Page 35 of Knot Your Baby

“Dr. Astor, please take a call on line six, please.”The announcement crackles through the phone. It’s from the hospital speaker, interrupting our conversation.

“I need to go.” Miller’s voice sharpens.

“No! Wait—”

But he disconnects before I can finish my thought, leaving me standing alone with only the sound of crashing waves and an unsettling feeling that gnaws at my gut.

My fingers hover over Zane’s name. I hit the call button. The ringing feels like an eternity.

“Hey,” Zane answers, his voice flat.

“Where are you?” I ask, forcing calmness into my tone. “Work?”

“Yeah,” he says too quickly.

I narrow my eyes, scanning the horizon where the sun gleams. “Are you sure about that?”

“Yeah. Just doing some overtime.” His words trip over each other, thick with something unspoken.

“You’ve done a lot of overtime the past four days,” I reply, my heart thudding in my chest.

“Fires don’t have a schedule.”

I nod. “Okay. I’ll talk to you later.”

I hang up and stare at the ocean, its waves crashing against the shore in a rhythm that matches my beating heart.

My gut twists. I know Zane is lying; he’s never been good at it. What I don’t know is why does he feel the need to hide something from me?

Is he meeting her? The omega? Is it the same one Miller is talking about?

Did he take her to the hospital?

What the fuck is going on?

I pace along the water’s edge, grains of sand sticking to my feet as I kick at the shoreline. The ocean breeze whips through my hair, but it can’t clear away this feeling gnawing at me—this tightness in my chest that makes me feel like I’m losing control.

Why would he choose now to go off on his own? Doesn’t he realize we’re supposed to stick together? A family sticks together! The pack comes first!

Zane has always been stubborn—too much like our mother—and it drives me insane. It doesn’t matter if he thinks he can handle things on his own; that fire will always burn deep inside him.

Has he told her?

I glance back at Rosie digging a hole in the sand; she seems oblivious to everything happening around her.

I’m sure Zane is thinking that about me.

Chapter 10

Freya

One Week Later

I bounce Stone inmy arms, cooing at his tiny face as we wait in the hospital corridor.

Dr. Astor bursts through the double doors, nearly colliding with a patient. He glances at Stone and me, then whips his head toward the parking lot windows.

“Well, someone’s in a rush today,” I whisper to Harlow.

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