Page 2 of Tied in Knots
“You can get it next time you visit. Sharon is waiting in the car for me, and I don’t exactly want my little sister around when I take her home.”
“Oh, great,” I mumble, seeing I have no choice. “Just great.”
Ten minutes later, I’m on the last train home, my face pressed to the glass as I wave goodbye to the big city, my stomach tied in knots. I shed a tear to be going home where tomorrow things will be hard and humiliating and humbling.
Please let me find a pack soon. Please, please, please.
ChapterTwo
Sebastian
It is nearing midnight when our beta, Matt strolls into the country manor, on the huge St. James’s estate which we call home. As soon as the door closes, I freeze and inhale deeply.
That scent.
It has my dick going stiff, my knot throbbing at the base. I haven’t even stood up yet from the leather chair behind the large mahogany desk that sits across the far corner of the room, on the ground level of this two-story house.
“Matt,” I call out, rising and going to the door. “Matt!”
He is heading up the sweeping staircase, looking dishevelled like he just got a fucking good shag. He turns and heads closer to me, taking the stairs quickly.
“What is it, Seb?” he asks.
“Where were you?” The urge to grab him and hold him closer to me so I can breathe that scent into my lungs, into mysoulalmost overwhelms me.
“East London pub called the Hand and Dagger. Why? Something up?” He narrows his eyes at me, running a hand through his hair. He is a couple of inches shorter than me, not as well-defined, but a good-looking lad.
Breathing in through my mouth so I don’t jump on him and scare him half to death, I narrow my eyes. “You hook up with someone?”
He gives me a smug, self-satisfied look that grates on my last nerve. “Oh, yeah. Hot, little blonde omega. Railed her in the bathroom and she came all over my dick like a good girl.”
The urge to smash him in the face with my fist overcomes me and I have to clench it at my side to prevent me from breaking his nose. But the need to get a jab in overcomes me anyway. “Guess she was blind drunk to allowyouanywhere near her.”
Matt’s eyes narrow in irritation. He is itching to throw a punch, but he wouldn’t dare. “Well, sorry we can’t all be like you, Seb. Besides, not all omegas like tall, dark and whatever the fuck your face is.”
“Oh, ouch,” I drawl, rolling my light blue eyes in a show of nonchalance which I strictly do not feel.
The scent of that omega is driving me into a state where it is about to throw me into a rut all on its own. I need to find her. I don’t know why or how; all I know is that my primal instinct is driving it.
I make the mistake of drawing in a breath through my nose, and I growl deep and low as the scent hits my senses. She smells like strawberries on a hot summer’s day with honey dripped sparingly over them and a dash of whipped cream.
“Seb?” Xander calls out, running down the elaborate, thick carpeted hallway, to skid to a stop underneath the chandelier where Matt and I are standing. The glint of the crystals is sparkling against the gilt of the stair banister, distracting me momentarily from my alpha pack brother.
Drawing my gaze back to Xander, I watch as he sniffs wildly at Matt, his face uncomfortably close to the beta, his hands stroking Matt’s chest as if he is trying to collect the omega’s scent, making him squirm. Out of the four alphas who live in this house, Xander is the least restrained. As the prime alpha, it is my job to keep him in line and it is sometimes a full-time job.
“Who is she? Where is she?” Xander pants, shoving his blonde hair out of his eyes, where it had fallen all mussed up from his sprint down the long, tapestried hallway from the informal sitting room.
Matt gives him a shove and steps back. “What the fuck, man?” he growls. “Get your face away from me.”
Grabbing onto Xander, I yank him back from the fight that is about to go down. Catching my eye, I see Benjamin leaning over the balcony at the top of the stairs, being overlooked by the full-length portrait of the first ever alpha of the St. James pack. Our pack. Instinctively, I know if I turn my head slightly to the left, I’ll see Harvey loitering. Just to prove to myself that I know, I do it and feel smug when I see the huge, red-headed alpha hanging back slightly, almost afraid to come closer out of fear of what he will do.
I clear my throat. “Well, it seems we have a bit of a dilemma on our hands here. Matt, any chance you could pass along this delectable omega’s name.” It’s worded as a question, but it’s not a fucking question. It is a demand, and one he will give in to if he knows what’s good for him. Our pack is a few weeks away from making a decision on a suitable omega. We have it narrowed down to three candidates, all of whom pale in comparison to this unseen, nameless creature that is driving our senses wild.
“Don’t know it,” he grunts.
“You fucked her without getting her name?” I ask, the scorn in my tone making his cheeks go red with annoyance.
“Wasn’t time. She threw herself at me after I bought her a drink,” he boasts, trying to save face from my derision.
