Page 62 of Knot Happening

I don’t know how all of this will end, but I do know that I can’t keep Tatum.

She won’t fit in my world. She’ll be in even more danger than I am. And I can never leave…

So this can’t be anything more than an unsatisfied curiosity.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Tatum

If it’s not one Alpha, it’s another. I pound my fist against the window of Hayden’s dark gray Porsche, and he startles.

“Are you stalking me?”

I’m kind of proud I managed to scare him. There’s no other excuse for why he’s sitting outside the apartment right now, since I don’t work tonight, and I’m agitated as fuck.

I expect him to at least look a little ashamed of himself. Maybe slink down in his seat a bit to pretend he’s trying to hide. But nope. Not Hayden.

He pushes the door open, forcing me back a few steps, then jumps out, and gets right in my face.

“Maybe if you listened to me when I tell youfucking anything, I wouldn’t have to! But do you? No. You still think I’m out to hurt you!” His frustration turns his words aggressive, and I flinch back from the sound. I don’t like when Alphas raise their voices at me.

I match his energy despite my twinge of fear. And even though he's over a freaking foot taller than me, I put my finger in his face as I snap right back.

“You have hurt me! Worse than anyone else ever possibly could have! So excuse the fuck out of me if I don’t trust you!” Tears sting my eyes, pissing me off even more, and my scent spikes with pain, making his scent react.

I can tell he’s battling his Alpha instincts, resisting the urge to pull me into his arms and hold me to him until I calm. He holds his ground, even if his scent is trying to soothe me.

“I’ve apologized a thousand times, Tatum. I’ll keep apologizing, every day, if that's what it takes. All I’m asking is for you to have a little faith in me.” He’s pleading with me, as he reaches out, taking my hands in his.

“And I’m asking you to tell me why!” I practically scream at him, and as the tears start falling down my cheeks, I try to escape him. I yank my hands free, spin away, and stomp back toward my apartment.

“Tatum.” Hayden follows me, easily keeping up. Stupid long-legged Alpha. “Tatum, stop, and talk to me. Please, Starlight, just–”

I don’t stop, but he doesn’t give up. I’m unlocking my door, preparing to slam it in his face once I get inside, but he doesn’t let me. He’s through the door, and pressing me against the wall in seconds.

“Just leave, Hayden,” I beg, sniffing as the pain in my chest refuses to let me shove it away.

“Never.”

“Not never, though! You’ve already done it once, you can do it again, Hayden. What’s stopping you this time, hm?” My heart cracks open, as I think of that day. Of how much I fucking loved him. Of the future I was dreaming of with him.

He’d figured out I was at an Omega Haven, the free heat clinic that is just outside the city. That I was about to go into heat and that I’d gone to stay there for a few days, so I wasn’t disturbing my mother.

I squeeze my eyes shut, blocking out the memories. Of him and his body.

Of the days that followed. Of the moment I realized he was done with me, and it wasn’t an accident that he was ignoring me.

“I’ll tell you everything, Tatum. I’ll tell you everything, but… Once I do, you’ll hate me. You’ll never look at me the same way again.”

“What could be worse than abandoning me? Using me as an easy fuck, making all of those fucking promises, and then breaking my goddamned heart!”

I push at his chest, needing to breathe in air that isn’t filled with his desperate scent.

“Can you please just get to know me again? Believe me when I say that it’s fucking bad, and I want you to see me for who I am now, before I tell you. I will tell you, I just…”

His words are a broken whisper, hurting my heart.

But he never lost me. He gave me up.

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