Page 25 of Knot Excused
My Alpha wolf is rebelling against what I did to my Omega.
Splashing water on my face, I stare at myself in the gas station bathroom.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen what’s looking back at me.
Haggard, drawn face with dark circles under my eyes.
Lank and greasy blonde hair hanging around my face.
Still in the same clothes I was wearing two days ago.
My wedding clothes.
Cressida has been texting me non-stop, but I can’t manage to make myself respond.
She’s telling me things like that I’m so strong and thoughtful to go through with this marriage, to do my best for my Omega.
But I know it’s a lie.
I’m not a good man at all. I was a selfish bastard. What was between Cressida and I should have stopped the minute I committed to our Omega.
What did Piper see? What did she hear?
If she saw what happened, did she hear what I said to Cressida?
The questions haunt me and I don’t have any answers.
Rook has sent scouts all through the country, even to the farthest edges. And we have been back and forth ourselves, crisscrossing the land over and over. We’re a small but prosperous country and I feel like we’ve seen every inch of it over the past two days.
We know at least that she hasn’t crossed the border.
She’s somewhere. Near? Far? I just don’t know and it’s maddening.
Since I’m the most sensitive tracker, I’m directing our search.
But I can’t find her
I can catch fragments of Piper’s scent, confusingly cut through with other scents that block my Alpha tracking abilities.
We’ve gone through the Capitol, and every city surrounding it, up and down each street, calling for her and scenting systematically through the Betas and Omegas, feeling the emptiness crush my spine.
She couldn’t have gotten out of the country, could she? Maybe she’s in one of the wild forests on the outskirts beyond the cities.
My blood runs cold.
What if she’s hurt or in danger?
I didn’t know scenting your Fated Mate was going to feel like this.
An all-consuming bodily ache at being apart.
If I’d known, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten so involved with Cressida. Or promised her things I can’t give her now that I’m mated.
I’mfuriousPiper has this much control over me, the ability to drive me to hunt until I find her.
I’m angry at how much I want her now. I’m disgusted at myself for how weakly I’ve fallen.
I try in vain to comb a hand through my hair, my fingers shaking as I do. So I give up and leave the bathroom and run right into my Pack.
