Page 39 of Knot Their Girl
Down the stairs I go, eventually making my way into the kitchen. I don’t turn on any lights. My eyes have already adjusted to the darkness. Can’t see that well, but well enough that I find what I’m looking for almost immediately: a bag of pretzels. I’d rather have cookies or chips or some other fat-filled food that can help me feel better, but I guess I’ll settle for pretzels. I’ll have to make a list of food for Gideon to get. Or order. Not sure what he does, but I doubt the alpha goes grocery shopping by himself.
With the bag of pretzels in my hands, I meander toward the back door. I step out onto the patio, beneath the moonlight, figuring I’ll get some peace and quiet while I do some munching, but I freeze the moment I see I’m not alone out there.
Someone else is sitting on the patio stone, his knees pulled up to his chest. Based on the size of the figure and the baggy hoodie that covers his torso, it must be Colter.
He glances over his shoulder at me, his head covered by a hood, so I can’t see his expression, whether he’s annoyed or not.
“Oh,” I say. “Sorry. I didn’t know you were out here. I can—” I’m about to say I can go back inside, but I see his head shake no, so I take it as a sign that I’m welcome. Maybe spending time with him is a good thing. Maybe it’ll help get my mind off the two alphas in this house. Or… maybe things will only get more confusing.
I definitely hope it’s not the last one.
I go to sit beside him, placing the bag of pretzels in my lap. I pull open the bag and dig in, tossing a single pretzel twist into my mouth before offering the bag to Colter. “Want some?”
He’s slow to lower his hood, allowing me to see his face in the silvery moonlight, and he shakes his head. After a moment, he gets up, but he holds up a finger, as if telling me to wait, so I don’t say a word as he disappears into the house.
A minute goes by, and the nighttime breeze blows past me, giving me goosebumps. I ignore the slight chill and continue eating pretzels, waiting for Colter to come back. Another minute passes, and I start to wonder if maybe he left me out here with no intent on coming back.
Colter returns carrying something small, and when he retakes his spot beside me, I realize what he went inside for: his tablet. He unlocks the screen and turns the brightness all the way down before he opens up some note app and types something out.
My uncle told me.As he shows me, he quietly studies me.
When I read that on the tablet, a sinking feeling takes hold of my gut, and I have to look away from him. “Told you what?” I ask. There are two big things Gideon could have told him: that I’m here for him and that something happened with Pax. Either one is a heavy subject, and I’m not sure I’m ready to discuss either of them with him.
But here we were, so we might as well get into it.
“Are you… upset?” He seems pretty calm, considering. If, somehow, this is just about the truth behind Gideon’s offer, I don’t want to bring up what happened with Pax. I’m still reckoning with it myself, but if he wants to talk about it all, if he knows, then I’ll have to face the music.
No, he types out,but I was earlier. A little.A moment passes by, and then he types out:Can I ask you something? Why did you accept the offer from my uncle if you knew it was for me?
I eat another pretzel. Where’s some chocolate when you need it? “It’s… complicated.” The look he gives me after that tells me he wants to know, so I say, “My mom was really on me about getting a pack. You might not know this, but I already had my first heat.”
His eyes widen, which I take to mean he did not, in fact, know.
“I was able to handle things on my own, but… let’s just say my mom made living there torture. She was about to start setting me up with her friends’ kids.” I groan at the mere thought. “I did not want to go through all that. When I met Gideon at the Omega Garden, I didn’t know who he was. I just thought he was a weird alpha.”
The corner of Colter’s lips quirk upward in a smile, but that amusement doesn’t linger long.
“Then,” I go on, “when he came to my house to put in an official offer for me…” I shrug. “I needed to get out of my house, away from my mom. I love her, but sometimes—most of the time—she can be too much. And I’m too chickenshit to run away. Plus, I like shopping, so that was never on the cards for me, anyway. Gideon’s offer came at the perfect time. I never wanted alphas, and even though I didn’t know who you were, you seemed safe.”
Hmm. Maybe that’s not something a guy wants to hear. He might be a beta, but he’s still a guy, and call me crazy, but I don’t think most guys would be thrilled at a girl calling them the safe choice.
I study him. “I’m surprised you’re not more upset, honestly.”
He types out his response:I was earlier, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it’s not on you. It’s on myuncle. He overstepped, but I know he’s just trying to do what he thinks is best for me.
“He cares a lot about you.”
Too much.His fingers hesitate before typing out this next part:I think he’s focused so much on me these last eleven years he’s forgotten to take care of himself.
“I can see that.”
Colter then writes out something I don’t expect, something that makes me nearly choke on the pretzel I toss in my mouth:Maybe you should be here for him, not for me. He’s an alpha. You’d be happier with him, I’m sure.
I can see how they’re related. They’re both trying to put the other first. It’s kind of sweet, although I don’t really appreciate being stuck in the middle of them. “I don’t think your uncle wants an omega. Besides, I already told you, I don’t like alphas.”
What about Pax?
Shit. So Gideon did tell him about what happened. I sigh and shake my head. “Pax is… a typical über alpha. What happened earlier shouldn’t have happened. I’m sorry—”
