Page 47 of Knot Broken

I had nothing.

“That’s not how it works for me,” I replied. “I’m not the same as the others.”

“So how does it work for you?” She crossed her arms and gave me the kind of hard look Mum used to when she caught me slacking. “If you’re not going to get hit by a bolt of insta-love, how will you know if someone is the one you want to be with?”

I didn’t have an answer for her. Not in Nadia’s room, nor when I reached Crowe Corp and I used the supplied code to access the building and ride the elevator. Instead, I tossed the question around and around inside my head, unable to just let it go unanswered. It was still bugging me as I knocked on the suite door.

“Hey.” Grey stood there, eyes silver as he reached forward and grabbed the bags from me. “Thanks for doing this. Shit, I should’ve asked for my laptop⁠—”

“In here.” I passed him the gym bag I had over my shoulder. “Your work phone, laptop, and your running gear are inside.”

“Thanks.” He paused for a second, searching my face but I didn’t know what. “I’m gonna have to reschedule the jobs we had booked for the next few weeks. You good with that?”

“Give them my phone number,” I said. “I can work out the details with them.”

Invite me in, I thought. Sit me down at the table and let’s talk about what we’re gonna do about this situation.

Together.

“If you’re OK with that?” I nodded despite myself. “That’d be super helpful.”

My ears picked up the muffled sound of a conversation being had inside the suite. They strained to hear what was being said, but that was Grey’s cue to pull back. “Well, thanks, Ethan. I would’ve sorted our bags, but the wolf had other ideas.”

Was it his beast that shut the door in my face or him? I didn’t know. Instead, I just stared at the smooth painted surface for far too long before forcing my feet to move. Down to the car park, then home again, I moved on automatic. Once inside, I hung out the load of washing I put through, then flopped down in front of the TV, turning it on for background noise. My phone in my hand, I scrolled and scrolled until my eyes hurt, never able to land on any post or video for long.

Because how the fuck was I supposed to focus on pretty girls, fitness advice, or funny shit when my mind was somewhere else?

How did I work out what I wanted? I still hadn’t come up with a satisfactory answer, but I did know this. Whatever was happening right now? That wasn’t it.

I went to bed way too late, only to be awoken by a phone call rather than my alarm.

“Ethan?” the masculine voice said down the line when I grunted my reply. “Haze Taylor. Mate, we need you to come in.”

“What?” Heart pounding, I sat straight up in bed. “What’s happened? How’s Nadia? She’s OK, right? She didn’t try to shift or anything? Tell me she didn’t.”

“She didn’t.” I didn’t need to see the alpha’s expression to know he was smirking. “But we’re doing a round of testing this morning to establish a baseline for everyone and we’d like you to come in.”

“Why?”

“Because while I acknowledge your situation is different, Riley’s insisting that we get baseline stats to create a biometric snapshot of everyone involved. You were in the room when Nadia’s omega nature was awakened, so we need you in for testing.”

“Right.” I rubbed my face, trying to force the sleep out of my eyes. “Gimme a sec to have a shower and I’ll be right there.”

Chapter 23

Nadia

“So… how do you feel about all of this?” Helena had asked when I called her yesterday. “Like you have a wolf? And fated mates?”

I hadn’t been able to answer her then and the next morning, when I woke up alone in a strange room, I wasn’t any closer to formulating a reply. Something was there, like a shadow out the corner of my eye, moving just enough for me to notice, but not turn to take a look at. I frowned and then stripped off, walking into the ensuite.

Damn, Candy hadn’t lied.

The shower was freaking palatial. Like the spare bedroom at my place was probably smaller than this thing. Shower heads dotted the walls, which had me conjuring scenarios where they were all in use. Not just me stepping under the water, but Tex, who’d smile at me, right before he poured soap into his hands and turned to rub it into my shoulders. Grey would be all business, washing himself like it was his full-time job, but he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from stealing looks at me. As I lathered the soap, I spent a few seconds trying to imagine exactly what the alpha looked like naked. And Ethan… My hands went still.

Ethan wouldn’t be here at all; he’d made that clear.

Getting put out that one of the three hot alphas that rocked my world wasn’t declaring himself as my fated mate was stupid. It was like being handed a whole box of chocolates and then pouting because there was no cheesecake to follow. With a nod, I focussed on the job at hand. It felt like all of my worries, concerns, everything, went swirling down the drain just like the soap did, so that when I stepped out of the shower, I was ready to face the day’s challenges.