Page 78 of Knot Like Other Girls

"That about sums it up."

I look up to see Cole leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes are stone cold.

"How bad did I fuck up?" I mutter.

Cole shrugs, a barely perceptible movement. "Depends on whether Worthington decides to make an issue of it. My guess? He won't. Too much risk of his own dirty laundry coming to light."

I nod, some of the tightness easing from my shoulders. Cole's right. Braxley has too much to lose by going public with this. His carefully cultivated image would crumble if even a fraction of what we know came out.

"Still," I say, pushing myself to my feet, “I shouldn't have lost control like that. I could’ve killed the little shit.”

"It was human," Cole counters, his voice quiet but firm. "You care about her. We all do."

The admission hangs in the air between us. Even he’s starting to fall for her. I can tell from his guilty tone, from the way he’s staring somberly at the floor.

"What do we do now?" I ask, hating how lost I sound. I'm the leader. I'm supposed to have all the answers. But right now, I feel like I'm drowning.

Cole is quiet for a long moment, his mismatched eyes distant. When he finally speaks, his voice is low and rough. "We protect her. From Braxley, from Heather, from anyone who tries to hurt her. And when the time comes... we let her choose."

"And if she chooses him?" I ask, voicing the fear that's been gnawing at me since the moment I realized Bella was our mate.

Cole's expression hardens, the scars on the right side of his face pulling tight. "Then we do our job. We keep her safe. And we live with it."

The finality in his voice is like a knife straight to my heart. Because I know he's right. If Bella chooses Braxley—if she decides to stay in this gilded cage of a life—we'll have to respect that.

No matter how much it might kill us.

CHAPTER 24

LIAM

The elevator ride back up to the penthouse is quiet, but I can't wipe the grin off my face. Meeting Skye was... interesting. The lass has fire, that's for sure. Reminds me a bit of my cousin Siobhan. Same take-no-shit attitude, same protective streak when it comes to the people she loves.

And she clearly loves Bella.

It's good to know our omega has someone like that in her corner.

Our omega.

I shake my head, trying to dislodge the possessive thought. Bella isn't ours. No matter how wrong that feels, no matter how much every alpha instinct I possess screams at me to claim her, to protect her, to...

The elevator doors slide open with a soft ding, interrupting my increasingly dangerous train of thought. As we step into the penthouse, I immediately sense that something's off. The air feels thick, and there's a lingering scent of alpha aggression that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Roman's scent.

And beneath it, the acrid stench of fear.

Braxley's fear.

My muscles tense instinctively as I scan for threats, but the penthouse seems quiet. Too quiet.

"You feel that?" Troy mutters, his usual playful demeanor nowhere to be seen.

Savva nods, his sharp eyes taking in every detail. "Something's happened."

As if on cue, Roman emerges from the guest wing. One look at his face confirms my suspicions. His jaw is clenched tight enough to crack teeth, and there's a dangerous glint in his eyes I haven't seen since our last combat mission.

"Pack meeting," he says without preamble. "Now."

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