Page 102 of Hard Knot

I have no choice but to release her at first, which I hate because I don’t want her thinking the wrong idea, but I’m swift in turning her so she can face me, my hand immediately gripping her chin.

With a tilt of her head back enough so she’s forced to peer upward, my lips descend on hers in a smooth movement, making her melt almost instantly as I kiss her with immense need. I want her to get a taste of my desperation. How much I’ve missed her company.

Her touch, her taste, her warmth in those years of early youth and recklessness. The way she fits so perfectly in my arms, and how my brain could always shut off for a few hours in the quietness of the night with her at my side.

I missed my Eli more than I’d dare confess.

The kiss isn't planned — somewhere in the primal part of my brain that's been aching for her all these years, there’s a need. Her lips are soft beneath mine, yielding yet still somehow defiant.

I can feel Carter's rage from the way he gasps, Felix's surprise with the sudden curse, and Holmes's silence that only seems to make everything grow more tense in the atmopshere, but none of it matters.

What matters is Elizabeth and getting her out of this shithole of a predictament by any means necessary.

When I break the kiss we’re more than breathless, but I can’t help but brush my lips against hers, as if to remind her that she can enjoy this whenever she wants if she simply allows it.

I also have to remind her that I’m not simply the dancer from back then who had no domain in this world.

"Tell me, Omega. Should I burn the whole office down for you to make those signed papers go poof like ash?"

The words carry every ounce of promise I'm capable of making.

I would do it in a heartbeat — burn this whole corrupt institution to the ground if she asked. Not because she needs me to, but because she deserves to see her tormentors fall, until they’re nothing but ash.

I plan to give her exactly that, whether she asks for it or not.

She leans in until her body presses against mine, clearly hiding her flushed face that’s filled with various emotions I’m sure she doesn’t want the others to see.

"I didn't sign them," she whispers against my chest, her voice small but steady. "I was going to, but..." She pulls back just enough to meet my gaze. "I'm tired of their system. Especially when it plays out right in front of my face like this."

The admission hits me harder than expected, making something in my chest constrict painfully. I can only think about the day where I heard about the incident. When I called her at least a thousand times to no avail.

The gossip.

The videos of mockery of her running through the halls.

The rumors that continued onward when she disappeared and never was seen again.

The sadness that plagued me because I failed her…

"Is that why you ran?" The words escape before I can stop them, guilt consuming me. "When we could have been perfect for each other?"

Her eyes fill with tears she tries desperately to blink back, her throat working as she struggles to maintain composure. The sight of her fighting so hard to stay strong, even now, makes my heart ache.

I pull her back into my arms, holding her tight against my chest.

For a moment, the rest of the room fades away — Phillips, Victoria, and the three Alphas watching our exchange with varying degrees of tension becoming non-existent in my eyes.

None of them matter compared to the feeling of finally having Elizabeth in my arms again.

But I know this moment can't last.

There's too much between us — too many unspoken words, too many wounds that need addressing. The energy between us crackles with hurt and hope in equal measure, demanding confrontation whether we're ready for it or not.

My mind drifts back to that day at Harvard, the memories sharp enough to cut.

I'd noticed something was off the moment she’d walked through the entrance gates where I was waiting for her.

Her skin had been flushed, her movements less precise than usual. When I'd pressed my hand to her forehead, the heat radiating from her had alarmed me, but she denied it all.

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