Page 20 of Knot Convenient

Ipaced back and forth in the small room, scanning the paperwork over and over again. Emma had agreed to get the alphas to explain things, after she’d attempted to calm me down and failed. Milo was fussing on my hip as I walked in a circle, and I knew he was picking up on how worked up I was. I rubbed his little head, soothing both of us by sweeping my fingers through his hair.

A knock on the door had me halting my steps.

Emmett poked his head around the ornate, carved-wood panel as he opened it. His smile fell at my confused expression. “Hey, they said you wanted to talk about the paperwork. I'm the one who drew it up, so I thought I would come chat with you while Emma talks with the others. Is that okay?”

His face was so honest and sincere, it made my panic ebb slightly—but not enough.

“Yeah, come in.” I waited until Emmett was in the room, the door shut behind him, his rich, fruity scent following him, and then I held up the papers. “This is way too much! Establishing a trust for Milo? The adoption?”

I was doing my best to ignore the omega in me who desperately wanted to throw herself into the arms of the lovely smelling alpha and bury her face in his chest and huff him.

Emmett walked over to me, placing his hands on my upper arms, stopping me from restarting my pacing. The moment his skin met mine, I felt that warm tingle in my spine again, and I blew out a breath, trying to calm down. It helped that Milo recognized Emmett enough to smile at him, kicking his foot happily as Emmett grinned back.

“Hey, take a breath.” Emmett raised his brows at me, waiting for me to do so. “It's not too much. We discussed it as a pack last night. If we are mated, in the eyes of the law, Milo is ours anyway. This just gives him a few more legal protections.”

I hadn’t thought about that side of things, and I furrowed my brow. “How so?”

Emmett grimaced. “I'm a lawyer, so I plan for the worst. If all four of us dropped dead at the same time, we would want to ensure a safety net was in place to guarantee Milo was cared for, like any of our other children would be, should we have any. That paperwork solidifies his claim as our child.”

“Oh… I suppose that makes sense. What about this trust? This is so much money, and with what you’re giving me⁠—”

Emmett shrugged. “Simple, we want you to know that his education is taken care of. Asking for these things can be difficult, and we never want that. We never want you to doubt that we will take care of you and Milo—because we want to.”

My shoulders sagged, and I dropped my chin. “I would never ask that of you.”

“We know”—Emmett lifted my face up toward his, offering me a smile—“but we want to.”

He looked at me so earnestly. There was something about that genuine honesty that spoke volumes.

Emmett smoothed his hands up and down my arms, and I looked at Milo. He was so happy around him, certainly around Marshall, and I had a feeling it would be the same with the others. He saw something in the four of them that he liked.

And I had to agree with him.

“I thought you guys weren't even going to show up,” I admitted softly, sighing through a chuckle.

Emmett pinched my chin again, his stare blazing into mine. “You're going to have to get used to us, because every one of us is in,” he assured me. “Both feet, fully committed.”

“I…will. I will do that.” I let go of the tension that had been crowding me and relaxed, bobbing my head in a nod. “I’m in. I was just so surprised, flattered as hell, and surprised. Thank you.”

Without really thinking about it, I turned, leaning into Emmett’s chest for a sideways hug, avoiding squishing Milo. The moment I was close to him, the intensity of his scent flooded my nostrils. It was deeply rich, that delicious spiced apple pie, and it went straight to my brain, making it fuzzy. He smelled incredible. Hell, he felt incredible, the warmth of his body next to mine, so stable.

And for a bit too long, I just enjoyed it, until Milo started cooing, pulling me out of the moment. As I straightened, I was pretty sure I felt Emmett leaving the hug just as reluctantly.

“So… what happens now?” I asked, scooping up Milo into a better position.

There was no mistaking the way Emmett’s expression changed. “Well, all the paperwork is done. I double-checked it myself. Not that I don't trust the matchmakers. I just wanted to be sure.”

Laughing, I nodded. “Thank you.”

“So now, all that's left to do is…the bite.” His voice cracked slightly on the last word.

My mouth dropped open as I put it all together.

I hadn't thought about that. Some part of me realized that was what came next. It’d been detailed in the initial breakdown of events I’d received from Emma. Apparently, I’d been so caught up in everything, my mind had shoved it to the back burner, however.

“Oh, right. I forgot…”

Emmett's ears were now bright red. “It's not like a normal bond that happens usually during… you know.”