Page 2 of Knot Going Down
I already knew not to mess with unbonded alphas, but that night cemented it for me. Dante’s mom’s story is a technicolor cautionary tale.
One I refused to be a part of… until Declan.
The man is impossible to resist. He makes my promise to myself feel like a lie. He’s got this presence about him that compels me to let him lead me anywhere. Being with him is a bit like standing at the edge of the diving platform. The whole world drops away. My thoughts go still. There’s only sensation and focus and this intoxicating pull that makes me feel steady and reckless at the same time.
He’s not just an alpha.
He’s a force of gravity. He’sDeclan. Officer McLaren.
His alpha energy radiates off him differently than his designation. It’s all him. His confidence is quiet but undeniable, like the plunge toward the water after I leap. The kind of manwho fills a room without saying a word. There’s something in the way he looks at me like I’m already his, like he’s just waiting for me to figure it out. Which is terrifying when I let myself think about it. He’s an unbonded alpha!
His slow smile is crooked, only one corner of his mouth lifting, and my breath catches. My body reacts before my mind can shut it down. I want to run to him. Throw my arms around him. Kiss the life out of his face.
But that’s ridiculous. One almost-date and a few good make-out sessions doesn’t give me the right to fling myself into his arms like we’re something more.
So I turn away.
My best friend Meggie and my brother Ellis are screaming their heads off and leaning so far over the arena’s railing I’m shocked it hasn’t buckled. The rest of their pack is there right behind them waving American flags. Dante looks like a sports drink was just dumped on him in celebration. I’m so grateful they all came to support me, but Meggie and Ellis will always have the biggest pieces of my heart.
“Emily! Emily!Emillllllllyyyyyy!” Ellis yells, his eyes wide with pride. This is a moment I never want to forget. His hair—as sandy blonde as mine—is all mussed, a clear tell of the jitters getting to him, too.
Ellis and his pack, which now includes Meggie, play on the USA water polo team. They’re no strangers to the pressure of competing at the Olympic level, and they're here for me. Family first. Always with Ellis, family first.
“Oh my gosh! That was amazing! You’re so freaking amazing!” Meggie’s screams deafen me as she wraps me into a wet hug, the railing giving a wobble as she throws herself at me with all her euphoric might.
Meggie and I have been best friends since high school. Coming to Paris together was a dream we stuck on our visionboards, and I can’t believe I’m here, and it’s real, and I’m leaving with a silver medal!
I give a laugh that morphs into a huff of air as Meggie’s brown hair falls into my face. She only hugs me harder, squeezing me with everything she has.
“Let her breathe,” Ellis chuckles, and I swear I can see happy tears in his eyes. He scoops me into a hug the second Meggie relinquishes her hold.
My brother smells like home. Like beach afternoons and happiness and whatever hair product he steals from his packmates. His grip nearly lifts me off the floor.
“You did it, Em,” he murmurs, rough and proud. “You fucking did it.”
The pressure I’ve been carrying for years starts to crack apart under his voice, and before I can stop it, a laugh escapes that sounds suspiciously like a sob.
“I’m not crying,” I say into his shoulder, refusing to let go.
“You’re totally crying,” Meggie says. “And you should be. You just won silver at the frickin’ Olympics. This is, like, movie-magic level shit.”
I lean back, blinking against the overhead lights and the blur of cameras flashing all around us. Flags wave. Announcers buzz in the distance. There’s noise and motion everywhere, but this moment—this one right here—feels frozen in time.
For a second, I let myself soak it in. The heat of the spotlights. The wet swimsuit cooling on my back. The faint bite of chlorine in the air. The cheer of the crowd.
I did it.
2
DECLAN
Emily Delainey thinks this is a fling. But it’s not. In my thirty-six years, I’ve learned a thing or two about trusting my gut, and my gut tells me Emily is mine.
Some people rearrange your life the moment they enter it. When you meet people like that, it’s almost like you’re jealous of your future self for knowing them better than you know them now.
It was that way with my best friend Kyle, the man who set me on this path. From the moment I met him, I knew he was going to change my life. And he did. I followed him into the military, then the DEA. I nearly followed him to his grave.
I’m supposed to be working security, but Emily draws my attention like a bullet to a bullseye. She’s leaning over the barrier that divides the crowd from the athletes, hugging the brunette woman I’ve seen her with before. Her smile is so bright it’s almost painful to look at.
