Page 20 of Knot My Luck

Tadhg takes a step closer, his brow furrowing slightly. “You sure? You’ve been searching for something – someone. I can see it in your eyes, Cath. What’s going on?” His voice is low, like he’s trying to keep the conversation private, like he knows how much this something is eating away at me.

I hesitate, my eyes darting to the side before I finally meet his gaze, torn between telling him the truth or keeping it to myself. But I can’t hold it in any longer.

“Devlin’s here,” I say, my voice quiet, almost like I’m ashamed of the words. As soon as they leave my mouth, I feel the weight of the confession.

Tadhg doesn’t react immediately, just stares at me with a knowing look. “And?”

I swallow hard. “I fucked up, Tadhg. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking, walking away from her. And now she’s here, and I can’t find her. I need to talk to her...I need to fix it.” I pause, my throat tightening with the words. “I know she probably hates me, and I deserve it. But I can’t stop thinking about her, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

Tadhg’s expression softens, his eyes steady and calm. He doesn’t rush to judge, doesn’t push me. He’s always been the one who justknows. Knows when to let me talk, and when to let me shut the hell up.

He finally steps closer, placing a hand on my shoulder, a silent gesture of understanding.

“You need to find her, man. If you really want to fix it, you’ve gotta start somewhere,” he says, his voice low but firm. “You can’t keep running from this.”

I nod, the lump in my throat growing larger, but I don’t say anything else. What else is there to say? Tadhg’s right. Idoneed to find her. And I need to apologise. Whether she’ll let me or not, whether she even wants to see me again – none of that matters anymore. I’ve fucked up enough to know that I don’t get to control what happens next.

“Thanks,” I mutter, the words sounding weak, but they’re the truth. I don’t know how I’d keep moving through this night without him.

Tadhg nods once, his eyes softening. “Just don’t wait too long. She won’t be here forever.”

And with that, he’s gone, leaving me to search the room again, my heart hammering in my chest.

I can’t lose her again. Not this time.

But it’s not just me. I can feel Tadhg’s eyes on me sometimes, especially back then, when Devlin was still part of our lives. We both wanted her, but I was the bastard lucky enough to date her. We both knew what we felt for her – the pull that was impossible to ignore. Hell, we both dreamed of sharing her, of being with her in ways that weren’t supposed to be possible, but that couldn’t happen unless she was an omega and we were a pack.

But when we came into our alpha designations, everything changed. Devlin didn’t present as an omega. That was the truth we had to face. We didn’t get to choose what we felt, but it wasn’t enough. She wasn’t the omega we’d always hoped for. And I think – I know – it broke both of us. The dream of having her wasn’t something we could hold onto anymore.

So we let her go. We left to mend our broken hearts, seeking a new location, free of bittersweet memories of moments shared with her.

We had to.

Tadhg and I never spoke about it, never even acknowledged it out loud. But the truth was clear: once we realised she wasn’t our omega, we had to let her slip from our grasp. Even though we both felt like she was the one, we had to walk away from that dream, and pretend we’d moved on.

But I never really did. I never stopped thinking about her. Never stopped loving her either.

Now, with her here, so close I can almost taste her, I’m reminded of what I let slip through my fingers all those years ago. It hurts more than I ever expected. Especially because we never found our omega anyway. Six years thrown away in the pursuit of happiness, when we could have stayed and been happywithDevlin. Even if she never presented as an omega, it wouldn’t have mattered to me. Being home is making it hard to remember why I left. Why my arguments felt so strong and right back then, not when all I want to do now is see her again and try to put things right.

Tadhg’s advice runs through my head as I search the crowd again. I need to find her, but I can’t keep running from the truth, either. It was never just about wanting her. It was about knowing, deep down, that if we could’ve made it work, we would’ve. But fate had other plans.

Now it’s just me. And her. And I can’t stand the thought of letting her go again.

I move through the crowd, barely noticing the faces around me. My eyes are scanning for her, even though I don’t want to admit how desperate I am. The last time I saw her, I let her slip through my fingers, and now…now she’s here, and I can’t let that happen again.

It feels like everyone’s watching me, but they’re not. It’s just the way the crowd parts, the way my head spins, making it feel like every step is a battle. I catch glimpses of old faces, some of them I don’t even remember, but none of them are her. The knot in my stomach grows tighter with every second.

I’m almost to the door when I see a flash of auburn hair. My heart kicks up a notch, and I freeze. But then they turn and I realise it’s not her and disappointment stabs me in the gut.

I’m still scanning the crowd, trying to keep my focus, when Josh, the groom, suddenly appears in front of me.

“Cathal,” he says, clapping me on the shoulder. “Have you seen Lorcan? I need him for the best man speech, but he’s disappeared off somewhere.”

I pause, swallowing back the frustration. Josh has no idea what’s going on inside me, but I don’t want to snap at him. He’s just trying to sort things out for his big day.

“Uh, no,” I mutter, shaking my head. “Haven’t seen him since the photos.”

Truth is, I don’t care about Lorcan’s speech right now. My mind is still stuck on her.

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