Page 24 of Knot My Luck

Devlin

I wake to the sharp sting of pain slicing through my body, and for a moment, I can’t remember where I am. The heat still clings to me, relentless and burning, making it hard to breathe. My chest feels tight, my skin flushed, and the moment I try to move, everything aches.

It’s happening again. Another spike.

My head spins with disorientation as I search around the room, realising I’m alone. My heart rate quickens as I sit up, pulling the covers around me in an attempt to soothe the sudden chill crawling over my skin. I bite my lip, trying to control the whimpers building in my throat, but it’s no use. The pain twists in my stomach, and I can’t hold it back.

“Please…” I gasp out, my voice thick with desperation. “Al-alpha…help.”

Clawing at the sheets, I notice a change in the texture and when I lift the soft cotton to my face, I smell leather, oak and bourbon. Lorcan. He left me one of his t-shirts so that I’d have his scent for comfort when I woke. The gesture is touching, and my omega preens, but my skin feels far too sensitive to actually wear it right now as another flash of pain surges.

I squeeze my eyes shut, but the waves of heat and pressure flood back in with no mercy, crashing over me like a wave. Burying my face into Lorcan’s shirt doesn’t even help; I feel like I’m drowning, burning from the inside out, and no matter how much I try to calm myself, nothing works. I’m completely powerless, alone, and it’s terrifying.

Then, the door opens.

I turn, expecting Lorcan, hoping, praying for him to come back and take away the unbearable ache. But instead, a figure steps inside, and I freeze.

It’s not Lorcan.

It’s…it’s Cathal.

I blink rapidly, disoriented. Reeling. So fucking confused. My mind is struggling to keep up with what’s happening. This must be a dream. I have to be dreaming. There’s no other explanation.

But then his voice breaks through the fog.

“Devlin,” a deep, steady, reassuring voice sounds, and I blink again, even more confused now. “It’s me. Not Cathal. It’s Tadhg. His brother…remember?”

I stare at him, my heart pounding in my chest as my thoughts spiral. Tadhg? Of course, I knew him – he was Cathal’s twin, the quiet one, always a little distant. I liked him too when we were younger, though we never had the chance to explore anything. Cathal liked to keep us separate, but I never understood why. The guilt of the past stings, but that doesn’t matter right now, does it?

His presence in the room throws me off balance. Why is he here? Why isn’t Lorcan with me?

I look up at him, still trying to process everything, my breath hitching when I realise how close to the bed he’s standing.

Then I smell it – crisp cedarwood, warm amber, and smoky vanilla. The scent is deep, rich, and intoxicating, and it hits me like a punch in the gut.

It’s him. It’sTadhg.

The recognition comes crashing into me, leaving me breathless.

He’s my scent match.

Another scent match.

Mine.

I try to shake the dizziness, trying to make sense of it all. Tadhg, Cathal’s twin, the quiet one I always felt a strange connection to, now standing here, this powerful, alluring scent wrapping around me. But I don’t understand. What is he doing here? Why is he in the room with me?

I open my mouth to speak, but another wave of pain hits me like a ton of bricks and I whimper instead.

I flinch, gasping for air, my body arching against the bed. I don’t know how to get control over this. And I decide questions and answers can wait, right now there’s something I need more.

“Tadhg…please…” I beg, my voice trembling. “Please, help me.”

I feel my hands grip the sheets as the heat intensifies. It’s too much. I need help. I needsomeone. I need an alpha. Him.

Tadhg’s gaze darkens, his brow furrowing as he moves closer, kneeling at the side of the bed. “You’re in heat,” he states, his voice low and steady. “You’re going through a spike. I can help you, Devlin, if you want me to, but you need to trust me.”

I can’t think clearly. My chest heaves as I struggle to keep my composure, feeling both humiliated and desperate. Why can’t Lorcan be here? Why is Tadhg even offering to help me? Does he know he’s mine? That I’m his?

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