Page 62 of Knotting else Matters

Her gaze finally lifted, cold, calculating. “I don’t hate you, Olivia. I pity you. Always chasing chaos, always running from yourself.”

“Maybe you should’ve run, too.” I forced a sharp, bitter smile. “Instead of turning Sophie into your perfect little doll.”

Lena didn’t respond. Just turned away, her fingers smoothing the delicate, silken fabric of the dress, her cold, sharp gaze fixed on her perfect little dream.

A fierce, wild heat twisted in my chest, clawing, burning, crashing against my ribs. My wolf was furious—a wild, snarling presence in the back of my mind, her teeth bared, her claws digging into me. I’d never felt her like this—never felt her rage, her fierce, possessive fury crashing through me, drowning out everything else.

“You think you know everything,” I whispered, my voice low, trembling with the wild, desperate energy clawing at my chest. “You think you can push us around, make us your perfect little dolls.”

Lena’s cold, sharp gaze stayed fixed on the dress, her fingers smoothing the delicate fabric, her expression calm, distant. “You’re just angry because you never fit. Because you never tried.”

A sharp, bitter laugh tore out of me, raw and wild. “Oh, I fit just fine. In fact…” My fingers clawed at the high, elegant collar of my dress, yanking it down just enough to reveal the faint, bruised mark on my neck—the one I’d tried so hard to hide. The one I hadn’t been able to forget.

“Guess you picked the wrong daughter.”

The color drained from Lena’s face, her sharp, calculating mask cracking, her eyes widening, her voice a faint, breathless whisper. “What… who? Who marked you?”

“I did.”

The voice was low, dark, and fierce—a sharp, possessive growl that cut through the room like a blade.

My breath caught, my heart pounding against my ribs, and I turned.

Adrian stood in the doorway, a towering shadow framed by the warm, golden light spilling in from the hall. His broad shoulders filled the frame, his dark, intense gaze burned like molten steel, and even from across the room, I could feel it—the fierce, wild energy radiating off him, the quiet, smoldering storm in his eyes.

“She is strong,” he began, his voice a low, steady rumble that seemed to shake the air. “She is fierce. She is brilliant and wild and impossible. She doesn’t bow. She doesn’t beg. She doesn’t hide who she is just to fit someone else’s idea of perfection.”

Lena’s lips parted, her expression frozen, her gaze darting between me and him, a faint, trembling horror twisting across her face.

“She is everything you could never control. Everything you were too blind to see.” Adrian stepped forward, his boots thudding against the polished floor, his gaze never leaving Lena’s. “And she is mine.”

The air seemed to thicken, the wild, electric tension crashing through the room, and I felt it—the fierce, desperate rush of my pulse, the wild, twisted ache in my chest, the quiet, burning heat of his words wrapping around me.

“She is my mate.” His voice grew louder, each word a fierce, unyielding declaration, his dark, intense gaze blazing like fire. “And she will be this pack’s Luna.”

Lena stumbled back, her face pale, her hands trembling against the delicate, silken fabric of Sophie’s dress. “No… you can’t… this… this is a mistake.”

“A mistake?” Adrian’s voice was a low, dangerous growl, his jaw tightening, his hands clenching at his sides. “The only mistake is thinking you could choose for her. That you could twist her, shape her, break her to fit your perfect little world.”

My chest tightened, the fierce, wild heat crashing over me, and I could barely breathe, barely think. His words twisted around me, fierce and unyielding, burning through the sharp, aching doubt that had haunted me for so long.

He reached Lena, towering over her, his fierce, dark gaze locked on hers, a quiet, simmering fury burning in his eyes. “She is stronger than you. Braver than you. And I would stand beside her, fight for her, burn this entire pack to the ground before I let anyone make her feel small again.”

Lena’s gaze flicked to me, wild, desperate, her sharp, cold mask shattering. “This is madness. She’s… she’s a Zeta. She’s nothing.”

“She is everything.” Adrian’s voice was a low, vicious snarl, his eyes never leaving hers. “And you will show her the respect she deserves. Because she is my mate.”

The silence crashed down, sharp and suffocating, the fierce, electric tension twisting around us, the soft, sweet scent of wildflowers drifting through the air.

And then he turned, his fierce, blazing gaze softening, his hand reaching out, his fingers brushing against my cheek, the warmth of his touch a quiet, soothing balm against the wild, desperate ache in my chest.

“But only if you accept.” His voice softened, his thumb tracing a slow, gentle path along my cheek. “Olivia… will you be my mate? My Luna? My fucking everything?”

The world seemed to blur, the quiet, sunlit room fading away, the sharp, aching ache twisting in my chest crashing into something wild, something fierce, something warm.

I swallowed, my voice a soft, trembling whisper. “It’sSophie’sbig day.”

His lips curled into a faint, warm smile, his dark eyes shining with that quiet, fierce light. “I’m willing to wait for that answer.”

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