Page 121 of False Catch

Except, apparently, he does.

For her.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Reese

The living room goes dead silent when Beckett and I walk in hand-in-hand.

Seven pairs of eyes drop straight to our fingers, then up to my neck. The bite is obvious. Opposite Jackson’s. No hoodie or hair flip is going to hide it.

“Well, shit,” Zane says finally. “That escalated quickly.”

Gray’s voice cuts through the silence. Low. Controlled. Dangerous. “Beckett. What the fuck did you do?”

Beckett meets his stare without flinching. “What does it look like?”

Jackson pushes off the wall where he’d been leaning. His eyes go straight to the bite, his jaw tight. “You claimed her.”

“Yeah,” Beckett says simply. “I did.”

The tension spikes. Bo leans forward on his knees like he’s trying to piece together the fallout before it hits. Cameron’s jaw flexes hard, like he’s chewing gravel. Tyler’s already typing furiously on his tablet, calculating odds or maybe drafting our obituary. Eli just looks tired, like this was inevitable and he’s over it.

“You knotted her too,” Cameron says quietly. Everyone swivels toward him. His expression doesn’t change. “I can smell it.”

Beckett doesn’t move. Doesn’t apologize. Doesn’t deny it.

Gray stands so fast the chair legs screech against the floor. “We needed more time—”

A knock at the door slices his words off. Sharp. Deliberate.

Nobody breathes.

“Probably just Jehovah’s Witnesses,” Zane mutters, but even he sounds unconvinced.

The knock comes again, louder.

Gray stalks to the door, every muscle in his body tight. He yanks it open.

And freezes.

“Hello, boys.” Kinsley’s voice is sweet and poisonous at the same time. She steps past Gray like she owns the place, eyes scanning the room until they lock on me. On my neck. Her smile sharpens. “Oh, this is perfect.”

“Get out,” Gray says flatly.

“In a minute.” She pulls her phone from her pocket, camera already open, and snaps a photo before anyone can react. Beckett instinctively steps in front of me, but it’s too late. She got it. My fresh claim mark front and center.

Her thumb swipes across the screen. “That’ll look great attached to the email I just sent.”

“What email?” Tyler demands, his voice tight.

“The one to the faculty oversight committee,” she says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “About suspected inappropriate bonding between teammates and a certain Omega who shouldn’t even be here. And now…” She waves her phone. “…I’ve got proof.”

“You fucking—” Jackson starts forward, but Eli’s hand clamps down on his arm.

“Kinsley.” Gray’s voice could freeze fire. “Whatever you think you’re pulling—”

She cuts him off with a laugh, brittle and sharp. “I’m pulling exactly what I wanted. Getting her out.”