Page 182 of Knot Like Other Girls

"And your family?" Troy asks hesitantly.

It's a fair question. My parents arranged my match with Braxley primarily for financial reasons. They'll be angry, to say the least. Probably even cut me off.

"They'll have to accept my decision," I say quietly. "I've spent too long trying to be what everyone else wanted. Now I'm choosing what I want."

Cole lets out a rumble of approval. "Good."

We all press in closer together, purrs and growls vibrating through us all. This is true bliss. True happiness and contentment.

My last coherent thought before drifting off is how strange fate can be. How a failed assassination in Spain, a near-engagement I never wanted, and five fearsome alphas somehow led me exactly where I needed to be.

Home.

CHAPTER 49

BELLA

BELLA

The mirror reflectsa woman I barely recognize.

Two weeks ago, I was coming down from my first true heat, wrapped in the arms of five alphas who looked at me like I hung the moon. Now I'm standing in Braxley's penthouse bathroom again, staring at myself in an emerald silk gown that skims my curves like water.

"You look exquisite, little dove," Savva says from behind me, his elegant fingers making a minute adjustment to the diamond comb holding my hair in a sophisticated updo. "The color suits your complexion perfectly."

I meet his eyes in the mirror. "You have excellent taste."

"I know." His lips quirk in that subtle smile I've come to adore. "Though the canvas makes it rather easy."

My cheeks warm under his praise. After two weeks at the pack house—two weeks of being cherished, protected, desired—I've started to see myself differently. The woman in the mirror stands straighter, her eyes clearer, her smile more genuine. She looks like someone who knows her own mind.

Tonight is the last time I'll stand beside Braxley as his fiancée. The Worthington Annual Charity Gala is a thinly disguised opportunity for the elite to network while pretending to care about whatever cause is trendy this season. The irony that my public freedom will come at such an event isn't lost on me.

"Nervous?" Savva asks, his hands resting lightly on my shoulders.

"A little," I admit. "Not about ending things with Braxley—that part I'm looking forward to. It's more... everything else. My family will be there, and they don't know yet."

Savva's reflection smiles. "We'll be with you every moment. Don't forget, we're still your bodyguards. The shooter is still on the loose."

The thought settles something in me, even though his words make other fears resurface. "Thank you."

A gentle knock at the bathroom door interrupts us. "Two-minute warning," Troy calls through the wood. "Braxley's about to have an aneurysm over being fashionably late versus beingactuallylate."

I roll my eyes, taking a final look at my reflection. The diamond drop earrings catch the light as I turn my head, casting tiny shimmering rainbows across the walls. Another of Savva's choices. Elegant without being ostentatious.

"Let's go face the music," I say, squaring my shoulders.

Savva opens the door with a flourish like a gentleman from a fairy tale, revealing Troy leaning against the opposite wall. His eyes widen appreciatively as I step out.

"Damn, princess," he whistles low. "You're gonna give Cole a heart attack."

"WhereisCole?" I ask, glancing down the hallway.

"Already at the venue with Roman and Liam. Setting up the perimeter." Troy offers his arm with exaggerated gallantry. "May I escort you to your..." he grimaces theatrically, "fiancé?"

I take his arm, laughing despite my nerves. "Just for a few more hours."

"Counting the minutes," Troy assures me.

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