Page 105 of Knot Your Baby

“Because Thorne liked it,” Freya says simply. “He liked me once in the club. He kissed me and then afterward he stopped. And he started telling me I was stalking him. You stole my perfume because you wanted him to want you.”

“I don’t need your perfume,” Maya snaps, her composure cracking.

Freya laughs, her voice stronger. “I let you spray yourself because you said all the smells in the club were muting your scent. You wanted my perfume on you. I get it now. You wanted to smell like me for Thorne.”

Miller looks between them, realization dawning. “I believe you,” he tells Freya. “Thorne always said he smelled the scent of the girl he knew was ours in the club and the reason he kept going back.”

My hands ball into fists. “And you convinced Thorne that Freya wasn’t his, didn’t you?” I hiss at Maya.

“Oh my god, she has you all so wrapped around her finger,” Maya sneers. “She stole my scent, not the other way around.”

“But we don’t like your scent,” I counter.

“But Thorne does,” Maya hisses, eyes flashing with jealousy. “And you’re incorrect. Let me tell you something. Thorne was mine before you came along with your...” She gestures dismissively at Stone. “Convenient pregnancy.”

Something cold and dangerous unfurls in my chest. I step between them, my voice pitched low. “You’re fired, Maya.”

She blinks, momentarily thrown off balance, before laughing. “You can’t fire me. You don’t even work here. Even Thorne couldn’t sack me, and it’s his business.” Her lips quirk upward with a smirk. “Maybe he didn’t really want to.”

“But Thorne made it clear what would happen if you caused any more issues and the reason that he moved you out of his office,” I say, not rising to her, making assumptions that Thorne secretly wants her to stay.

“Issues?” she scoffs. “I’m the only reason this company runs smoothly. You think Mr. High-and-Mighty Alpha can function without me? Please.”

“What’s going on here?” Thorne’s voice cuts through the tension. He stands in the doorway of his office, expression darkening as he takes in the scene.

“Maya was just leaving,” I say, not breaking eye contact with her. “Permanently.”

“I was simply welcoming your...visitors,” Maya counters, switching tactics instantly. “There seems to be some confusion—”

“I heard what you said,” Thorne interrupts coldly. “Every word of yours and every word from Freya. And now it all makes sense.”

The color drains from Maya’s face. “Thorne, I—”

“Don’t.” He moves to Freya’s side, one hand settling protectively at the small of her back. “Freya, what do you think I should do with Maya?”

Freya looks up, surprise coating her face. For a moment, she seems bewildered by being asked her opinion. I think she also knows if Maya goes now, Maya will have a solid legal argument against Thorne.

She stands straighter. “I don’t care,” she says finally, her voice soft but steady.

Thorne’s eyebrow arches. “Well, I do. Nobody talks to my omega like that.” He turns to Maya. “Like Zane told you. You’re fired.”

“You can’t be serious,” Maya sputters. “Because of her? This nobody who somehow hooked you in. Please, Thorne. She probably doesn’t even know which fork to use at a business dinner. She reeks of cheap perfume. It’s not nice. That’s not an omega perfume.”

“We’re scent matched, Maya. Do you even know what that means?” Miller growls.

“Scent matching is pathetic, anyway. Who wants to wait for their scent match?”

“Me,” Thorne grunts. “I waited for ten years. And I messed up massively along the way. But I still waited.”

I grip Maya’s upper arm firmly. “That’s enough. Time to go.”

“Get your hands off me!” she hisses, trying to wrench away. “You can’t treat me like this! I’ve given my all to this company!”

“And tried to give my son to another pack,” Thorne says coldly. “Get her out of here, Zane. We’ll deal with the consequences afterward.”

“I’m going to sue you for every cent you have,” Maya yells.

I nod at Thorne, maintaining my grip as I guide her toward the elevator. “Security will escort you to clear your desk.”

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