Page 25 of Knot Without My Permission
“Devon told us he had shit for you to do,” I reply. “Wilder isn’t the type to punish people for having prior commitments."
“Don’t talk about me as if I’m not here,” Wilder grunts from the living room.
“Do you two always talk like cavemen?” Ransom asks, amused.
“Only when we’re exhausted. Losing Lore still doesn’t feel real,” I say, uncaring at how that sounds as I practically limp back to the living room.
“You’re armed,” he notices. “Were you planning to shoot me?”
“Only if you were an asshole. Shooting and killing are very different things.”
Wilder rolls his neck toward my voice as I walk past him, a small smile playing on his lips.
“Did Arsenal leave you any of that pot he said he had?” he asks.
“He did actually,” I say, grabbing it from where I stashed the joints. “Marie can’t smoke.”
“Did you get her knocked up already?” Ransom asks, falling onto the couch.
Wilder and I freeze guiltily before we force ourselves to relax. We don’t actually know if she’s pregnant or not, which means we don’t have shit to feel bad about. There’s no reason to borrow trouble.
“Her job drug tests,” Wilder says mildly.
I nod as I place the gun at my side, dropping my head back on the fluffy couch pillows.
“Don’t think I didn’t hear what you told Marie about her stamina,” I say, pulling out a lighter from the baggy and lighting a joint carefully. I rotate it to ensure it’s evenly toasted, refusing to look at Ransom. “Just because she’s not running several miles a day or hitting the gym, doesn’t mean she’s not walking miles all over the damn hospital.”
“Fuck, I knew I was going to pay for saying that,” he groans.
“Marie internalizes shit,” Wilder says, his eyes on the joint as I take a few gentle puffs to establish an even burn. We’re both ignoring Ransom so we won’t punch him. I suppose this is what growth looks like. “It’s best if you learn that now instead of seeing what it's like when she goes silent because she’s hurt.”
“I can appreciate that. Fuck up a lot with her?” Ransom asks.
Leaning forward, I hand the joint off to Wilder first.
“You have no fucking idea,” I mutter. “I’ll put a bullet between your eyes if you fuck up like we have. That may seem hypocritical, but she doesn’t need to go through the shit twice.”
“We’re going to Illinois in the morning,” Wilder adds, taking a slow, steady hit from the joint. He’s silent for a moment as he holds it before he blows out the smoke. “Devon seems to think she needs to become better acquainted with club life.”
“I never thought I’d fall this hard at first sight for a nice girl like Marie,” Ransom says, shaking his head. “What if I fucking break her?”
“You’re already watching out for her,” Wilder says, handing him the joint. “Marie needs to feel as if you give a damn. It’s not that fucking hard. She also tends to get into trouble, so keep your weapons on you at all times.”
“Always do,” Ransom grunts, his eyes closing slightly as he holds in his hit from the joint. Blowing it out in a cloud of smoke, he glances at the two of us. “Does she give you gray hair? I mean, she threw off an alpha’s bark and taunted him. Devon isn’t processing his brother’s death well, but I almost fucking shot him for what he did.”
“So this has been going on since the beginning of the funeral, huh?” I ask, smirking. “To answer your question, yes. She does give us gray hair. Marie wants us to alpha bark her so she can fight it off. She doesn’t want to be susceptible to them.”
“She may be a normal omega on paper, but that’s not exactly stable behavior,” he groans.
“I’d say welcome to the madness, I just can’t quite yet. I need to know you can be good to her before we make you pack,” Wilder says.
Ransom is quiet while we pass the joint around until he finally growls under his breath as if making a decision.
“Bond with me,” he says. “That’s where my commitment level is. You’ll know what my intentions are at all fucking times.”
Leaning forward to place my forearms on my knees, I blink slowly to make sure I’m hearing him correctly. Am I really that high? Nope.
Ransom Myers is fucking insane. Maybe he will work out perfectly in our pack. I haven’t even bonded to my own pack mates yet. As if reading my mind, which he can’t, Wilder grunts.
