Page 12 of Knot Broken

He grabbed the burnt bread, then threw it into the bin with undue violence. I blinked, able to see something else, someone else, for just a second, before stepping into the kitchen.

“Hey,” I said. Tex whipped around, then frowned when he saw me. “We’re doing the handover today. After we’ve walked Brendan through the office, we can have a chat with him, see if we can’t get him to make an exception.”

“You reckon he’d tell us where the omega has gone?” he asked.

That light was flickering to life again in Tex’s eyes.

“Maybe?” I shrugged. “But we’ve gotta try, right? After today, we’ll never walk into that office again.”

“No, we can’t.”

Grey appeared in the doorway and surveyed the two of us coolly.

“Why not?” Tex said. The fire alarm went off then, the blaring sound setting my teeth on edge. “Why the fuck not, Grey? I need to find her. My mate, she’s out there somewhere and⁠—”

Grey climbed up on a chair, disconnecting the fire alarm, but there was no relief to be had from the sudden quiet. “We can’t badger a former client, Tex. It’ll ruin the business’ reputation.”

“I don’t give a shit about our reputation. She’s⁠—”

Two people barely containing their fury. It was a situation I knew all too well. Getting between them, stopping Tex from lunging at Grey, happened without thought.

“Hey.” My voice was unnaturally calm. Hands were thrown up, right as Tex bared his fangs with a snap. “Everything’s gonna be OK. Fate, remember? You and this omega, you’re meant to be together, so you’ll find her again.”

The cords stood out in Tex’s neck and his whole body went unnaturally still as he struggled to master himself. It was the wolf I saw, his fur prickling across Tex’s arms, his claws emerging from the ends of his fingers, right before they were forced back.

“You’re right.” Tex’s voice was tight and his eyes burned silver as he stared at Grey. “She is mine and I’ll find her somehow. So, let’s go and do this handover.”

An hour or so later, we were standing in the foyer of the brand new office, talking to Brendan.

“Everything looks fine,” he said, casting a cursory eye over the room. Didn’t even notice that I matched the exact shade of pale celadon green he’d found in a magazine. “But I thought we were going to do the handover yesterday?” He glanced down at his smart watch. “I’ve got clients arriving shortly.”

“Well, if you’re happy with the way things have turned out—” Grey started to say, handing over the bunch of keys.

“Is she…?” Tex spoke first, thought about it later, so seeing him so hesitant was weird. His brow creased as he stared down at Brendan. “Is she coming in today?”

He didn’t need to explain what that meant. The way the air in the foyer changed had the receptionist looking up, faintly puzzled, as Brendan squared his shoulders.

“I want to apologise again for the mix up.” I could see why he was a good therapist. His voice was calm, even, as he met Tex’s silver gaze without blinking. “But as I said before, I can’t⁠—”

“Tell me if she is.” Tex nodded, stepped back and then turned towards the door. “Grey, I’m gonna…”

“I’ll go with him,” I said. “Brendan, if there’s anything you need touching up, just let us know.”

Grey should’ve stayed where he was, did his big project ending spiel, but instead I glanced over to see he was keeping pace with me.

“Tex!” he called out, both of us jogging over to the elevator where the big man seemed determine to burrow his finger through the button and into the wall. “Tex.”

We stopped just short of him and I took in the slump of his shoulders, the way his head was hanging.

“It’s gonna be OK, mate,” I said, drawing closer. When my hand landed on Tex’s shoulder, he flinched and that wasn’t good. “We’ll…”

I intended to try and come up with some actual comforting words, but instead the lift doors slid open.

And there she was.

Fuck, I thought I’d made up how damn pretty she was, but nope. The harsh lighting of the elevator carriage would’ve washed out most women, but she damn near glowed.

As her mouth fell open.