Ready or Knot (Knotted Paths #1) - Susi Hawke Page 0,44

way Mom described them bickering, I’m glad I put it in their hands and left it alone.”

That made sense. A couple of weeks ago, Shelby and I had a long talk about essential oils and their therapeutic applications. She used them for herself and had been digging deeper for an article she was writing.

Dante—he had always been strangely perceptive when I’d stayed with them. Things as simple as a chair I preferred in the living room because of its level of cushion and soft velvety fabric, but didn’t sit in often because it didn’t offer a clear escape route, so he’d moved it without saying anything. Or making sure whoever went shopping stocked Rice Krispie treats for me.

And yet, it wasn’t a room created just for me. The oversized couch was far too large, but perfect for a big bear like Jordan and even better for the two of us to cuddle up in. And the flannels, those were very Jordan. Greens and blues, with a little bit of fake fur edging for me.

“Oh, fluffy. Come here. Why are you crying?”

“I just... I don’t deserve all this. The Novaks aren’t even my real family. They barely know me. But—“

“They know enough.” Jordan’s voice was muffled against my hair. “They know that you’re sweet. And kind. And the world does owe you a cargo ship of good in your life after the shit pile it heaped on you so far. Besides, do you want to be the one to tell Don Novak he needs to take his present back? Because I’m certainly not going to do it.”

Laughing through my tears, I shook my head.

“I didn’t think so. Now, why don’t you try and shift and explore?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe later.”

“Wyatt. Chase says shifting is good for you. The more you do it around happy things, the safer you’ll feel in your wolf form. It doesn’t have to be only for protection.”

I took a shaky breath. Facing my fears was what I did these days. “Okay. But will you shift with me?”

“I won’t be able to fit anywhere else but the living room, you know.”

“That’s okay. I want to be able to talk to you if I need to.”

Once shifted, Jordan sat down, and even then he took up half the room. “What do you smell?”

I lifted my nose in the air. “A lavender candle.”

The candle in question sat on the mantlepiece, along with a few decorative doodads, like a giant glass jar full of glass rocks—which seemed more of a Shelby touch than something particularly for me or Jordan—and a carving of a bear. On one of the side tables next to the couch was a matching wolf.

“Shelby said it’s to help stay calm. Is it working?”

“I don’t know... but I do like it.”

“Okay, what else?”

I padded over to the couch and took a long breath. “The Novaks are all over this. Boris and... Ivan.”

“They carried it in and set it up. You’ll probably smell them all over the new furniture.”

I sneezed, my lips curling in displeasure. It wasn’t that they smelled bad, but it was just too much alpha that wasn’t my alpha. “Come rub yourself on it. I want it to smell like you.”

Huffing in laughter, Jordan lumbered to his feet. “Go on, explore more.”

The coffee table groaned as he wedged his body between it and the couch, rubbing his big head on the cushions.

The kitchen smelled very much like Jordan’s mom, which comforted me. Her scent was almost overwhelmed by the new paint scent, though, which wasn’t terrible.

Our bedroom, however, smelled like us. More Jordan than me, simply because it was his furniture, his clothes, his bedding. But a little me, from spending time at his house, in his bed—our bed, I corrected myself—and my little part of the closet.

I rubbed myself against the walls and even the carpet. This was our den. The more it smelled like us, the more comfortable I’d feel.

There wasn’t much scent other than clean in the bathroom, and the baby’s room was completely empty. I padded back to the living room, where Jordan lay on his side.

“You tire yourself out?”

Jordan shook his giant head at me. “You seem like you’re feeling pretty good.”

“Yeah, I like this. The house is starting to smell more like us.”

“Good.”

I lay on my belly in front of him, nose to nose. “I like that the baby’s room is still empty. I’m looking forward to decorating it ourselves.”

“Will you mind if we get a few more big