Page 100 of Knot Only His

“You need to call Harlow. What she said earlier, about claiming her, we need to address it.”

“Later. I’m too angry right now.” The edge in his tone makes me bristle. “She almost blew our story with social services.”

“This is about more than that. She’s spiraling.”

Harlow stares at me as she whispers something to Freya.

Freya nods.

I turn away as Parker says, “This is my nephew’s future we’re talking about.”

“It’s our pack’s future too,” I snap, turning back to see Harlow frozen behind me, her coffee cup suspended halfway to her lips. The hurt in her eyes makes my chest ache. I whisper into the phone. “What if she leaves us. We’re not full scent matches. Only Carver is.”

“Oh shit!” Parker sighs.

Harlow sets down her cup on the table with careful precision. “I should go.”

“I’ll speak to you later,” I tell Parker before I disconnect.

“Harlow—” I reach for her, but she steps back.

“No, I get it. Jagger comes first. And he should.” Her voice wavers, but she still tries to give me a tight smile. “Can I get a ride home?”

“He wants you,” I say to Harlow after five minutes of silence in the car. “We all want you.”

“Parker wants everything to be legal and above board for Jagger’s sake. He wants me to sign my rights over to this pack, but I get nothing in return.”

“You get your alphas.”

“I want alphas who want me. Alphas who are desperate to claim me as theirs.”

“We do.”

She shakes her head. “Only Carver does. Your pack only wants me in the legal sense.”

“That’s not true, Harlow.”

“Then claim me,” she tests me. “Take me to my nest now, fuck me, knot me, and claim me.”

“I can’t do it without the full consent of my pack mates. You know that.”

“I do,” she whispers as her phone rings.

She pulls it out of her purse and says, “Hello.”

My fingers tighten on the steering wheel as I watch Harlow’s face drain of color. Her scent shifts from distress to pure fear, making my chest constrict.

“You can’t prove anything,” she says into the phone, her voice trembling. “I did nothing wrong.”

I press harder on the accelerator, weaving through traffic.

Something’s wrong. Very wrong.

The car’s engine roars as I take the corner too fast, but I need to get her home.

“No.” Her voice cracks. “You’re lying.”

My heart pounds against my ribs.

---