Page 85 of Knot Your Baby

“Can you lose her?” he asks.

Our gazes lock. “No. But I think I might have left it too late.”

“When did you come off your scent blockers?” Miller asks me as he takes the chair on the opposite side of Freya.

“Yesterday.”

“But you told me you could smell her before then. When you followed her to her room.”

“I felt her stress. I knew she was spiraling, and I was, too. She could smell my scent before she lost consciousness. I saw her nose twitching.”

“Can I lie next to her?” Zane asks.

I slide off the bed and into my chair, staring at Freya when the actor, James Rose, rushes into the room, his expensive suit wrinkled and his silver hair disheveled.

He moves straight to Freya’s bedside, taking in Zane and Stone beside her as he takes her hand in his.

“My baby girl.” His voice cracks as he smooths her copper hair back from her forehead. The tenderness in his touch surprises me. This isn’t the cold, rejecting family she’d described.

Or did she?

Did we assume it?

“Thank you for getting her here so quickly.” He looks between the three of us, genuine gratitude in his eyes.

“What happened to her before?” I ask. “How quickly did she come around?”

James pulls up another chair, never letting go of Freya’s hand. “She had a wonderful childhood until the omega transition hit. Her mother...” He sighs heavily. “Danielle had very specific ideas about how an omega should look and behave. Made both our girls dye their hair blonde, and attend endless etiquette classes.”

My stomach twists. “The baking?”

“That was the one bright spot. Freya loved it. At eighteen, she announced she was leaving home to work at a restaurant. Her mother was angry that it wasn’t the job for an omega, but I couldn’t watch my daughter’s spirit die. I helped with her rent payments and supported her dream.”

“But she became a baker,” Miller says.

Her dad nods. “She told me she found her scented mate, but he looked straight through her, and she couldn’t stay there.”

“When was that?” I swallow.

“When she was eighteen and working at the restaurant. That’s why she left. She lost so much weight through depression. So, I helped her start a bakery after that. Paid her first year’s lease, equipment, whatever she needed to succeed, and when she made the business thrive, and her spark came back, I bought her an apartment to make her life easy.”

Miller leans forward. “How old was she when she had her second omega drop?”

“Oh, that was when she was twenty-two. She had the bakery, it was thriving, she was too. But we lost Freddie—her brother.” James’ voice roughens. “They were twins and inseparable. A building explosion took him and his girlfriend instantly. Freya couldn’t cope with his death, and she got worse one day.” His hand gestures to his daughter. “And this happened. So, as a family, we made the decision to bring her home. And she stayed with us until she was well again.”

I glance at Zane’s scars, then back to Freya’s peaceful face. The connection clicks. She gravitated to a survivor after she lost herbrother. No wonder she never flinched at Zane’s injuries. She probably wished her brother were alive with the same scars.

“And how does her mother feel about Freya now?” Millers asks.

“She’s proud of her. Yes, she still wants the best for Freya and they have spoken a little about Freya having a baby without a pack.” He glances around at us.

“Have you met your grandchild?” Zane asks.

“She said she was going to visit, but she never came,” he replies.

“And you never thought to visit her?” I ask.

He nods. “We left her a message because we visited last week, but she wasn’t home.”

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