Knot Too Old (O-Preggo-Verse #1)

Chapter 1

Jessabella

“Jessabella, could you come into the study?” my Alpha Edgar asked me as I sat in the big sunroom of Koval Manor. “We want to talk to you.”

I hopped up hastily, dropping the painting I was working on.

Modeling jobs had been far and few between in the last few years, so I’d thrown myself into art, taking painting and sculpture classes, loving the process of bringing beauty into the world, but Edgar, Penn, and Brand weren’t particularly impressed.

But maybe with enough practice I’d be good enough to make something that would please them.

“Should I change into any particular lingerie? Or can I get you anything?” I asked, following Edgar into the dark-paneled room where my Alphas liked to sit after dinner and relax, sip cups of brandy or fine wines and talk about court politics or the management of their estates.

I usually pleasured them after dinner and then retired to my own quarters, so this was unusual.

They were the guardians of the ancient and venerable Koval Manor, keeping it efficiently-run and prosperous while the 25-year-old Duke of Koval lived mostly abroad, as young Alphas often did who didn’t have an Omega yet.

And that was a good thing for me. . .

A crackling fire burned, sending warm flickers of light across the soft carpets.

I had first come as an Omega bride to Koval Manor, fifteen years ago, and it still astonished me sometimes with the centuries of Alpha power it represented.

The Duke of Koval was heir to centuries of wealth, and I tried to remember that I was only a guest here, even though I loved the soft stone walls and comfortable rooms that had been designed for both hospitality and a cozy home comfort.

The rest of my Pack was seated in front of the fire watching it crackle.

Edgar, Penn, and Brand Bartos, all broad-chested and solid men with serious, sober faces and dark, salt-and-pepper beards.

They had been chosen for their ability to carefully manage the Koval estate while the Duke himself went to boarding school abroad.

As was typical for Alphas, they loomed over me, even while sitting. Men who took their responsibilities seriously and expected Omega comfort to be available when they needed to decompress.

But what could this be about? Their faces were so stern.

Maybe it was something about Duke Alexei’s return.

Rumor had it that he was finally coming back to Winter Haven permanently after years of sporadic visits. What would that mean for us? Would he still want Edgar, Penn, and Brant managing his estates?

I had met the Duke for the first time on his 18th birthday and he rarely visited. But he was now at the age most Alphas wanted to settle down.

And he was going to have no problem finding an Omega.

A young man like him? Drop-dread gorgeous, killer smile, charismatic, talented, kind to everyone?

Not to mention his chosen Packmate looked like a movie star too.

They were going to have Omegas lined up down the block for the chance to become a Duchess.

He had never been particularly friendly to me, but he seemed kind to the servants, which raised him a lot in my esteem. I would regret leaving Koval Manor, but I had always reminded myself it was never truly ours.

Straightening my neat blue skirt, I took a deep breath and entered the room. My Alphas liked for me to look my best, and wouldn’t appreciate a wrinkle in my skirt or flyaway curls.

After all, Omegas were designed to serve and give comfort to their Alphas, weren’t they?

That’s what I had been taught ever since I arrived in Winter Haven from the countryside, a shy, nervous Omega summoned to the capital to be all that was sweetness and comfort.

What else was a more important purpose than that?

Their eyes rested on me, and I hoped they did not find me lacking. There were a few signs of my age I couldn’t quite hide these days–maybe a little thicker around the belly, some fine lines around my eyes and mouth.

My hands drifted to the silver tea kettle nearby.

Thinking of their care and comfort came almost automatically to me now, although it had taken a few years.

Perhaps I had been a bit conceited as a new bride, or maybe it was that my late parents hadn’t been of high status, so I didn’t know Alpha desires always came first.

“Would anyone like a cup?”

I prided myself on my hospitality, and I always had fragrant herbal tea beside me, usually made with lavender and honey from our massive gardens.

“Not now,” Edgar said firmly, holding his hand up. “This is something quite serious and I’m afraid it’s going to be upsetting. Please listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

My heart began to pound in confusion.

“What is it?” I cried. “Is anyone sick? Did something happen? Did we get news about the Duke’s return?”

I looked anxiously from one face to the next, those handsome, respected faces that had become so familiar in the last fifteen years.

“It’s about our mate bond,” Edgar said. “There’s been a change in circumstances. Mate bonds are not necessarily meant to be permanent.”

“They aren’t?” I cried out in confusion. “What circumstances have changed?”

I couldn't fathom this. For fifteen years I had served at Koval Manor. Been absolutely devoted to their pleasures, their comforts. What could I have done wrong? I didn’t see any way I had seriously disgraced our mate bond.

Had I been too sassy sometimes? Maybe too moody, now and again.

. . especially after those horrible failed tests.

Maybe I had been too slow when one of my Alphas wanted attention?

After all, they couldn’t have known anything about my dirty little secret, what and who I thought about late at night in my own bed, when my pussy was aching but I was left unsatisfied and wanting more. . .

Penn and Brand sat silently, Penn’s strong hand brushing off an infinitesimal piece of fuzz from his impeccably tailored suit.

I began to feel very uneasy.

Something must be very wrong.

“Why can’t you tell me what’s the matter? Nothing is wrong with our mate bond! I feel the claiming bites as strongly as always!”

I bared my throat to show the scarred indentations where they had each bitten me, fifteen years ago, when they had knotted and claimed me, one faithful layer over the next.

“The thing is,” Edgar said, apologetically. “You’re 40 years old, Jessabella.”

I felt my blood run cold.

“Well, of course I’m 40. You all took me to the coast for my birthday a few months ago. If you’ve forgotten about it that fast, I want another trip!”

My lame attempt at humor landed with a thud as they all continued to stare unsmilingly at me.

“You are getting older.”

“What–what does that matter? We’re all over 40, aren’t we? You’re 50!”

There went my tart tongue again.

Their frowns were my usual reward for sassing.

“It’s different for Alphas,” Penn said.

“Our biology is different,” Brand added.

Edgar looked pityingly at me.

“Yes. Well. That is true. That’s why this conversation can’t wait forever. We’ve been putting it off to not hurt your feelings, but, well–it’s time. Jessabella, it doesn’t look like you’re ever going to give us the baby we want.”

The gut punch hit so hard it was like all the breath was sucked from my lungs and body, leaving me a dried-up failed husk.

My body wanted to shrivel up into itself, I wanted to hold my arms and legs tight and curl up so small I’d disappear.

“It isn’t too late!” I said desperately. “There’s still–things we haven’t tried. We haven’t been seriously trying for fifteen years! Dr. Horák says there’s nothing wrong that he can–”

But Edgar shook his head.

“We’ve tried it. All the things. Getting you tested. Making sure you’re eating enough protein. Taking pills, supplements, all different types of medications.”

My stomach roiled at the thought of those endless disgusting protein shakes, but they hadn’t been enough. Never enough. And I wanted a baby, too. Wanted one desperately, in fact. But it had never happened.

“We’ve been patient,” Penn said.

“Please,” I whispered. “Please give me another chance.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s over. You were quite pretty in your prime, Jessabella. But that can’t be your whole life.”

The words stung badly, strange and foreign.

The thing they had chosen me for–now it wasn’t enough.

Not now that I had a few extra pounds. Some chin hairs I couldn’t pluck fast enough.

Was it really my Pack acting in this nightmarish manner?

Rejecting their Omega? It just wasn’t done in Winter Haven.

“I don’t want to just r-rest on my looks,” I protested, feeling stupid emotional Omega tears in the corners of my eyes. “I’ve been doing art.”

“Yes,” Edgar said coolly. “That’s very cute, but irrelevant to our point. What you bring to the table was very impressive when you were 25. And we thought you were going to be fertile. But, you see, we really want a baby.”

My hands were shaking.

“Oh.”

There was silence in the room as tears began to slip down my cheeks.

I felt suddenly about 100 years old.

“My claiming mark,” I said, hands automatically reaching up to my throat, where the comforting bite marks heated my skin.

“Once the bond is broken, that will heal over,” Brand said.

“And you’re all OK with this?” I cried, the tears making their faces swim before me. “Throwing out the person you swore to protect for all of your life?”

Edgar frowned, his mouth twisted downward in a harsh line.

“We have been more than patient with your barren womb.”

Of course. The only thing they wanted from me, apparently. The fifteen years of domestic peace and comfort, my unceasing efforts to please them in any way I could, learn what they loved, what pleasures they craved.

The damn sore jaw after they’d all had quite the stressful day.

None of it mattered because I couldn't get pregnant.

“You can’t say we didn’t try to breed you,” Penn reminded me. “We tried many times.”