Page 82 of Knot Only His

Her soft skin slides against mine as she draws my wrist to her face. Another deep inhale. “Vanilla and coconut.” Her tongue darts out, tasting my pulse point. “And a hint of pineapple.”

Parker grunts, shifting his weight. The alpha tension in the room thickens.

Harlow doesn’t hesitate. She turns to Asher next, repeating the scenting ritual. Her breath catches as she tells him he has the same scent as mine.

Asher catches his breath as she reaches for Parker.

Parker's stern expression softens as she presses her nose against his skin, breathing him in. Her chest rises and falls rapidly as understanding dawns in her eyes.

The door behind me creaks open, interrupting whatever revelation was about to spill from her lips.

I stand frozen as her ex-boyfriend, Colton bursts into the room, pushing past Parker. The antiseptic smell now mingles with his aggressive alpha scent, making my nostrils flare.

My fists clench as he rushes to Harlow’s bed.

“Baby, I’m so sorry.” He presses his lips against hers, and my stomach turns. “Please come back to me.”

I step forward, ready to put Colton through the wall, but Parker’s sharp intake of breath and a shake of his head stops me.

His eyes are wide, fear rolling off him in waves as he clutches Jagger closer.

Asher’s usually calm demeanor cracks, his shoulders tense as he steps forward.

The air is thick with alpha pheromones, all of us responding to her omega scent, now pure and unmistakable as we wait. Not only waiting for how she reacts to Colton but also letting her process this new reality at her own pace.

Well, one of us doesn’t wait.

Carver moves like lightning from the other side of the room, yanking him back. “Get your hands off her.”

“She’s mine,” Colton snarls, trying to break free from Carver’s grip. “You stole her from me. You set me up with that omega.”

“You took the bait.” Carver smiles as he glances at me. “I was sick of waiting, and I overheard you talking to Jenson about not knowing how long you could wait until you needed an omega. You were going to ask Harlow’s permission to take an omega.” Carver laughs. “She never would have agreed, so I made it easy for you.”

Harlow narrows her eyes as she stares at Carver.

“You set up your own brother. You stole my girlfriend. Harlow’s mine. Not fucking yours,” Colton hisses. “My omega.”

“No.” Carver’s voice drops dangerously low. “She’s been mine since we were kids. You knew that when you stole her from me. I told you I was waiting for her.”

My heart pounds as Harlow reaches for Carver’s hand, her delicate fingers intertwining with his. The gesture should crush me, butsomething in her scent and the way her pupils enlarged as she inhaled each of our scents, tells me to wait.

Asher moves forward, his usual hesitation gone as he takes Harlow’s other hand, his voice steady and sure. “She’s ours, Carver. Not yours.”

The air crackles with tension as Carver’s tongue darts out, wetting his lips. His coconut and rum scent spikes with aggression, but there’s something else there too. A hint of uncertainty as he watches Asher stroking Harlow’s hand with such tenderness that his alpha must want to make his omega happy.

I glance at Parker, who’s looking down at Jagger with a small smile playing on his lips. He feels it too, and for the first time since this chaos started, hope blooms in my chest.

Harlow’s eyes lock with Colton’s, her voice just a murmur. “What’s my scent?”

The question hangs in the air like a guillotine about to drop. Colton’s face softens with memories.

“That’s easy.” He grins. “Coconut and vanilla.”

Harlow returns his smile. “Add rum and pineapple to that, and you’ll find Carver’s scent.”

My chest tightens because I know what she is saying.

Harlow shakes her head. “But it’s not yours. Your scent is Amaretto with coke and vanilla.”

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