Her Knotty List (MVP: Most Valuable Pack Book 4)

The four of us surround Emma, holding our breath while she skirts those big, green eyes between our faces.

“Y-You—” she stammers, finally spinning back to Knox. “What?”

Our pack alpha steps into her space, framing her face with his calloused hands. “We love you, Emma. All of us discussed how we should tell you, and we thought doing it together would be best. To show you—we’re in this together, now. Because of you. We love you, and we want to be your alphas. Your pack. If you’ll have us.”

Relief slips into my tight lungs, ballooning until they expand.

I’ve never had a pack of my own or a pack leader before, but in this moment? I get it.

Knox is steady and calm as he speaks for us, saying the words no one else could manage. I may have told Emma I loved her, but I’m not sure if I could have gotten the rest out. Certainly not with the soothing certainty the older alpha drapes over our group like a thick, weighted blanket.

“I— y-you do?” Emma whimpers, and all of us automatically draw closer.

“Of course we do,” Gunnar asserts, his voice as fierce as his expression. He brings her fingers back up to his mouth, brushing his lips over her knuckles again. “You’re our⁠—”

He struggles for the word so Zane rasps it, his dark eyes floating from Gunnar’s profile to Emma’s green gaze. “Everything.”

The word—and the truth of it—sinks into my center as I watch it soak into Emma. Pressing my front to her back, I hug her waist and murmur, “They’re right. I know it must be hard to believe after the way those assholes treated you, but you really are everything to us, love.”

With a thick swallow, I raise my eyes to Knox. He nods almost imperceptibly.

“We want to show you,” I add, cuddling closer. “Through bonds, so you’ll be able to feel it for yourself. Will you let us?”

For one brief, beautiful moment, her whole body goes lax. It seems a lot like the relief I just experienced—until she starts to stiffen a second later.

With my arms crossed over her diaphragm and a hand spread between her hips, I actually feel the cramp. A deep tweak that tightens the muscles and tendons under her thin sweater and my tingling fingertips.

“Baby,” I mumble, disapproval and concern crowding my voice as I drop my forehead to scent-mark her shoulder so she knows I’m not angry. “Have you had cramps like this all day? Why didn’t you tell me?”

She trembles in my embrace, wetness gleaming on her gaze as she turns to Knox with a pleading look. “I’m sorry! I was going to tell you all tonight that the heat cramps had started, but I needed to get all your Christmas presents first! And wrap them and⁠—”

Knox cuts her off with a low, almost soft growl. “That was naughty, little miss. You always tell me when you’re in pain. Especially this kind of pain.”

He steps into her front, ignoring my arms folded between us to cup Emma’s head in his hands once more, whispering so quietly I wonder if the others even hear him ask, “How is Daddy supposed to fix it if I don’t know it hurts, baby?”

Her lips wobble while she turns to Gunnar and Zane, each positioned on either side of our pack leader. “I’m sorry—” she starts, but Gunnar makes a low sound, and Zane’s face creases.

“No, gorgeous, I’m sorry,” he replies, muscling closer. “I thought your scent was even more divine than usual in the car. I should have asked more questions.”

When Gunnar offers a solid nod of agreement, Emma lets her weight fall against me. My stomach spins when her scent winds into the chilled air around us.

Fucking hell, she really is divine in the truest sense of the word. So heavenly, it almost hurts—the delicious thread of cinnamon sweetness slicing down my throat, a blade nicking my heart as it explodes to five times its usual size.

She needs me.

I feel the pull deep in my soul, even before she turns her face into mine and nuzzles my cheek. Heat sears my skin, sending a boulder tumbling through my torso.

Oh shit.

“We need to go,” I rough out, ignoring the way my cock jumps to attention. When a second breath of her sweetness has my teeth grinding and my knot half-full, I drop into a protective bark. “Now.”

Knox’s eyes glint, the blue brighter than usual. He doesn’t take kindly to me barking at him, but I think he might also be proud—he likes that I’m overprotective of our omega and have been since the day we found her unconscious in the snow.

“Back in the truck,” he directs.

“But my gifts!” Emma cries, her voice already weaker than it was moments ago. “They’re all ready and waiting and⁠—”

Zane starts to purr, gathering her into his chest as best he can with my arms locked around her middle. “I know, shona,” he hums, nestling his face into her hair and providing the empathy we nearly hurtled over in our panic. “It’s important to you that we all have our presents, huh? And your Omega?”

When Emma nods so hard that her curls bounce, a hard lump settles in my gullet.

God. I love this sweet girl so much.

How did we get so lucky?

I know Gunnar is thinking the same thing when he reaches over to pet her hair, frowning softly in concern. Knox’s brows fold down, his gaze snapping to the various shops and general holiday bustle just up the street. A scowl pulls at his mouth.

He’s right to be wary. This is a safe place, but I still don’t think it’s a good idea to parade our perfuming omega around a crowd. Not to mention, she’s already in a lot of pain.

My mind snaps a plan together. Knowing my brother is in town and has his own alphas to help him, I start to make a mental list of errands.

It isn’t perfect—Patrick hasn’t even gotten to meet any of these people yet, and asking him to run around on our behalf feels rude. Not to mention, he may be able to pick up Emma’s gifts for us, but we don’t have any for her.

Still, it’s better than endangering her or letting her Omega stress unnecessarily.

“You leave it with me, baby,” I whisper. “I’ll get your gifts to the house, okay? They’ll be waiting for you whenever you’re ready for them. And I’ll make sure McKinley is taken care of, too.”

Hell, the dog will probably weigh five pounds more by the time Patrick and his pack are done spoiling him. But whatever. It’s the holidays.

Knox’s gratitude is palpable. He claps his hand on my shoulder before hoisting Emma into his arms, carrying her with her legs wrapped at his waist and her arms around his neck.

She dives for his throat, inhaling and licking at his pulse. When her teeth flash and she nearly bites him, he stumbles. Gunnar is there at his back, though, keeping him upright.

“You should get some proper boots, alpha,” the hockey player taunts, chuckling.

Zane huffs a laugh, slinging an arm around Gunnar’s shoulders while he winks at Emma, his sly smirk drawing out a tiny smile of her own. “Can you believe this guy?”

I watch them all cross the street, the weight in my throat expanding.

My pack.

That’s what they feel like. My own family.

So I pull out my phone and press the first contact on my Favorites list. It’s a bittersweet feeling, knowing Patrick won’t be at the top much longer. But it’s also an incredible gift.

My own pack.

My own family.

And they’re all waiting for me.

“I know, baby, I know.”

My voice is rougher than I want it to be, but Emma responds anyway, her pussy clutching at my fingers in rhythmic squeezes that have me gritting my teeth.

I’m not the only one choking down growls. The entire cab of Knox’s truck smells like cinnamon-sugared sex. Her scent is so fucking incredible; I’ve almost come from her writhing in my lap at least four times.

This is the closest call, though. With the way she bears down on a pained whine, her body demanding a knot we can’t give her until she’s safe in her nest.

Poor baby.

I stroke her inner walls as firmly as I can, hooking my fingers and twisting my wrist in circles. The easing technique helps, but it’s not enough. She gives a broken sob and bounces on top of me, needing something thicker to fill her—and the hot lash of my cum to melt the pain away.

I want to fill her as many times as she’ll let me. Until her pussy is dripping. Or should I say—until it wants to drip? Because I won’t let her lose a single drop…

Fuck. The thought is enough to make me buck against her ass. I only barely manage not to spill, reminding myself that she needs it all inside of her. As much as all of us can give her.

The second Knox throws the truck into park, the others practically leap out. They’ve all been holding their breath as much as possible, trying to stave off the urge to fight me for her. I suspect they’ve appointed me the easing expert, given my medical training and experience with volunteering in clinics.

This is so damn different, though. Emma’s heat perfume blurs my brain in a completely foreign, life-altering way. It feels like my actual body chemistry is changing—until each cell vibrates with the urgency to provide everything she needs.

Patrick must have raced ahead of us because McKinley doesn’t greet us at the door when we step inside. Emma’s presents aren’t here yet, but I know he’ll take care of it when he can.

And if the way my sweet girl tries to climb me as we make our way upstairs is any indication? Patrick has plenty of time. We’re going to be busy for a while.

Knox leads us through Emma’s cream-colored bedroom. My mind tilts as her tongue laps at my pulse, my knot screaming as I try to get my bearings.

Was it really only yesterday that he had everything delivered? The room is just as luxurious as I expected, but I can’t take in any of the details. Within moments, it doesn’t matter—because he guides us out onto the wide ledge of her suite’s attached deck⁠—

And the nest installed mere steps from the corner of the cabin’s exterior.

With the thin layer of snow already layered over and around the large, round pod, it looks like it’s been waiting for her forever.

Zane hums his approval. “This is nice, Knox. It matches the house perfectly.”

Gunnar seems more tense. His shoulders twitch when the wind shifts and Emma’s scent hits him in the back of the head. “Do you have the blankets she picked out in here?”

“Yeah,” our alpha grunts, turning his key in the nest door’s lock and casting his intense gaze over to Emma. “None of our clothes or scents, though.”

My first instinct is to step in and fix it. But my arms won’t unlock. The desire to be a team player is nothing in the face of my Alpha’s roaring insistence that we can’t leave our omega right now.

“I—” I start, struggling, “I could⁠—”

Gunnar takes one look at my expression and slaps my arm in a gesture of camaraderie. “No, man. You always do everything for us. I’ll get what we need. You stay with Emma.”

Familiar gratitude—much like what I felt when Knox stepped in earlier—swells in my center. I nod brusquely, and Zane cocks a strained smile. “Besides, I’m pretty sure Daddy knows even less about nesting than I do.”

Right. She needs to build her nest.

With us.

Suddenly, nothing has ever felt more right.

I carry her over the threshold and pivot to show her the room, whispering, “Look, sweet girl. Didn’t your alpha get you a beautiful nest?”

It really is. The small dome is about half the size of her huge bedroom—much cozier, with only one circular window at the top of the rounded ceiling. I suspect the view of the night sky will be incredible. She’ll love it—but, then, Knox probably chose it for that very reason.

He went with neutral sheets and a thick mattress to fill the nest crater in the middle of the space. Emma whines and wiggles for it, but our alpha steps up beside me and issues a gentle growl.

“Let us undress you first, baby girl. Then we’ll build your nest with you.”