Knot Happening

Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

Tatum

“Ghost sent an Omega who has been stalking us and blew up my fucking Jeep?” Kodiak asks carefully, some of his anger slipping through at the mention of the murdered vehicle.

“I’m not sure if he made that connection.” Easton answers. Well, as much as he can with Kodiak still choking him. I tried to get closer, but Hayden is keeping his hands on me, and keeping me away from the others. He’s probably worried about the gun, but Easton would never hurt me.

“Maybe you could let go of him. And lower your gun,” I tell Kodi and Easton. I can tell, by the look on Kodiak’s face, that he’s about to protest. But then his eyes slip to the side. The gate opens, and a black car pulls up.

I can tell Easton is trying to look that way as well, but can’t because of the way Kodi is holding him.

“Who’s that?” I ask, glancing up at Hayden. It’s the first time I’ve really looked at him since they arrived. He looks so tired. It hurts, seeing him like this. But I left… I’m the reason he looks so pained.

“Ghost.” Hayden drops his gaze to me, catching me staring at him. His expression softens. “It’s okay, Tatum.” Lifting his hand, he caresses my cheek, and I lean into the touch. “I’m not upset that you ran away. I’m really glad you’re safe.”

“Oh for fuck's sake, drop Easton, and lower the fucking gun, you wild animal,” Ghost snaps as he climbs out of his car. I watch as the older Alpha makes his way over to us.

Easton reluctantly lowers the gun after a long stretch of silence. Kodiak drops his hand to his side and takes a step away from the other Omega. Now that the threats are over with, I try to go to them once again. Still, Hayden holds me back, and I snarl at him. My growl is vicious. He’s stopping me from going to my men. I’m about to bite him, when I realize how unreasonable I’m being.

Right.

Easton turns to face the approaching stranger with gray, short neatly styled hair, and a business suit. At eight in the morning. His facial hair is salt and pepper, also well groomed. He’s tall. Not like the other three Alphas, but a bit taller than East.

“Finally decided to show your face, after all these years–what the fuck?!” Easton yelps, taking several steps back, bumping into Kodiak’s chest. His eyes are wide and wild as he takes in the sight of the stranger. Kodiak and Declan look as confused as I feel. while Hayden pulls me tighter against his body.

I’m momentarily distracted by the boner now pressing into my ass. I’ll address that in a minute.

“What the actual fuck…” East whispers, trying to take another step back, instead he presses himself more tightly into Kodiak. I tilt my head curiously when the Alpha’s hand rises to East’s hip, and he rumbles out a little growl before cutting it off. “You’re dead. I-I saw your fucking body!”

“I am not dead. Nor did you see my body.” Ghost stops a couple feet back, crossing his arms over his chest. Declan steps forward, looking between the two men.

“So… What am I missing?” Dec asks, and I nod. I would also like to know.

“Let's go inside, and I can explain everything. Maybe take his gun.” Ghost nods to the weapon.

Across from me is a raging ocean storm, as three sets of blue eyes lock onto me. I’m on a small love seat. Well, I guess I’m actually on Easton. He picked the love seat, pulled me into his lap, and then growled viciously when the other three tried to squeeze onto the small couch with us.

Easton’s emotions set my instincts off, and I had joined in the growling. Now, I’m being crushed to a still naked warm chest, as Easton purrs, nuzzling my neck.

He’s trying to soothe himself, and my scent fills the air, trying to assist. I don’t like his discomfort. I want the playful, curious, confusing man from before back.

Ghost clears his throat, and I narrow my eyes on him. The Alpha chuckles, raising his hands in surrender. I keep my glare fixed on him. He upset my Easton.

“Alright, fierce one, settle down. I’m not a threat to my nephew.” Ghost leans back in the chair he grabbed from the kitchen and placed diagonal to the larger couch and love seat. He’s between us, but off to the side.

“Sorry,” Kodiak chuckles, raising a single finger and squinting at Ghost. “I must have misheard you. Did you say, nephew?”

Hmm. I guess if he’s family, he’s not a threat. I turn to my Alphas, my glare fixed first on Kodiak, since he’s the one that strangled my perfect homicidal Omega. Something in the back of my mind whispers that maybe I’m not acting very rationally, but until I can fucking destroy the threat against Easton and get him to come back to me, I don’t really give a shit.

Ghost winces, standing so he can move his seat back a few steps, a look of disgust on his face. “She’s potent. Blueberries? My gods…” Slowly, I return my glare to the old man.

“Did you just say yuck?” I ask in a measured tone, as I hold back my fury.

“Oh, no…you see… It’s not what you’re thinking, I’m allergic…”

Kodiak snorts, and my glare turns on him. “I don’t think I’ve ever, in all these fucking years, seen you look at anyone with that level of fear, Ghost. Does my Omega frighten you?”

“When she looks like she’d enjoy ripping my throat out with her teeth, a little bit, yes.” Ghost nods. This gets a reaction out of Easton, so I decide to let it slide.

“My fierce Sparrow,” East murmurs, his lips pressed against the skin of my neck. His scent grows heavy in the air, and I breathe it in greedily. A chorus of grunts and groans ring out, sounding like music to my ears.

The muffled sound of a gag ruins it.

“Easton, I need to know if you’re able to…” Ghost leans forward, trying to get a look at Easton behind me, pausing to consider his words, “have this conversation right now?”

“I’m okay now,” East agrees, but doesn’t move an inch or release me.

“They’re fucking beautiful, huh?” Kodiak asks with a low growl, his brothers beside him are both nodding. Ghost looks rather uncomfortable.

I snort. Then preen.

“Right, I’m going to get straight to the point before the hormones in this house suffocate me.” Ghost drops his elbows to his knees and sighs. “You were five. Only a little kid. Your mom was already gone. It’s not your fault that your memory of that time is jumbled. No one remembers that age. Everything fell to shit. I tried to go back for you, but…” Ghost’s head drops into his hands, his voice tight with emotion as he continues, not noticing that Easton has gone rigid, his grip tight. “My sister, your mother I mean, she wanted better for you. Her dying wish was that you live a full and happy life.”

I turn in Easton’s grip so I can wrap my arms around his neck. He’s holding onto me like I’m the only thing keeping him in one piece. The purr I release is a low comforting sound, and my scent spikes again, working overtime to soothe him.

Kodiak grunts, and before anyone can react, he’s beside Easton and me. He doesn’t touch either of us, instead, his rumbling purr matches mine, and I feel Easton relax against me a little.

“The twins didn’t kill your father. Keslor did.” Ghost drops a bomb on the room, at least you would think he did, by the way the four men react. They all flinch. It’s setting my instincts off.

“Wait,” I say to Ghost, holding my hand up. “You two,” I command, pointing at Declan and Hayden, then gesturing to the love seat. “East, I need you to stand. Let Hayden sit.” I move so I can wrap myself around my Omega, making sure he understands I have no intention of releasing him.

“He thinks we–”

“I used to,” Easton cuts Kodiak off, as he moves his hold on me from my waist to my ass and stands. Hayden gets the memo and sits next to his brother. “I started doubting him…no, that's wrong. I’ve always doubted him. Then Tatum was getting so close to you. She would never let Alphas into her heart, if they didn’t deserve to be there.” Easton waits until Declan squeezes onto the love seat on the other side of Hayden, before throwing himself into the youngest Hayes’s lap. The Alpha grunts but doesn’t protest. His purr joining mine and Kodiak’s, whose hands join his brother’s in soothing East. Hayden gathers him closer while I fall into Dec’s lap, leaning forward to keep an arm around my Omega.

“Keslor knows I’m not dead. Part of the reason he wanted you three boys dead was so he could get to me. So he could get his hands on the money my family has. The money my sister left for you, Easton. I thought, to punish me, he would kill you. Then I realized he’d kept you alive, and was turning you into a fucking murder weapon,” Ghost snarls.

“I don’t see how keeping me alive, and using me, did him any good. Even though he believes I’m blindly loyal to him… How does that serve him?” East murmurs, and I feel Hayden’s arms wrap around the both of us. Easton tenses up for a brief second, and then relaxes.

“If I die, you’ll be the only living heir. The lawyers would contact you about your inheritance. If you’re loyal to Keslor, he can simply ask you to let him take care of everything. I’m the middleman. The only thing stopping you, as I was the executor of Amy’s estate, and everything she left behind,” Ghost explains.

“Because her mate died,” Easton scoffs. “He killed him…for the money…all this fucking time, I was wrong about everything.”

“There’s a little more. Your mother wanted you to be raised away from all the bullshit her mate was born into. So, your father, Kincaid, tried to give his mate what she wanted. He was working with me behind Keslor’s back, attempting to clean the business up. We were cutting ties with David, AKA Hayes Sr. Shit hit the fan all at once. David called Keslor… Two fucking hours later, David was dead, and I left to help clean up the mess.”

“We called him. We’d listened in on that conversation… Dad flew off the fucking handle that night, and we…couldn’t take it. We killed him,” Declan explains, but Kodiak scoffs.

“My brother doesn’t want people to think I’m the bad twin. Declan didn’t commit patricide, I did. I killed our father, and I’ve never regretted it.” Kodiak’s voice remains firm and steady as he says this. He doesn’t sound sorry, either.

“Kincaid was alone. Unprotected. I got the call that he was dead, but by then… Keslor’s compound is a fucking fortress. He never let you fucking leave. It wasn’t until you were older that you did…but then he had you fucking killing for him. I watched, waited to see how deep his claws were into your mind… How deep his programming went.”

“Why wait eight years to show your face? Why wait eight years to tell me who you are?” Easton asks softly, but I can tell by his tone that he already knows the answer.

“If I had told you who I am, without you seeing me in person, would you have believed me? As it is, I wasn’t sure you’d remember me. So I found a way to reach you the only way I could. To offer you help, when you called, and even when you didn’t. It wasn’t until you started targeting those three that I had hope. You believed they killed Kincaid. I thought if I could just bring you together you might see they aren’t the Alphas you thought. Then I learned of Tatum,” Ghost chuckles. “She was the perfect storm that brought you together and connected the four of you.”

I feel Easton nod, but he doesn’t speak. He simply accepts the truth of those words. It makes me blush.

“She was the missing piece. The one we didn’t even know we needed,” Declan murmurs, as he glances up at me. Our eyes meet, and the warmth in my chest settles something inside me. That wild, broken part of me that constantly needs to run away. Easton holds me tighter, like he knows that's what I would have done only a few days ago.

There’s a fate worse than death, I realize, as I turn to Ghost. He’s watching Easton, with the same turquoise eyes as his nephew.

The hope I see there is breathtaking. He missed the man that’s currently got me wrapped up in his lap, but it’s more than that. He misses the little boy he once knew, too. The years he lost being the uncle.

Hands are on me in the next moment. Eight hands caress and hold me. Like they’re all scared that I’ll jump off this couch and run for my life.

But everything is different now. I’m still scared. Terrified, really.

Only, not for the same reasons as before.

Ghost’s hands are shaking, and the tension in his scent is masked, like he wanted to protect Easton from the influence of his pain. I can’t help it. I break into tears as I realize how fucking horrible all of it is. This man that stepped in for my Alphas when they needed him most, lost the last connection to his sister the same day.

Easton lost his father, who was working to make a better life for his son after the death of his mate, and the only uncle in his life that wasn’t a piece of shit.

The whine that slips from my chest has my Alphas crowding in on Easton and me. Their hands are more insistent now. One in my hair, gently caressing. One on my back, rubbing soothing circles. Two on my stomach, clutching to me like I’m their lifeline.

Then there's Hayden, who’s holding Easton and I both… I cry harder.

“Oh, shit…” Declan says suddenly, startling me enough to get a grip of my tears and search the room for a threat.

“What's w-wrong?” I hiccup, eyes wide as I search his face for signs of anger or upset…

“The suppressants, they…the ones I’d sold you were duds. I didn’t know, and we only just found out. I have some real ones, though.” Declan jumps to his feet and rushes from the room.

I stare at the spot he had evacuated blankly for a long moment, and then…fall apart. I scramble away from Easton, who remains seated in the arms of my Alphas, and the sight stalls my brain. I watch, half my head splintering, the other half mesmerized by the sight of Kodiak grabbing East and wrapping him up in his arms next. Hayden looks miffed, until I realize Kodiak did it for me. Hayden pulls his shirt off and reaches for me.

I launch myself at him like a flying squirrel, and I scent mark the fuck out of him, rubbing up against all the delicious bare skin.

“I’m going to give you all some privacy,” Ghost says, standing. He takes a step toward us, but stops when my glare narrows. He’s not pack…

“Thank you, Ghost,” Dec says as he steps into the room, placing his hand on the older Alpha’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I’ll call you when they’re…more lucid.” Dec clears his throat, and the older man chuckles. “Tell Omar thank you for these.” Dec flashes a silver pack.

“I will. He misses you boys. And I know he desperately wants to meet Easton. If they’re okay tomorrow…”

“I’ll call you,” Dec agrees.

I turn away from them, switching to the other shoulder, and rubbing all over Hayden, loving the feeling of his purr rumbling his chest.

My scent spikes as soon as I do, though. Holy Mother Teresa. Kodiak. Shirtless. Holding Easton, who’s shirt is still on my body. He refused to borrow any from Ferris. Understandable.

Turquoise eyes turn to meet mine, and his scent thickens in the air.

“Here, Tatum. These will actually work,” Declan says from my other side, and I drag my eyes away from Kodiak and Easton to focus on Dec, who came to stand by the love seat.

I stare at the packet of suppressants, for a long moment. Then a hysterical laugh breaks free from my lips, and I have to slap a hand over my mouth to contain it.

“They were duds?” I’m still giggling, as Hayden runs his hands up and down my sides soothingly. Their three Alpha scents are mixing deliciously with Easton’s. “That explains a lot at least,” I snort. Like why I turned into a feral little psycho when we arrived here. I thought maybe the cramping earlier was breakthrough cramps or a result of the drugs from Ferris.

Turns out, I went cold turkey by accident.

“I knew…found them at your place the night I brought you ice cream.” Easton says, speaking for the first time in a long while. So long, I thought maybe he was checked out of reality. “Was gonna get you pregnant. So you couldn’t leave me after I killed these three.”

I turn slowly to face the other Omega, my eyes wide. There’s a stillness in the air, as the others all stare at Easton with me.

“Well, actually my original plan was to replace them. But then… I didn’t want to give you up. And I was scared if you had a choice, you’d leave me,” Easton adds, making Kodiak snort.

I simply sit here, staring at him with my mouth hanging open.

“That is actually so unhinged, you know that, right?” My disbelief is clear in my tone, but East shrugs like it’s no big deal.

“You are the first person I can remember caring about since I was five.”

“Oh my god…” I pout, my heart cracking a bit at his confession. “That’s really sad, and really sweet…and really concerning. ”

“I was going to make love to you when you went into heat, and then hope you didn’t hate me.” East sits up, crawls off Kodiak, and reaches for me, pulling me off Hayden and into his arms. Both Alphas let out a disgruntled grumble.

“Jeez…” I whisper, my blush heating my cheeks, even as my scent gives away my desire.

“I realized my plan was fucked up, and was going to tell you about your meds, but then you got kidnapped. Now we’re here, and I thought you deserved to know how I feel about you. How I truly feel. I don’t want to just be your friend, Tatum. If that’s what you need, I’ll take any piece of you I can get, but… I couldn’t take it if I didn’t at least tell you the truth.”

“I don’t want to just be your friend, either,” I murmur. “I don’t fuck my friends…” Easton searches my face for signs that I’m lying, and the hope in his eyes is so strong, that it seeps into my being. To the core of my soul.

“I want this pack. All of you, just as you are. But you four have to…want me and my Omega.” I add, biting my lip. Looking away from Easton, I catch Kodiak’s eye first. He smirks.

“Oh, you thought I was going to give you up? Very cute, my Pretty Gift. Easton might be a homicidal little psycho, but he’s grown on me. After all, he’s been flirting with me for months now. Marking my things with that fucking brownie scent?” Kodiak chuckles, grabbing Easton by the hips and dragging him into his lap and away from me. I watch as the Alpha bites the Omega’s neck just enough to make East go limp in his hold, eyes falling shut, lips parting on a moan.

The scent of brownies hits us like a bomb going off, and I moan too.

“Jesus, I think he likes that,” I whisper, making the others growl.

“I would bond Santa Claus if it would make you happy, Starlight,” Hayden murmurs in my ear, but I know Easton hears, because his eyes pop open. Kodiak releases him from his teeth, but keeps him pinned in his lap. “But… I happen to like Homicide, as I like to call him. Suits him better than Easton,” Hayden teases, and East flips him off.

I have to turn around when Declan is quiet for too long. Sitting on the chair adjacent to the love seat, he leans forward looking lost. The second I lay my eyes on him, my heart pinches. I let my instincts guide me into his arms, and I straddle his hips, taking his face in my hands, and making him look at me.

“What's wrong?” The purr I release to soothe him comes so naturally to me now. The suppressants I took for three years messed with my system so badly, I was basically a Beta. Fuck, I missed this part of myself. The caring. The compassion. The…love.

“I’m not… I think you deserve better than me. I feel like I haven’t proven myself worthy of you. I haven’t offered you what you deserve…” He holds my gaze for a long moment, his blue eyes searching my face.

“What have I offered you?” I whisper. The truth is, I don’t deserve them. “You gave me a job. Took over paying for my mom’s care. You ate me out on your birthday…and in return, I ran for the hills.” I shake my head, sniffling as I drop my hands to my lap, and lean back. I can’t look at him.

“No. No, don’t devalue yourself like that. You made me feel…” Declan grips my chin, tilting my head up until I have no choice but to meet his eyes, “alive.”

Without another word, I’m lifted off the couch in his arms, his grip sure. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I hang on as he starts moving through the mansion. With ease, he jogs up the stairs. We turn a corner, away from their bedrooms, and down a short hall leading to one room. He stops there, hand on the knob.

“You made me feel like everything I’ve ever done actually meant something. That being an Alpha means something. I want to be your Alpha, Tatum. I want to be the best fucking Alpha any Omega has ever had because of you. For you.” Declan’s words flood my heart with joy, and I have to hold back the happy tears.

Could this end in pain? Yes…but what did Dream tell me that night? Something like not to miss out on happiness today, hiding from the pain of tomorrow.

Declan opens the door, but rather than leading me inside, he lowers me to my feet.

“Close your eyes,” he whispers, his brothers and Easton joining us in the hall. Easton is looking into the room behind me, but I can’t tell if he’s nervous, or just tired from the last ten hours with me…

“Never had a nest,” he murmurs, but before I can ask him the questions flooding my mind, I’m spun around and hands are over my eyes in a flash.

“We…well, we spent the night moving your stuff. When you got here, we had been at your apartment, grabbing the last of the things from your mother’s room. But the first thing we did was fill this room.” Declan whispers into my ear, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine.

“We’ve been filling it since my birthday,” Kodiak adds cheerfully.

“I’ve been collecting items for three years, actually…” Hayden grumbles, and I can’t help but smile.

I don’t think I’ll ever forgive his mother for the three years we lost. Or myself. But I also can’t hate her. There are pieces missing. Like why Kodiak killed his father, but if he doesn’t regret it, when he was only a kid… Well, that says a lot, doesn’t it? I can guess, after what Hayden told me she accused him of…

“I’m ready,” I whisper, sure that I know exactly what this room is now.

Declan leads me a few steps forward and then releases me. I keep my eyes closed, breathing in the scents.

Sea salt and lavender, for Hayden. Vetiver, for Declan. Bergamot and sandalwood, for Kodiak. And brownies… They even brought Easton’s scent from my nest… I don’t know why, but that, above the other wonderful things, makes me cry.

They recognized his scent, knew he was the one trying to hurt them, but because his scent was in my nest, they brought it to me…

Finally, I open my eyes.