Page 67 of Violet

“I didn’t.”

My stomach knots, and I’m being crushed. I’ve brought shame on my family. I already knew I was out of my league. I never should have been named Luxe and now…

“I’m sorry.” I look at Heath. “I messed up.”

“No, Vi. Don’t. I don’t really blame you. I blame him. He knows the Season’s rules, the etiquette. He was born here. Heknewwhat I expected of him if he was serious about courting you, andstill—” He growls, his shoulders bunching. “Still he risked your reputation.”

“Did anyone else see us?”

“No. At least I don’t think so. We got there in time.”

“How did you even know where we were?” I ask.

“Stitch. Ashford’s little fighting stunt was all over the damn app. Rue was practically foaming at the mouth when she showed me,” he says sharply. “In one of the videos, I saw Quinn in the crowd and knew you couldn’t be far behind.”

“And the Monarch?”

Heath stops pacing and comes in close with a hushed tone. “Her Omega was already there. She must have sent him to keep an eye on Stephan.”

Or on me.

“Regardless, he took advantage of you. There have been too many close calls as it is, and now this? The Monarch is involved.”

I hear the implications loud and clear. If she’s now involved, it can’t be good. Feeling sick, I close in on myself. Things in me hurt in ways they never have because…I wanted him.

I wanted Stephan.

Even with how furious I was to learn about him and Alicia, I wanted to jump him and rip his cock out of his pants. I almost couldn’t control myself. I wanted to do things to him I’ve only seen glimpses of in porn.

Two minutes of wild things I didn’t know how to process when Iris, Mari, and I had looked up naughty sites on the internet when we were younger. Heath caught us, an eighteen-year-old Heath who snapped shut the computer and changed all the passwords to make sure we’d never look at knotting porn again.

But those scenes—of Omegas getting filled and knotted in every hole—filled my mind when Stephan grabbed my wrist so that I wouldn’t walk away. And when he kissed me…

Something down inside me, deep between my legs, starts to ache in ways I’ve never felt. Slick dampens my panties, and all I can do is put a shaking hand to my cheek to try to get myself to settle down. It’s burning hot. I’m burning hot. My vision blurs.

“Heath?” Tears burn my eyes. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Hey. Hey.” His fury dissipates as he sits next to me and wraps an arm around my shoulder. “It’s okay, Vi. We’re going to sort this out.I’mgoing to sort this out. You don’t have to worry.”

I know he’s just trying to make me feel better, but his touch is welcome. Needed. And I lean into him.

“The first thing we’re going to do is forget Ashford. He’s done for. Stockton’s interested,” Heath says. “He’s good-looking, rich, ready to settle down. I say you go on a few dates, see if you like him, and if you do, there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll propose to you within the month.”

“That fast?”

“He wants a family,” Heath says. “You want kids. It works.”

As if it’s that simple.

The man’s everything I’m supposed to want, so I’m not sure why I’m worried about what my brother is suggesting.

“Ashford’s a fuckboy. He always has been. There was a time I thought he had grown up, but after?—”

“After what?”

He was going to say something, but he changed his mind somewhere along the way. But I want to know.

“Heath?”

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