Page 117 of Knot a Good Idea

I fell down the rabbit hole this week. I searched her name and found articles about what happened to her.

I shouldn’t have fucking done it. It ate me up inside, and all I wanted to do was join her in her nest and keep her as close to me as possible.

I knew she was kidnapped, but I didn’t know for how long, or that she was part of a drug ring.

O,the same drug that I’ve seen idiots use at their lavish house parties.

I also watched a video of her best friend Skylar, pleading to the press to find her.

And on top of that, I felt like a giant piece of shit.

I was so wrapped up in my own life, in the business ofAxton, that I barely paid attention to the news at that time.

I didn’t know who she was when she stepped through our front door.

Did Donovan? Or was he just as blindsided as I was when he found out?

“I’m warning you, Hunter. Don’t fucking do it. Let her come to us.” Donovan growls. “She makes her own choices with no pressure from us.”

I shake my head and groan. “You’re an asshole, Donovan. Be human, for once.”

“He does have a point, Hunter. We should respect April’s choice,” Liam adds unhelpfully. “Putting pressure on her isn’t necessary.”

“Also, the catering company is coming soon, and they’re installing scent blocking air purifiers,” Donovan adds. “So, you can stop complaining and act like an adult.”

“Act like an adult just like when you told us the day of painting with the kids changed so you could have her to yourself? Or when you made her come in the hallway and were so fucking loud both of us heard it from outside?”

“Hunter,” Liam warns, but I continue.

“You should never have had a contract in the first place, you idiot,” I snarl. “You should have asked her out on a real date, and we could be where we are right now without any of the bullshit or tiptoeing around what’s really happening.”

“I’m not having this discussion right now,” Donovan snaps. “Not when she can hear us.”

“Then start being transparent!” I yell, jumping off the couch and squaring up to him. “You made it clear that we shouldn’t blur the lines, and you did it the other night! You’re a fucking hypocrite, like you always are!”

My Alpha pheromones are raging in me, and I’m taking it all out on Donovan.

Donovan, who doesn’t want me talking to mygirl.

Who continuously denies his feelings for her and has a stick up so ass so large he won’t even discuss her Heat.

“You blurred the lines weeks ago when you came home smelling like her,” he growls. His chest almost touches mine, and my right hand clenches into a fist.

I’m about to hit this idiot.

“The contract gives room for whatever she’s comfortable with,” Liam adds softly, trying to be helpful. “No one has done anything wrong.”

“Except this asshole, who won’t admit that she’sperfectfor us. That got us stuck in this stupid agreement and has me staying up every night trying to figure out ways to terminate it so she can beours.”

Donovan keeps his expression neutral. “There’s no way around it. Once the required dates she has with us expire, then we can discuss.”

“Fuck that. Discuss it now.”

He shakes his head.

“So, what happens if she decides we’re not serious about her? She finds another pack because we didn’t make a move?”

My words don’t deter him. He simply shrugs. “It’s just business,” he says, his voice devoid of emotion.

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