Page 73 of Seen Knot Heard

In need of a distraction, I fish my phone from my pocket, unlocking it with a swipe of my thumb. Emails, messages, missed calls… I scroll through them, absorbing nothing, my attention still snagged on the Omega I left behind that closed door.

How’s her arm? The question burns on my tongue, concern and guilt twisting like a knife in my gut. Is she still in pain? It should be almost healed by now. Does she have a doctor’s appointment set to have the cast removed?

I should have asked. I wanted to ask. But the words lodged in my throat, trapped behind my teeth.

Stupid. Cowardly.

I pause mid-stride, shoulders tightening. No. I refuse to dance around her, bite my tongue, and pretend I don’t care. She’s mine to protect, even if she doesn’t know it yet.

Pivoting on my heel, I retrace my steps, determination propelling me forward.

My Alpha growls in approval as I near her door again, the silver ring on my finger glinting as I raise my fist to knock.

“Chloe?” I clear the roughness from my throat. “It’s me again. Can we talk?”

Silence. Then the soft pad of footsteps again. The door swings open, and she nibbles on her plump bottom lip as she gazes up at me. “Hey, what do you need?”

“How’s your arm?” I gesture to the bright pink cast. “Any pain still?”

“No pain, though it itches. I can’t wait to get the cast off.” Her expression softens, and she pulls the door open wider in invitation. “Would you like to come in?”

“Yes, I would.” My pulse kicks up a notch as I step across the threshold into her private space, senses enveloped by her pheromones.

They’re not strong, yet, but that will change the longer she stays here. I inhale, catching hints of vanilla and smoked applewood from two of my bondmates.

I ignore the urge to push out my pheromones, to add mine to her space, and turn to face Chloe. “Am I interrupting your work?”

“Honestly, I appreciate the distraction.” Her focus shifts to the open laptop on her desk. “I’ve been working on cleaning up my social media accounts.”

A frown pulls her lips downward when she turns back to me. “Do you know about that?”

I wrack my mind. “The hacker?”

“Yeah. They made a huge mess of things, confusing my reader base. I had to go through and delete all the false posts, then make a general announcement about getting hacked.” She hugs my jacket closer for comfort, and my Alpha rumbles with approval. “Which means now I’m dealing with all the people who are upset that what was promised won’t be delivered.”

“Sounds rough.” I want to fix it for her, but I don’t know anything about social media or marketing. “Don’t you have a personal assistant to handle it?”

“Yeah.” Her head drops. “Grady did all of that stuff for me. He was kind and only sent me the positive screencaps. Because of him, I didn’t have to deal with trolls or messes. I miss that.”

I curse myself for bringing up such a sore topic. My mouth opens, though I have no idea what I plan to say.

The cell phone buzzing on her nightstand saves me.

Chloe flinches at the sound, her face paling. “One sec.”

She walks to her desk and snatches up the phone, her knuckles white as she grips it. A note of scorched flowers fills the air as she stabs at the screen, then opens a drawer in the desk and drops the device inside.

My protective instincts surge to the surface, a growl building in my throat. Who could be calling that would cause such a visceral reaction? My mind races with possibilities, each more unsettling than the last. I want to demand answers, to track down whoever caused her distress and destroy them.

But I force myself to remain calm, not wanting to add to her anxiety. “Everything okay?”

Chloe’s gaze darts to mine, vulnerability in her expression before she lowers her head. “Yeah, it’s just…”

She trails off, worrying her lower lip between her teeth.

I take a step closer, my hand itching to reach out and smooth the furrow between her brows. “You can talk to me. I’m a good listener.”

Her head lifts, her pink eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “It’s my mother. Or Louie. I don’t know which. Either way, I don’t want to speak to them.”

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