Page 71 of Knotting With A Stranger

He groans, rolling onto his back. “It’s too damn fucking early. Someone better be bleeding out.”

“Lily’s missing,” I say, the word catching slightly in my throat.

That gets his attention. He sits up immediately, eyes suddenly clear and alert in a way that makes me wonder if he was really sleeping at all.

“What do you meanmissing?”

“Her room’s empty. Bed is made up.”

An expression I can’t quite read flickers across his face. “That’s... interesting,” he says carefully.

“Interesting? That’s your response?” I snap, suspicion blooming. “What do you know, James?”

He raises his hands defensively. “Nothing. Just thinking maybe she couldn’t sleep after last night’s... activities.”

My jaw clenches. Does he know something about what happened after we all went to bed?

“Get dressed,” I order. “We’re finding her.”

“Yes, sir,” James mocks, reaching for jeans draped over a nearby chair. “Always the fucking boy scout, aren’t you, Hunt?”

I don’t wait for him to finish, already heading for the door with Thor trotting at my heels. I take the stairs two at a time, scanning the living room as I descend. The fire that was roaring when we all turned in has burned to embers. The couch pillows are slightly askew, and there’s an empty whiskey glass on the coffee table that wasn’t there before.

The kitchen is empty except for Thor, who immediately abandons the search to slurp noisily from his water bowl. Traitor.

“Check the rest of the downstairs,” I tell James as he appears behind me, still buttoning his flannel shirt. “Archer, front door.”

“Since when are you giving orders?” James mutters but moves to comply, checking the living room more thoroughly.

Archer examines the entrance, opening it and bending to inspect the outside. “Snow’s undisturbed. She didn’t leave this way.” He straightens, frowning. “Though, I’m not sure why she would step into a fucking blizzard, anyway.”

“People do stupid shit when they’re scared or confused,” I say, thinking of the dozens of search and rescue missions that started with exactly that scenario. “Let’s split up. Checkeverywhere. She’s got to be here somewhere.” My gut tightens, panic spinning out of control.

James gives me a sideways look, something calculating flaring over his features. “You’re awfully worked up over a woman who can obviously take care of herself. She’s been here what, three days? And suddenly, you’re her keeper?”

“Fuck off,” I growl, not in the mood for his mind games. “She’s in my home, which makes her my responsibility.”

“Ooh, territorial,” Archer chimes in with a smirk. “Someone’s Alpha instincts are showing.”

“Both of you… shut it and search,” I snap, stalking toward the back of the house.

We move through the house, having known every inch of this place since we were teenagers. Archer takes the basement and home gym. James searches the office, library, and west-wing guest rooms. I recheck upstairs more thoroughly, looking in closets and storage spaces that a curious guest might explore.

Nothing.

“Find anything?” James’s question bellows through my house.

“Nothing upstairs,” I shout. “This is fucking bizarre.”

“Basement’s clear of our little Omega,” Archer yells.

Something about the way he saysOmegasends a jolt through me—a possibility I hadn’t fully considered. The timing would be... catastrophic.

“Mudroom,” I shout abruptly.

Acting purely on instinct now, I head toward my laundry room adjacent to the mudroom. It’s not a place anyone would normally wander, especially a guest.

The door is slightly ajar. I freeze, suddenly aware of a warm, honeyed scent emanating from inside—subtle but unmistakable. My body responds instantly and violently, blood rushing south,muscles tensing, a primal recognition that bypasses conscious thought entirely.

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