Page 63 of Tied in Knots
“Actually, it is. Whatever is going on with you has affected Faith.”
“Get me Sebastian,” I hiss. There’s nothing for it. I’m going to have to come clean – again. He is going to fucking kill me this time.
“He’s a bit preoccupied,” Harvey snaps.
“Of course he is,” I growl.
“So, you might as well tell me while I’m here.”
I shake my head, eyes closed, jaw tight. “No. I’m only going to say this once. Come and find me when he’s ready.”
I shove past him back into my bedroom, and head for the wardrobe. I pull out a pair of joggers and drag them on, chucking the towel onto my bed to deal with later.
Storming out of the room, leaving Harvey slightly bewildered about what is going on, I march down the stairs and into the kitchen. Searching through several cupboards, it takes me a minute to find the bottle of aged Scotch. When I do, I snatch it up and pour out a glass way larger than an average measure.
Dutch courage.
I’m going to need it. I was hoping this could slide under the radar, but clearly not.
“Faith,” I mutter. “Jesus.” What must she think of me?
“Right,” Sebastian’s voice echoes around the silent kitchen as he kicks the door open. “What the fuck was that?”
I sigh. “It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got time,” he grits out.
“The night that Matt came home, and we decided that Faith was going to be our omega and we would search for her until we found her, I had a feeling it was going to take a while. We had absolutely nothing to go on. No one at the pub even remembered her. How were we going to find her?”
“Thanks for the recap, but get to the part where you’ve fucked up,” Seb growls, interrupting my flow.
I pause, disrupted from what I was saying. “As the days went on and we went around in circles, I knew I had to do something. The rut was coming and there was no way I was dealing with it in the way I usually did. So, I asked one of the omegas that I used to hook up with to get me in touch with her heat suppressant dealer. He gave me the number for a guy who sold me rut suppressants. I know it was…”
“You fucking what?” Sebastian snarls, striding over to me and wrapping his hand around my neck. “You know that shit is illegal.”
“Yes, I’m aware,” I growl back, slapping his hand away. I’ve had about enough of being chastised by Seb. Prime alpha or not, he is still the brother that I never had and vice-versa.
“Ben…” The warning in his tone is unmistakable.
“Listen, I know I fucked up,” I snap. “But youknow, you all know, how I am during a rut. I wouldn’t have been able to help myself and then I’d have been pissed off and hated what I did. I did what I thought was best for me and for Faith. I’m sure she can appreciatethatmore than the bitter disappointment from today.”
“You’d better bloody hope so,” Xander says, quiet and almost a bit pensive. “She was in tears, thinking it was her, that she’d done something wrong.”
That stabs me in the heart so badly, I let out a moan of pain. “Fuck.”
“When did you come off them?” Sebastian barks, all business now.
“About a week ago. I knew I couldn’t stay on them or risk permanent damage, so I came off them. When we found Faith, I thought, Ihopedenough time had passed for them to clear my system, but obviously not.”
“Obviously.”
His scathing tone riles me, but I don’t have a leg to stand on.
“You had better hope tofuckthis is not permanent, Ben, or so help me, I will throw you out of this pack.” His rage rolls off him in waves and I cringe inside. I knew he’d be pissed, but the disappointment I can sense hurts more. His threat would be a punishment worse than death. To be thrown out of a pack would render me useless in our world. I’d be shunned despite my good, old family name.
“I’m sorry. I was trying to do what was right for Faith.”
He pauses storming out of the kitchen and draws in a breath. “You need to apologise to her the instant she wakes up. I don’t care if she sleeps for the next twelve hours. You will wait by her side and before her eyes are even fully open, you will tell her what a fucking dick you are and none of this is her fault.”
