Page 28 of Knot Your Business

“Think he has some hot lunch date he needs to get to?” Mason murmurs, humor lacing his voice.

Liz laughs. “I’ve seen him with Natalie a couple times the last few weeks. Wouldn’t they be adorable together?”

I tune them out. What Giles does on his own time with another consenting adult isn’t any of my business. It takes me longer than usual to pack everything up, that sense of urgency that normally stirs me along nowhere to be found. Why rush when Rylan is already here and Dominic has been gone for nearly an entire day without even a text letting me know he’s all right?

Huntley’s eyes are too keen, like always, seeing more than I really want her to. She grabs my music and motions for Liz to head into the storage room, her lips set in a firm line.

“That bad?” she asks once our friends are out of ear shot. Not many people are left picking up their things in the concert hall, just a few of the violas that are chatting about plans for the weekend. “You look like you’ve been broken up with, Jas.”

My laugh is humorless. “Well…”

Huntley drops into the seat beside me.

“What happened?” All humor is gone, her eyes serious where she watches me. The last of the other musicians leave the stage, and I lean my head back, staring at the stage lights that are mostly turned off right now.

“Dominic’s pissed, and I haven’t seen him since last night,” I admit.

Huntley doesn’t know that we weren’t actually trying to get matched up with an Omega. No one does. It’s the type of thing that could land us in some serious fucking hot water with the Council. And you don’t just go around pissing off the United Council of Alpha and Omega Designations, Inquiries, and Concerns—not even if you have more than passing ties to the Italian mafia.

“He doesn’t like the Omega?” she asks when I don’t offer anything more.

I shake my head and stand up. “No. He wants to force a reassignment.”

Huntley raises an eyebrow and walks with me into the storage room. “That’s… that’s a big deal, Jas.”

My laugh is humorless. It’s also the only reply I can manage to muster at the moment as I get my cello put away and slung over my shoulders.

“Well, I was going to ask about meeting them if they’re going to be around this weekend, but…” She trails off, waiting to see if I’ll correct her. I don’t. “Give it a few days, Jas. I’m sure it’ll all work out. You figuring things out in the fall was pretty rocky, too. I can’t imagine the finesse it takes to introduce another person into a pack. Trying to reorient your life around one person is difficult enough.”

Fuck, I’d forgotten how nice it could be just to chat with another Beta, someone who didn’t have all the innate drives and needs of the other designations, someone who was just… normal. That awful thing that’s been clawing at my chest since Wednesday night pauses long enough for me to get a deep breath. Maybe this type of horrid awkwardness was normal at the beginning of being matched. It’s not like we saw Liz during that thirty day window. By the time we all reconvened in August, she was happily settled in with the four Alphas, her stacked rings a beautiful, if flashy, addition to her other jewelry.

Would Violet expect those? She probably would. They were traditional gifts given to an Omega within a pack. One ring for each person in the pack, typically tailored to the Omega’s taste and with enough variance to be easily distinguished within the set. Her mom had a trio that she’d wear at home and another, more ostentatious set she’d don when going to events, especially anything attached to Fallon Capital.

The necklace sits like a heavy weight against my sternum.

Or maybe she’d hand it back to me with another fucking note telling me I wasn’t good enough for her.

A hand on my elbow pulls me from the morose thought. Rylan’s eyes are full of concern, though his face stays blank. I lace my fingers with his, squeezing just enough to let him know I’ll be all right. Probably. He leans into me, pressing his lips to mine for a fleeting heartbeat, and then whispers in my ear.

“I’m meeting up with her.” My breath catches. He runs his nose along my jaw, a purr vibrating low in his chest. It’s just enough to make me relax. He still wants me, even with her around. Even with everything now different, and Violet and my’s ugly history on the table for him to examine, he still wants me. “I’ll be back in time for call. You take the car.”

I nod and kiss him, this time not caring when he deepens it, forcing it faster and messier than I typically am comfortable with at our workplace. Bergamot surrounds us, and another bit of that tight band around my chest eases away.

“I love you,” he murmurs as he pulls away. His eyes are bright, his hold on my hand unrelenting.

“Love you more,” I manage to whisper, trying for our old joke. Desire races across his face before he can hide it, and he takes another half-step into me, just enough that I can feel the line of his dick where it presses against his jeans. My stomach tightens, and a flash of heat shoots down my spine.

“Don’t make me prove that you’re wrong, Jas,” he murmurs. “You in a car is my favorite.”

His phone pings with a notification, and I hum, kissing him one more time. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Fourteen

RYLAN

The address Violet gave me ends up being one of the large dorm buildings on UCLA’s campus, tucked away from most of the academic buildings. It’s large and overbearing, though I imagine some find it more awe-inspiring. The orange brickwork contrasts with the green landscaping. Two young women sit on the steps leading to the main entrance, and they pause in their giggling over something on one of their phones as I pass by them.

They don’t say anything until I’m back out of earshot. I roll my eyes and stretch my neck, trying to remember how to fucking do this. How did someone start a relationship?

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