Page 34 of Knot Your Baby

As I throw it down the shore, my phone vibrates in my pocket. The sound pulls me from my thoughts.

“Miller?” I answer as I jog after Rosie.

“Thorne.” His voice is urgent. “The woman I was telling you about—the one with red hair who smelled of strawberries? She’s at the hospital with her baby.”

I stop mid-stride. “And?”

“It can’t be a coincidence,” he says, and I can almost hear him pacing. “I liked her scent and told her to come off scent blockers. She’s had her baby and...” He hesitates before continuing. “I was suspicious at the lack of alphas in her life. Not one of them wanted to stay behind and be with her, and she is still here by herself.”

“They could be busy.”

“I wouldn’t leave my omega at all, never mind if she was pregnant with a pack baby.”

My jaw tightens at his words. “You wouldn’t?”

“Would I fuck! Anyway, she has an appointment with Dr. Landers, and as soon as it’s over, I’m going to grab her notes.”

“Why are you acting weird?” My stomach churns with the possibility that he and Zane are right.

“I’m not being weird. There’s something about her Thorne. I have a sneaking suspicion that she might be the omega Zane helped.”

Rosie brings back the ball, dropping it at my feet, panting happily as if sensing my agitation.

“Talking of Zane. Did you ask where he was going this morning?” I ask.

“He just said he needed fresh air.” Miller’s voice pulls me back.

“All of a sudden he leaves the house for something other than work,” I reply absently, tossing the ball for Rosie again. “When he was a virtual recluse before.”

“Stop worrying about him. He’s twenty-one years old and can do what he wants to.”

I shove my hands into my pockets, feeling the weight of Miller’s words settle over me. “I know,” I mutter, pacing thebeach, the waves crashing against the shore, mirroring the turmoil inside me.

“It was a freak accident, Thorne. Wrong place at the wrong time. He came through it.”

“He nearly died,” I snap, frustration bubbling up.

“But he didn’t.” Miller’s tone softens, calming my racing heart just a bit. “Be thankful for what you have. For the life he didn’t lose and stop worrying about the could haves.”

I watch Rosie chase after another seagull, her joy contrasting with my anxiety. “It’s hard to just let go when I see him doing reckless shit all the time.”

Miller exhales heavily into the phone. “Thorne—”

Before he can finish, I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. A happy pack with their omega and twins walking along the beach, an ever-present reminder of our lack of stability.

“Hold on,” Miller whispers urgently, as if something’s caught his attention.

“What?” I stop dead in my tracks.

“Zane’s here.” His voice drops lower, breathless with urgency. “I can see him sitting in his car outside.”

“What the hell is he up to?” My stomach tightens.

“Just sitting there,” Miller says quickly. “He looks...like he is waiting for someone.”

“No fucking way.” My voice rises without my permission. “I want to know why he is there. What is he doing?”

Miller doesn’t answer right away; I can hear him shuffling through the corridor. A door opens, and then I hear the rustle of blinds being pulled.

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