Page 33 of Knot Your Baby

Miller leans forward. “And the father?”

“Unknown.” Zane’s smile grows wider. “She doesn’t know who he is, so I put my name on the hospital forms. She’s mine now. And so is the baby.”

“She sounds independent,” Miller muses.

That’s all we need. An omega who thinks for herself and got pregnant illegally.

Zane’s laughter breaks through my thoughts. “Independent? No. She’s lonely. And she stupidly thinks she isn’t good enough for an alpha. She wanted a baby so badly she lied to the center and told them she was on birth control.”

“She told you all this?” Miller’s eyebrows shoot up.

“She had no choice. She needed my help.”

Something twists in my gut. “What does she look like?”

Zane whirls on me, jabbing a finger in my direction. “Stop right there. She’s beautiful and funny. And she is everything you don’t want. But I do.”

“Does she think she’s yours?” I can’t keep the edge from my voice.

Zane shrugs, but his eyes gleam. “Not yet. But she will.”

A harsh laugh escapes me. “You idiot. She used you. She needed an alpha to keep her baby, and you fell for it.”

“Shut up.” Zane’s fists clench at his sides. “You don’t know her.”

“And you do? After what, a day—two?”

“At least I’m capable of feeling something for an omega. You’ll end up alone because no one will ever be perfect enough for the great Thorne Stone.”

The words hit like a punch to the gut. “You’re wrong. I found her once.”

“Bullshit.” Zane steps closer, his face twisted with anger. “If you had, you’d never have let her go.”

My shoulders slump as the fight drains out of me. “I searched for her.”

Miller pushes off the couch. “You never told us this before.”

“Because I felt like a fool.” I run a hand down my face. “I’ve never run after anyone before.”

“You’re not talking about Maya?” Miller asks.

The question hangs in the air. I can’t tell them about the omega with platinum blonde hair and pale green eyes. The one I thought was Maya. The one I can’t admit how close I came to making her mine.

And her scent was the same as the omega I smelled years ago.

I fucking should have claimed her, and then she would have been there when I woke up.

“What does she look like?” I ask instead. “This omega who you think is yours?”

“Red hair, beautiful green eyes.” Zane’s voice softens. “She’s taller than most omegas.”

I walk to the bar. “I need a drink.”

The sun glimmers on the water, casting a golden path across the waves. I stroll along the beach, my thoughts drifting like the tide. Rosie, my golden Labrador, darts ahead, her tail wagging furiously as she chases a seagull. The salty breeze brushes against my face, but it can’t clear the cloud lingering in my mind.

I reach down to scoop up a handful of sand and let it slip through my fingers. What the hell am I doing?

Rosie trots back, ball in her mouth, her big brown eyes pleading for me to throw it again. I chuckle softly and lean low to grab the ball from her.

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