck, lavender and spearmint surrounding me.

"Kieran…" I murmur, reaching my hands up to run through his hair.

My fingers slide through silky-soft strands, my half-asleep state only elevating the intensity of his heat prickling my skin.

His sleepy lust pushes at me through the bond, and I hold him closer to me, bringing his lips from my neck up to mine.

"Where is everyone?" I murmur into his lips, arching my back as he grinds his boxer-covered erection over me.

"Miles, Damien, out for a run" he groans as he swivels his hips, grinding into me again. "Brody, shower."

He doesn't have to tell me where Hunter is. He got called into work just after dinner last night.

His hand runs down my body, lifting my leg over his hip as he grinds his throbbing cock against my core. Pure lightning shoots through my veins, as I gasp into his mouth.

"Are you just going to tease me, or are you going to fuck me?" I challenge him, knowing it's the surefire way to get him to do exactly what I want.

Kieran can never resist a challenge.

With a gr owl, he pops himself out of his boxers, moves my panties to the side, and enters me in one thrust.

We both groan as he fully seats himself inside me, then we just stay like that for a minute, both of us breathing heavily, staring into each other's eyes.

When he brushes against our bond, pure adoration and awe, it hits me, just how far we've come. This bond, that I had wanted nothing to do with…it's now a lifeline for me.

He pulls out almost all the way before thrusting back in, and then we're a mess of shallow thrusts, writhing bodies, and moans. I hold him to me with everything that I have, our lips fused together in a heart-stopping kiss.

He pulls my leg further up his hip, nearly lifting my ass completely off the bed, but I'm just along for the ride, excited to see where he takes me.

The orgasm builds slowly, starting low in my belly until my toes tingle, and then I'm shattering, my walls clenching around him until his own release overtakes him.

"Fuck, fuck, Bethany…ohhh Bethany ." His hips stutter and then he's holding himself in me as he fills me up.

Pure and utter contentment fills both sides of our bond as he gently kisses me, then pulls out and spoons me to him.

Deciding to be a cheeky shit, I ask, "Did this mean anything?"

He barks a laugh before nipping at my ear. "It meant everything ."

Working with Lanie again is amazing. We already know each other's habits, and she's already trained on being a comforting presence for omegas.

I'm glad we're having her start a full week before the other two, because that just means I'll have another person to help me train the new hires when they start.

By the en d of the day, she has a handle on everything, and has created a system that evenly splits the lawyers between us, and we'll be in charge of their clients. She gave me a few less, so I'm only assigned to Brody and Jeremiah, considering I'm also handling HR for now.

Our outlook on the whole situation has completely flipped by the end of the day, and I'm actually excited to come to work tomorrow. Not that I was dreading it or anything before, but now I'm like...pumped.

We're all at the dinner table, Brody and I telling the guys about our day when my phone rings. I frown, not recognizing the phone number, but answer it anyway, just in case it's someone from Wren's pack.

"Hello?"

"This Bethany?" The thick cockney accent on the other line asks and the guys give me a questioning look. I only hold up a finger, signaling him to give me a minute.

"Teddy?"

"Right then, I'm callin' to give you an end of day report—see if you can pick out any discrepancies in their schedule that might stick out."

My tongue sticks in my cheek as I huff a breath. "To be honest, I'm not sure how much help I'll be. I haven't been with them for eight months and even when I was with them…I wasn't really privy to details like that."

"Well, maybe somethin'll stick out once you 'ave it laid out in front of ya."

I swallow roughly. "Okay. I'm going to put you on speaker so the whole pack can hear you too."

"Go on then."

When he's on speaker, and Kieran pulls me into his lap, his arm banding around my waist. Miles' hand grasps my thigh, and Brody's foot strokes mine under the table. "Okay, go ahead."

"Ace." Te ddy's voice sounds a little farther away as I hear pages start to flip.

"Yesterday, they was in the office all day, so nuthin' to report there.

At eight this mornin', the arsewipes left their pack 'ouse.

Stopped for brekkie and a cuppa at 'Mean Bean Coffee', then kept on to the 'Ansen & 'Ansen Law Firm offices. "

"Sounds normal," I admit, starting to feel like maybe we're going about this the wrong way.

"Then they all stayed in their offices 'til 'leven, 'cept Grayson left by 'imself.

Now, I dunno what the others got up to while he was out, but he went to this pretentious-as-fuck little French cafe.

Ordered a fucking non-fat cappuccino and a bloody ' kwa-son'.

" He says the last word like it murdered his family and spit on their graves. Hunter raises his brows at the phone.

" Croissant?" Brody asks, suppressing a smile. Turns out Teddy is quite the character.

"'Ave you 'eard those fuckers order a flaky pastry?

Suddenly they're as French as Pepe Fucking LePew.

" He lets out a huff. "Anyway. This ol' broad—an omega, by the looks of it— meets 'im at the cafe.

I 'spose it coulda been a date, but she was like…

fifty-something at least. I mean, if you're into cougars, that's cool, but she seemed a bit dodgy. "

Huh. A client?

"What did she look like?" I frown, leaning back against Kieran.

"Like a librarian when you're ten days late on returnin' your library book. Like me mum after I came home with a nose ring. Like a priss witha ten foot pole shoved up 'er—"

"We got it," Brody says quickly, clearing his throat.

"Anyway, I got out my trusty parabolic microphone, but thena groupa cacklin' hens sat behind 'em and the sound was all muddy.

Couldn't picka word out to save me life, But, I did take pictures—I'll send 'em over so you can see if you recognize 'er.

After that, they spent the rest of the day at the office, and left at five.

I tailed them home and now they're enjoying some pretentious-as-fuck amuse bouche or so me shite—Mav just got here and is taking over until the morning. "

"Thank you, Theodore," Hunter sighs, "we appreciate your help."

"Fuck off with all that," Teddy huffs, "only the government calls me Theodore. An’ I hate the government."

"Sorry, um, thank you, Teddy ," Hunter corrects himself.

"No need to thank me, mate, just doin' my job. Mind you, it is for free, but we all benefit at the end. I'll send you those pictures in a jiff."

"Thank you, Teddy," I pipe up. "Really."

"Well, let's not get too sappy just yet, ducky," his voice is warmer than when he told Hunter to 'fuck of with all that', "it ain't done yet, innit? You can thank me once we nab these wankers."

We hang up with Teddy, and Miles is the first to break the silence. "Well…he seems fun."

"Could hardly understand half the things he was saying," Damien mutters.

"Who do you think Grayson was meeting with?" Brody frowns. "If it was an omega…I suppose it could have been a client?"

Then my phone dings with incoming messages—the photos, as Teddy promised.

My heart stops. The woman sitting with Grayson…that's Mrs. Lopez.

"Holy shit," I gasp, not quite able to believe what I'm seeing. "Why would Mrs. Lopez be meeting with Grayson?"

"Who is Mrs. Lopez?" Kieran asks, his arms tightening further around me. I don't think he even realizes he's doing it.

"The director of the Starbrook City branch of the OMS," I tell them, my eyes still studying the picture. Mrs. Lopez doesn't look like someone who just had half her staff quit in the last two weeks…no, she looks…smug. "The one who fired me."

"So Pack Hansen shows up to your work, causes a scene…" Hunter starts, the wheels in his mind turning, "which she uses as an excuse to fire you, and two weeks later, she's meeting a member of that same pack for coffee?"

"Do we think she's involved in casing out the women?" Brody frowns. "As the director of an OMS branch, she'd have unlimited access to their information.

"Something smells fishy," Miles sing-songs, standing from his spot next to me. He freezes at my expression, then sits back down, grabbing my face between his hands. "Nymph. This is a good thing. We're going to figure it out, okay?"

My cheeks still squished together, I nod as Miles presses a kiss to my smooshed lips. "Good." He grins. "Now how about we let the rest of our pack clean up dinner while you and I go make digital versions of each member of Pack Douche Canoe on the Sims and kill them off in creative ways?"

"I'm going to call Georgia and fill her in," Hunter adds, running a hand through his hair. He looks especially tired. "She's the only one I trust with this right now."

Kieran sets me on my feet, smacking my ass. "Go ahead, sunshine. We'll take care of it down here."

"You mean I'll take care of it down here," Damien mutters, standing and gathering dishes, "since you all can't seem to not leave water stains on everything." But he presses a kiss to mine and Miles' temples just the same, telling us to go have fun.

When the entire pack finds us huddled in the nest, staring at the laptop on Miles' lap as a Sim named "Preston Douche Canoe" tries to get out of a pool without a ladder, Kieran snorts.

"Who needs therapy when you have this?"

"This is therapy," Miles insists as Kieran settles next to him.

"And it's a lot cheaper than someone telling me I need to 'deal with my emotions in a healthy way'," I roll my eyes and use finger quotes.

Hunter slides in next to me, and I shift so I'm laying against him.

He's be en more physically affectionate recently, something that I will never complain about.

Brody settles at the edge of the bed, and Damien stands in the doorway, staring at all of us with an indecipherable look on his face.

"What's wrong?" I study him closely. I can't tell if he's upset or…something else.

"I've been…I've been working on something for you, and I wanted to give it to you after dinner, but then Teddy called, and then it wasn't the right time…"

"Well that's not fair!" Kieran sits up, jostling Miles. "I had something I wanted to give to blue that I've been working on.”

Hunter looks between the two of them with a bemused expression. "Why don't you both go get your…I assume these are akin to courting presents?" At their nods, he continues, "Go get your courting presents for your omegas, and they'll put away their murder-simulation."

Damien grins and leaves the room. Kieran slides off the bed, leaving Miles to lean on me, his head on my lap after he tucks his laptop away.

They return a moment later, Kieran with hands behind his back, Damien holding what appears to be a canvas, but the front is held tight against his chest.

"This suddenly feels a lot like Christmas," Miles muses, sitting up excitedly.

"If it were Christmas, we'd all be getting presents," Brody points out.

"Omega appreciation day?" I offer, grinning.

"Every day is omega appreciation day," Damien gives me a wicked smile, making my heart pound.

"Who wants to go first?" Kieran asks. "Oh wait, I do!" he answers his own question, pulling out a small box from behind his back. Damien rolls his eyes as Kieran climbs back on the bed, tentatively giving Miles the box. "Now, it won't hurt my feelings if you don't like it—"

"What the fuck, Kieran?!" Miles gasps, opening the box. "You do woodwork ?"

I peek around and hide my smile. Miles has opened the box, and inside are two different compartments, the first, smaller one, has slots for each kind of dice you can use in D&D, and the second, much larger one, is lined with a soft-looking leather on the bottom.

"Miles" is engraved on the top. "Well, yeah," Kieran says, looking confused at his surprise, "you saw the shelves I made for sunshine—"

"That's different!" Miles smacks a hand to his chest, "This is like…intricate!"

"You can put all your dice here," Kieran grins, pointing to the little slots in the smaller compartment, "and when you want to roll, you can do it here." He motions to the larger compartment.

Miles gently puts the box down before throwing his arms around Kieran's neck, holding him tight. "Thank you," he whispers, and I don't hear whatever else it is that Miles says that makes the tips of Kieran's ear turn pink, because then Damien is clearing his throat.

"This is…well, I didn't think I'd have an audience for this, but…this is the image that has been engraved in my mind since we had our night at the plant nursery." Damien gives me a knowing look, and my cheeks heat at the implication.

When he turns it around, the room goes silent.

"Holy shit," Brody whispers.

It's almost a portrait, from the (bare) shoulders up, but with the way her dark hair is falling, it's like she's leaning over and looking at you. Behind her…I can make out a glass ceiling and so many plants it could be in a rainforest. A halo of light surrounds her head.

But it's her expression that really draws you in. Flushed cheeks, lips parted slightly as pale eyes stare down with desire. It's intimate. Sensual.

It's…me.

"Damien," my voice is a choked whisper as I climb off the bed to go to him, "this is…how…I don't—"

"This is how I see you. How…how we all see you, I'm sure. A goddess, all powerful, and owning every single inch of us."

"That's not how I see her," Miles pipes up, coming to stand next to me. "She's much prettier than how you've painted her." He presses a kiss to my hair.

"Aw, blue, are you jealous you didn't get a painting too?" Damien teases.

"Miles, that painting wildly overstates my—"

Growls rip out around the room, including from Damien and Miles.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, bright eyes," Damien rumbles, arching a brow at me.

My cheeks flush again and I shake my head. "It's beautiful, Damien, thank you,"

He gives me a blinding smile. "Any time, bright eyes, any time."

We hang the painting up in the nest, with Damien promising to make one for Miles too, and when we all settle in for the night, surrounded by the scents of my pack, I fall into a deep sleep.

That is, until Hunter's work phone rings sometime in the early morning. "Song," he answers sleepily, trying to keep quiet. I'm close enough to hear the voice on the other line.

"Detective Song, it's Maverick. I think…I think we found out who your mole is."