Knot Broken (Hiddenverse)

48. Elliott

CHAPTER 48

Elliott

The morning light shines into the penthouse, bringing with it a new day. Lilah nuzzles into my chest still asleep, and I cradle her on my lap. The calm that’s lazily thrumming through my system feels different. She quiets something inside of me that I didn’t even realize was loud.

Letting her walk out of the hotel is going to go against every instinct my beast has. He wants to keep her in his sights. Ensure she doesn’t get it in her head to try to leave us again. When she cut me off from her through our bond last night, my alpha raged inside of me. If it weren’t for Rafe, I’m not sure what would have happened.

Instinctively, my arms hold her tighter. She releases a soft sound and stirs a little bit, but I can’t loosen my hold if I try.

Miles limps into the room, sans his crutches, and he lifts a brow at us settled on the sofa. He scratches at his chest. “When did you move out here?”

“A few hours ago. I couldn’t sleep. She joined me,” I reply, keeping my voice soft. “We wore her out.”

“We might have been a little overzealous,” he admits.

The corner of my mouth kicks up. He’s not wrong. We doubled down on our marks, renewing them as if they could disappear at any moment. They can’t. We all know that. In the moment, it was a driving urge.

“Possibly,” I reply. “Is your ankle feeling better?”

He nods and glances down at his unwrapped ankle. The wrapping came off sometime during the night. But he hadn’t acted like it bothered him much.

“I think so. Still stiff and a little tender. I could use a run.”

“Doc said not for two weeks.”

He leans on the arm of the couch and rotates his ankle, wincing a little as he does. “Yeah. I didn’t say I was going to go run. But you know it helps me process shit.”

Process shit like the next few days. Chad’s one-on-one date had gone off without a hitch. In fact, once we were alone, he sat us down like he had to say something, only to tell us in no uncertain terms that he’s okay with coming in second. That he insists we follow our hearts. We didn’t have it in us to tell him that we were going to do that even without his blessing.

We had a comfortable evening of board games and easy conversation. If only the one-on-one date with Hailey could be the same. I think we are all dreading being alone with her for an entire night.

I push the thoughts away and breathe in the soft scent of fresh cookies and cream. If I could have found Lilah without Omega in Paradise, all of this would be so much easier. But as it is, it all feels like cheating to me since the one-on-one date with her. The second I knew she was my scent match. Any kindness I’ve shown the other omegas, I’m afraid will play differently on the screen. What if after it’s all said and done, we watch the season back, and she changes her mind?

What if the polite smiles I have given the other contestants come off differently? If I’m feeling all of that, I know Miles is probably heading toward a spiral .

“It will all be okay,” I say for myself as much as for him. “There are only a couple days left.”

He ruffles his hair and focuses on the city skyscape within our view. “Yeah.”

He sounds as sure as I feel.

Rafe strolls into the room in nothing but his boxer briefs looking like he belongs on the cover of a magazine modeling whatever brand of underwear those are. He stretches before dropping into the large arm chair. His movements look more relaxed than he’s been in months. For the last year, his only escape has been the private clubs he frequents. No matter what we did or said, it felt like we were going to lose our pack mate.

It was the whole reason I pushed so hard to go on the show. Omegas are the glue to a pack. They hold them together. If we could find an omega we all liked…it could help heal what was broken. And Lilah has managed that in such a short time. I want to give her the world. Shower her with love. Give her anything her heart desires.

“Geez, Eli, you are holding her like she’s going to get up and run away in her sleep,” Rafe says, sinking further into the chair.

I can’t deny his words, so I just drop a kiss to the top of her head. He chuckles and shifts his focus to Miles.

“You good?” he asks, sensing the same energy flowing off of Miles as I can.

Miles rubs his jaw, covering his mouth briefly and sighing. “Yeah,” he lies unconvincingly. His other hand flexing on his leg gives him away.

Rafe narrows his eyes and opens his mouth ready to dig a little deeper. But I cut him off, we can talk about it later, after we have to let Lilah out of our sight. “Can you order room service? One of everything on the breakfast menu.”

He presses his lips into a thin line but doesn’t challenge me. Then he slowly reaches for the phone on the table next to the chair and places an order for the whole menu. Last time we had breakfast with Lilah, she wanted to try everything. And the sounds she made when she liked something…let’s just say, I will order every item off of every menu just to recreate those noises.

Silence falls as he sets the phone in the cradle. It’s full of building tension I’m determined to ignore for now. Lilah shifts in my arms as if she can feel it in her sleep. She mutters something that sounds a lot like ‘Leave the drama at the door,’ against my chest before settling again.

When I glance at the guys, they both wear matching smiles. I’m sure mine looks just as in love. She’s managed to effortlessly ease all of us, even while sleeping.

The food arrives on six different carts. Lilah stirs as the servers are leaving. Her stomach rumbles loudly, and she slaps her hand over her belly. Her cheeks flush, and she smiles up at me.

“Please tell me that’s food,” she says.

“The whole menu,” Miles replies, lifting the top off of one of the silver platters.

She laughs and leans forward to see Miles and Rafe already setting out the platters on the large table. “How much do you guys eat?”

“It’s for you,” I reply.

Her eyebrows raise. “How much do you think I eat?”

My lips twitch at her incredulous tone. “You need to regain your energy. We still have three hours before we have to check out.”

Her teeth sink into her lower lip, and her perfume flares between us. My body reacts instantly. And her fingers trailing down my chest only heightens it. “Why would we want to spend that on eating?”

The tips of her fingers dip into the top of my sweats, brushing my already swollen crown. A hiss parts my lips, and I capture her wrist. She releases a purr that has my balls tightening, but I slowly remove her fingers and place them in her lap, patting them twice for good measure.

“Only a short time will be eating,” I promise.

She gives me a fake pout before climbing off of my lap. I feel the loss of her immediately, and I want to pull her back. My fingers curl into my palms to stop myself. She threads her arms around Miles neck and places a soft kiss against his lips. He captures her around the waist and tugs her closer for a deeper kiss. His shoulders lose the tension almost immediately.

“Morning,” she whispers with a smile as she pulls back and turns to a waiting Rafe. He wraps her in his arms and buries his head in her neck, his whole body shuddering with awareness.

“You should eat,” he finally says, his words muffled. Then he forces himself to release her and pull out a chair.

She sinks into the seat, and he uncovers a few of the platters. One with pancakes and bacon, another with eggs, and the last full of fruit. “I’m positive that if I eat all of that, all I’ll be doing is laying around with a full stomach.”

Rafe picks up a fork and spears a cube of melon before lifting it to her lips. “Open up. I’m sure all of us are good with cuddling for a few hours.”

Her lips part, and she takes the offered fruit between them and chews slowly. He’s waiting with another when she swallows.

“What if I’m not good with cuddling?” she asks, earning a groan from Miles and Rafe in tandem. “And I know Elliott’s ready for more. If you are too tired?— ”

Rafe drops the fork, his fingers tilting her chin up as he gazes down at her with a small smile playing on his lips. “I’ll never be too tired for you, sweetheart. But I also need to take care of you, and eating is part of that. So…” he releases her chin and picks up the fork. “Be a good girl and open up.”