Page 166 of Our Knotty Valentine

The medication has been wearing off gradually over the past few days, and I can feel my heat building again--a warm pressure low in my belly, a heightened awareness of every scent and touch and whispered word. My skin feels sensitized, alive, hungry for contact. It won't be long now. Maybe tonight. Maybe tomorrow morning. But soon, very soon, my first heat with my pack will begin. And I've never been more ready for anything in my life.

"I'd gladly be your knotty valentine," I whisper back, letting my Omega instincts purr with anticipation, letting him see exactly how much I want this, want him, want all of them."Your knotty, thoroughly satisfied, very enthusiastic valentine. For tonight and every night after."

Julian and Elias exchange knowing looks behind Tank's shoulder, a silent communication passing between them that speaks to how well they know each other, how seamlessly they work as a unit.

"I think that's our cue to head back to the villa," Julian says, his voice carrying that particular aristocratic amusement that means he's already planning something, already three steps ahead of everyone else. "Before we scandalize any passing dolphins or wildlife officials."

"Do dolphins even swim at night?" Elias wonders, genuinely curious.

"I'm not taking any chances. I have a reputation to maintain. The North name cannot be associated with public indecency, even on a private island." Julian pauses. "Especially on a private island that I'm technically renting from a very important business contact."

Tank ignores them both entirely, his attention wholly and completely focused on me. He leans in, closing the distance between us inch by agonizing inch, and kisses me--soft at first, exploratory, then deeper and more demanding, a promise of everything to come written in the press of his lips and the stroke of his tongue. When he finally pulls back, both of us breathing hard, his lips brush against my ear as he whispers:

"Our knotty Valentine. Perfect in every single way. I don't know what we did to deserve you, but I'm grateful every single day."

I grin so wide my cheeks hurt, my heart so full it feels like it might burst right out of my chest. Then I pull him back down for another kiss, this one deeper and more demanding, trying to pour every ounce of love and gratitude and want into the press of my lips. He responds in kind, one hand tangling in my hair whilethe other wraps around my waist, pulling me flush against him until there's no space left between us.

"Okay, definitely time to go inside," Elias announces, though I can hear the smile in his voice, can hear how happy he is for all of us. "Last one to the villa has to explain to Sasha why he can't sleep on the bed tonight."

"He absolutely can sleep on the bed," I protest between kisses, unwilling to let go of Tank but also unwilling to let my dog be excluded from anything.

"Not tonight he can't," Tank rumbles against my lips, his voice a low vibration that I feel all the way to my toes. "Tonight the bed is occupied. Very occupied. All night. Possibly into the morning."

"He has a very nice dog bed," Julian calls back, already walking toward the villa with his usual elegant stride, somehow looking put-together even in linen beach clothes. "The most expensive dog bed money can buy. He'll survive one night of not hogging the blankets."

Elias follows, pausing to scoop up Sasha under one arm like the dog weighs nothing. Sasha, for his part, seems perfectly content with this arrangement, his tongue lolling happily as he's carried toward the villa. Tank sweeps me up bridal style without breaking our kiss, and I laugh against his mouth as he carries me across the sand, our pack heading home together.

Above us, the drones are doing one final display--a cascade of hearts that drift and scatter across the sky like flower petals falling from heaven. The fireworks have faded to intermittent sparkles, the grand finale complete, but the celebration is far from over.

The early hours will be filled with lustful bliss--my first heat spent with the men who are not only my valentines but my Alphas, my partners, my future husbands. Three men who saw me at my lowest and loved me anyway. Three men who trackeddown my Pinterest board dreams and made them real. Three men who burned down anyone who tried to take me away from them and then whisked me away to a private island in Brazil to propose under a sky full of their love written in light.

Six weeksago, I was living my life in my small apartment, wondering how I’ll avoid the ultimate fate of bonding with a pack arranged by my family that said they wanted the best for me.

Now I'm being carried into a villa on a private island in Rio de Janeiro, wearing an engagement ring that cost more than my entire former life, surrounded by three Alphas who would move mountains and shoot kneecaps to keep me safe.

The grapes worked. The ridiculous, delulu, under-the-table grape tradition actually worked. Julian will never live down being wrong about that.

I really couldn't be more blessed.

As Tank carries me through the villa doors, as Elias's laughter echoes off the white walls and Julian's voice murmurs something about champagne, as Sasha's happy barking fills the air and the distant sound of the ocean provides the perfect soundtrack--I realize that this is it.

This is the life I was always meant to have.

This is the love I was always meant to find.

This is my pack, my family, my forever.

I finally got my happily ever after.

THE END.