Knot That Delicate

Chapter 22

C arter was avoiding me.

It was actually an impressive feat, when you thought about it, considering we were all confined to a small area of land, in a small cabin. For him to successfully be able to avoid me for several days was indeed impressive. Ever since the kiss , he’d done his best to be in the opposite room from me.

I hadn’t been lonely, by any means. All my time had been taken up with baking with Asher or working in the garden or going to the gym with Dylan. While my body was starting to feel stronger every time we did any sort of exercise or weightlifting,I was left aching for the first twenty-four hours afterward. Then, maybe after a day or two, if my body decided not to be a brat, it would actually feel a little better. I complained a lot about the exercise, but I could now run up the cabin stairs without feeling out of breath. I noticed how much easier it was to lift the heavy bags of flour too. I used to struggle to lift the five-pound bags when Asher and I were baking bread, but now I could do it with ease.

Carter’s absence was noticeable, though. Something hadn’t felt right for days. Sure, I’d been thinking about that kiss. It had been a very nice kiss, until he decided to flee like a child with his tail tucked between his legs. I just didn’t know when to bring it up. His pack mates were always around, and I didn’t know if he would hate me for mentioning it in front of them. Would it be embarrassing? I wasn’t sure what they discussed when I wasn’t around, so I didn’t want to drop him into anything. So, I bided my time and waited until Carter was outside alone.

It was starting to rain, and he was checking on some of the fencing. I’d told Asher I was going to go take a nap, but instead, I snuck out of the cabin wearing one of their raincoats. I was still going to be with one of the guys, so hopefully no one would panic that I was missing. Stomping over towards where Carter was, I tried my best to move quickly, but the gigantic boots I was wearing didn’t belong to me, so my movements were somewhat stuttered.

"We need to talk!" I shouted at Carter’s back.

He was hammering a post into the ground, his back to me. He stilled at the sound of my voice. "Go back inside, Juniper. It’s raining."

I shook my head, even though he couldn’t see the gesture. "I’m not going anywhere. Not until we talk."

Even though his back was to me, I swore I could feel his eyes rolling, and the groan that escaped his chest reached my ears.

"No, we don’t," he said.

I glowered and trudged forward until I was a mere step away from him. "You’ve been avoiding me.”

He turned, towering over me with a frown. Under any other circumstance, an alpha standing in front of me, glowering down at me with that expression would have made me want to run and hide. But I wasn’t scared. No, I was pissed. Putting my hands on my hips, I glowered right back at him.

"Are you denying it?" I challenged.

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to find the right words before finally saying, "You know full well why I’m avoiding you."

"No, I don’t," I insisted. "We kissed. So what?" I looked up at him.

He cocked his head to the side, a look of disbelief taking over his face.

"Oh, hush," I said. "We’re both grown adults. You kissed me. Oh no, the world is ending."

"Wait, you’re…not mad at me?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"No, I’m not mad at you," I said, waving my arms in a dramatic gesture. "I’m mad at you now because you’ve been avoiding me like I have the bubonic plague. You know, if the kiss was that bad, you could’ve just said so. You didn’t have to avoid me."

Carter’s eyes widened. "It’s not that. It’s not that at all. I’m not saying that I…"

I cut him off with a laugh. "I’m messing with you. It was a good kiss. I know it was a good kiss. Yes, I haven’t had many kisses, but I know it was a good kiss. So, we kissed."

Carter eyed me. "You can’t stop saying the word ‘kiss,’ can you?"

I shook my head. "If I keep saying it, maybe you’ll stop acting like it was a big, scary thing."

"But you’re an omega. I shouldn’t be treating you like that," he protested.

I huffed. "Stop thinking about me as an omega. I am a person. I am Juniper. I am not just an omega. A pair of tits that can take a knot—you know what? You’re beginning to offend me now."

Carter’s eyes widened further, and he shook his head with a gesture that meant no. "I don’t mean it like that. I mean, we should show you better respect. You’re not in this position willingly. I was taking advantage."

That made me laugh. I doubled over, laughing so hard as he watched me, bewildered.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because you think you took advantage of me?" I asked. "Darling, I was taking advantage of you. I wanted to kiss you, and I kissed you."

Carter’s brows furrowed. "No, that’s not what happened. I did take advantage," he said, repeating his earlier sentiment.

"My god, you are so pigheaded." I laughed, shoving him lightly. The gesture should’ve only made him move back a step or two, but I didn’t take into account that he was standing on a slippery patch of mud. The small shove sent him backward, his feet flying out from under him as he fell ass-first in the mud. He made a sickening squelching sound as he landed, mud splattering everywhere—including all over me.

For a few seconds, we didn’t say anything, we simply stared at each other, covered in dirt. Then, at the exact same second, we both burst into a fit of laughter.

"You look so stupid," I said.

"Me?" Carter asked. "You’re the one who’s flecked in mud."

"Yes, but you’re the one who’s drenched in it," I pointed out, gesturing to him.

"Yes, but I’m an alpha," he said with a smirk. "We live to get down and dirty. Omegas, on the other hand, are little princesses who don’t like getting messy."

My laughter stopped, and I glared at him. "How many times do I have to tell you? I am not some little omega princess," I declared, leaning down and picking up a handful of mud. I didn’t know what possessed me—maybe it was my anger at being called “princess” or maybe it was the idea that I had to be clean, perfect, and pretty. That had been ingrained so much into my head in the basement, I just wanted something different. So, with that handful of mud, I flung it straight at his smug alpha face.

Unfortunately, even at such a short distance, I was not a good shot. It landed square on his chest, splattering over his clothes.

"What the hell?" Carter laughed, looking at me in surprise.

"I was aiming for your face," I admitted with a shrug.

Carter studied me for a moment, a few thoughts flying through his eyes that I couldn’t quite discern. Then he reached down, and since his reflexes were faster than mine, before I could even blink, my shirt was covered in a splattering of muck.

I gawked at him. "Oh, you’re in for it, " I said, reaching down again.

And it was like the flood dams had burst. Both of us were scrambling to grab dirt and throwing it at each other. I managed to get in one or two good hits before we were in such close quarters that Carter’s arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me to his chest.

I looked up at him, his entire face coated in mud, those bright eyes sparkling down at me with an inhumanly pretty grin.

"I can’t say I’ve ever had a mud fight before." He laughed.

"What can I say? It’s fun," I admitted with a shrug, taking my mud-covered hand and wiping it along his neck, leaving a big streak of mud behind.

"You know you’re asking for it.”

"Oh no, how terrible. You’re just a sore loser," I teased.

"Stop being a brat, or I will dunk you in the river," he threatened playfully.

"There’s no river for miles." I laughed. "Nice try, though."

He cocked his eyebrows. "There’s a river just behind the cabin."

I raised my eyebrows "Wait, really?"

"Yeah, come on, I’ll show you. We kind of need to clean up, anyway." He laughed, looking down at our bodies. We were both caked in thick, dark mud, but for some reason, it was the happiest I’d felt in years. My heart felt light, almost airy in a way.

"Okay," I said. "But if you try to dunk me in the river against my will, I will put a ball of dirt in your underwear," I replied confidently.

Carter glared at me playfully. "I wouldn’t put that past you. How are you not freaking out right now? You’re absolutely caked in mud."

I shrugged. "It’s kind of fun. I don’t feel dirty—I just feel kind of happy. "

Carter nodded. "Okay, so, mud fights make Juniper happy?"

I grinned. "Apparently so."

There was no tension as we walked together to the small stream that I hadn’t even realised was there. As we both washed our hands and wiped the worst of the dirt off, we gave each other quick glances and smirks.

"We’re both going to need a shower," Carter said, looking at his hands. "I think I’ve got dirt in places dirt should never dirt."

I laughed. "If only we could share the shower," I said with a pout.

Carter’s eyes widened, and he looked at me in utter surprise. "Erm, no, why? No way in hell. No, No!” he said firmly, glaring at me “You need to learn to behave yourself. You’re trouble," he said firmly.

I shrugged. "I may be trouble, but I’m trouble you’ve got to deal with until those landslides clear."

Carter closed his eyes with a grimace. "I am fucked six ways to Sunday, aren’t I?"

"Yep." I nodded. "But you’re going to enjoy every minute of it."