Page 13 of Seen Knot Heard

“What about the restraining order?” Blake asks.

Holden clicks back to the email, then follows a link. He slumps. “It’s still pending confirmation from a judge, but once it’s granted, Vivian won’t be able to keep Chloe with her.”

Blake lets out a shaky breath, and relief sweeps through me. It’s not much, but it’s a start. Which is more than we had before.

Dominic strides in from the back hall, sparkly clips glinting from the black braid on top of his head. When he sees us huddled together, he hurries over. “Did you find something?”

“Maybe.” Blake scoots back on the bench. “How’s Quinn?”

“Just fell asleep with Sprinkles on the dog bed.” He leans in. “Is that a restraining order against Vivian?”

“It is,” Holden confirms. “Still pending with the judge, though.”

“Does it have an address?” he demands, then scrolls through it himself in search of answers. “How or where she’ll be served?”

Holden’s face falls in defeat. “No. Grady filed it, but they hadn’t gotten to that part yet.”

The air in the room thickens, the tension palpable as Dominic’s jaw clenches, a muscle ticking beneath the taut line of his skin. Frustration rolls off him in waves before he stills, and an unsettling calmness comes over him.

“I have connections.” He straightens, a steely glint in his gray eyes. “I’ll track her down. After she’s served with this restraining order, she won’t be able to keep Chloe hostage.”

A flicker of admiration for my bondmate sparks at his fierce drive to protect what’s his. It’s a quality I recognize all too well, an instinct that runs bone-deep in every Alpha and what drew us into a bond. Where Blake allows his instincts to lead him, Dominic is coolly analytical, balancing out Blake’s fire with his ice.

I turn to Holden, the glue that holds us all together. “Anything else on Grady’s laptop that could point us in the right direction?”

A furrow forms between his brows. “Not in his emails or browser history, but I’ll keep digging.”

“We’ll find her.” Blake’s hand falls on Holden’s shoulder. “I’ll talk to our lawyer and try to push the restraining order through faster. We need to be ready to act the second Dominic finds us a lead.”

I step away from the others, their voices fading into the background as I move towards the window. The pathway still needs to be regraded out front before it rains again, and Cabin One, where Chloe first stayed, requires extensive repairs from a tree falling on the roof.

My fingers curl around the windowsill, the wood rough beneath my palm. With so much to do, why does my mind keep fixating on soft pink eyes and rosebud lips? I hadn’t had a single conversation with her, but she haunts our home with her floral scent, her room shut tight, just waiting for her return.

The call with my father replays, his words a constant loop I can’t escape. He expects me to fall in line, to prove I’m worthy of the Burton name. I need my attention on the Resort, but how can I focus on business when every instinct screams that my Omega is in danger?

I draw in a deep breath, trying to center myself, but it’s no use. How can I be calm when my bondmates are hurting? WhenI’mhurting for a chanceI didn’t take?

If I’d known the ache for her would feel like this, I would have listened to Blake. I’d have taken the time to meet her, to see what we could be. He was right that she was already in my nose, and now my Alpha insists that our pack won’t be complete without her.

The sound of footsteps pulls me from my thoughts, and Blake steps up beside me. “We’ll find her.”

“Why are you reassuring me? It’s not like I even…” My throat closes, unable to voice the words.

I had told Blake I would give Chloe a chance, and now I can’t even lie and say she means nothing to me.

Blake leans against my side. “It’s okay to be upset by all of this.”

Deep breath in, hold, and exhale. He’s right. It’s okay to be upset, but that doesn’t mean I can spiral into the same pit that has sucked in the rest of my pack. One of us needs to keep a level head during this.

Only after our Omega is back here and safe can I allow myself to contemplate what else I feel.

Chapter Five

Chloe

The door creaks open, and I look up from my laptop, squinting against the light spilling in from the hallway. It’s the same maid as always, bringing in yet another bland breakfast tray.

Is it a new day already?

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