Page 124 of Knot a Thief

My heart pounds as Silas produces a small velvet box. He showed me it earlier when he asked how I felt.

Then I was terrified.

Now I'm suddenly excited.

My palms are sweating, but I force myself to focus on Ava’s beautiful face.

“Ava,” we say together, “will you marry us?”

We open the box to reveal the diamond that Silas told me she was staring at the day she stole the Circle of Life. One perfect pear-shaped blue diamond, which is now accompanied by tiny blue diamonds and set in a platinum band.

Silas told me it’s worth a small fortune.

I hold my breath, watching Ava’s reaction as her mouth opens, and she stares at the ring. “It’s so beautiful, but how did you know?” She turns to Max. “I only told you yesterday.”

He taps her nose this time. “A billionaire has access to everything.”

Tears spring to her eyes, and for a moment, my heart stops. But then I see her smile, so radiant and so full of love.

“Yes,” she whispers, her voice thick with emotion. “Three times, yes.” She gazes at me and I know she’s letting me know how she sees me as equal to her alphas.

I can’t help but smile back at her because I’m not afraid of what the future holds anymore. I’m not afraid of losing her.

This is our happily ever after, but certainly not the end of our story, and I can’t wait to see where this adventure takes us next.

Epilogue One–Ava

Two weeks later

The low hum of hushed conversations from the other tables and the soft clink of silverware against the Bone China fill the dimly lit restaurant.

I wait for Mom to turn into the corridor ahead and the moment she disappears; I look at my younger sister, Lottie. She’s sitting beside her twin, Emmie, while I sit opposite her, with Ella by my side.

“You don’t look too happy to be getting married.”

She shuffles on the plush velvet chair before picking up her crystal flute and taking a sip of her Champagne.

For a moment, she’s lost in her own head as she swirls the liquid inside. It casts a warm, golden glow over the dark wood table.

I glance at Ella and shrug my shoulders.

The tension at our table is clear, a stark contrast to the tranquility of the upscale establishment.

“I can’t abide the man,” Lottie finally says, gritting her teeth. She leans forward, her eyes darting nervously around the room. “He’s not my scent match, and worse, he smells of leather.”

I take a sip of my mock cocktail, the crisp liquid is cool against my throat. “There’s nothing wrong with leather.”

Lottie picks up her spoon, the silver catching the light as she taps it against her plate. The repetitive ‘tink, tink, tink’ grates on my nerves. “There is when you’re a vegan.”

Emmie laughs, a short, sharp sound that lacks any genuine mirth. “You’re not a vegan.”

“I’m also not marrying him next week. I’m going to run away.” Lottie’s fingers tighten around the spoon, her knuckles turning white.

When I think of Lottie, my heart fills with sympathy and tightens. I remember the uncertainty I had when I was sold to Garrett.

At least I liked Garrett when I went to him, and because of the vaccination my stepfather gave me, I could never smell him, so I never knew if he was a scent match or not.

But Lottie isn’t vaccinated, and she’s marrying a man known to be cruel. The injustice of it all makes my stomach churn.

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