Page 10 of Knot My Luck

The tension hangs there, between us, like a taut string, and I can almost hear the hum of it in the air. Neither of us is moving, not even breathing normally. The scent is so much stronger now that I’m this close, filling my head, drowning out everything else. It’s intoxicating, and my brain is scrambling, trying to catch up.

The beta – fuck, she’s really an omega, and I don’t even know her name – and we stare at each other for a beat too long.

Then, almost as if it’s a decision made without thought, I step forward, close enough that she can feel the heat radiating from me. The movement seems to snap her out of whatever trance she was in. Her breath hitches, and her eyes widen for a fraction of a second before she glances away.

But it’s too late. I’ve already seen that flicker. That heat in her gaze. She feels it, too.

“Look,” I say, my voice rougher now, “we don’t have to do this whole small talk thing. We both know what happened. And I’ve been thinking about it ever since.”

She flinches, just a little. But it’s enough to make my pulse spike again.

I take another step closer. “Tell me you haven’t been thinking about it too.”

Her eyes dart to the side, like she’s searching for an out. But I don’t give her one.

This, whatever this is between us, it isn’t finished. Not by a long shot.

And I’m not going anywhere.

Her breath catches again, her chest rising and falling with an almost frantic rhythm, and I feel it –feelthe shift in the air around us. I barely even notice the subtle change at first, too focused on the way she’s trying to avoid my gaze, her fingers twitching like she wants to pull away but doesn’t quite have the strength to.

Then it hits me, sharp and unmistakable – the scent. The rich, sweet notes of caramel and apple, and now… something more. Something deeper, more primal. The cinnamon lingers like a soft, spicy heat, and as I inhale, I can feel it in my gut. But this isn’t just the same intoxicating scent from before. It’smore. It’s…hers.

I lock eyes with her, noticing the slight dilation of her pupils, the way they darken, that flicker of something raw I haven’t seen before.

The air between us crackles with an undeniable intensity. She’s trying to hold it together, but I can see the effort it takes.

And then, I catch it. The faintest trace of something…I can’t quite place.

Fuck.

I breathe in again, harder this time, and it hits me like a freight train.

The scent. It’s coming from her, no question. But this – this isn’t just some woman I fucked on a whim. An anonymous one-night-stand, beta. She’s not even anomegaI randomly fucked. Her scent is layered with something familiar, something intoxicating. And it’s unmistakable now.

My pulse spikes, my body reacting instinctively. I’ve been around enough omegas to know their scent. The way it fills the space between us, cloying and sweet, demanding attention. But with her the effect is something else entirely. Her thick and undeniable remnants of caramel and apple have my entire body reacting and my inner alpha goingwild.

I stare at her, my mind racing. Her pupils are wide, and her breathing is erratic. She’s trying to keep control, but I can see it. The flicker of panic behind her eyes.

I step closer, my voice lower, more deliberate. “You…You’re not a beta, Red.” It’s not a question. It’s a fact, one that settles over both of us like a heavy weight.

Her face flushes, and I see the panic flicker across her expression before she quickly masks it with a forced indifference. But it’s too late. I’ve already noticed.

“Not a beta,” I repeat, the words tasting different now, something almost reverent in the way I say them. She’s an omega. The confirmation makes the tension in the air grow even thicker, and I can feel my own body responding to it.

Her scent’s becoming more intense, the caramel notes mixing with something deeper – something that triggers an ache in me that I can’t ignore. Her body’s reacting to me too, I can tell.

Her pupils blow that glossy sheen I’ve only seen in omegas. It makes my mouth go dry.

Shit. She’s in heat. Or on the verge of it at least.

That’s the only explanation for the sudden flood of desire coursing through me, the almost violent reaction to her scent.

I take another step closer, and she stiffens, but she doesn’t pull away. She can’t. Not now, not when I’m this close. The scent of her heat wraps around me like a thick fog, intoxicating, overpowering. I feel my own instincts pushing to the surface, the urge to mark her, to claim her rising in my chest.

I swallow hard, trying to keep myself together. But fuck, this may just be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. My alpha is beating against my chest, demanding to be let out to take what’s ours, and my control feels like it’s hanging on by a thread. Afrayedthread.

“You should’ve told me,” I growl, my voice rougher now, low and tight with frustration.

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