Page 8 of Knot Excused
“There must be some mistake,” I insisted.
Rook sighed, pushing away from his desk and rubbing his eyes.
“We displayed at her scent card,” he said tiredly.
“I don’t even remember it,” I countered. “What did she even smell like? Wouldn’t I remember her scent better if she was really my fated mate?”
“It was a flower of some kind,” Teddy put in, putting his feet up on the other end of Rook’s desk. “It might be even nicer when she perfumes.”
“We get married in a week,” Rook growls, knocking Teddy’s feet off and using his Head Alpha voice to make sure we pay attention. “You’ve all got one week to make your goodbyes. To anyone you need to.”
Cressida
IknowRook feels the same way I do. He knows this marriage is going to be a disaster.
But he’s right, I reflected gloomily as I headed back to my quarters in the palace.
There’s nothing I can do about this. The only thing I can do is make the best of it.
But I’m not married yet.
Abruptly, I turned around and headed to Cressida’s sleek little apartment next to the symphony.
If I only have a week left with her, I plan to make the most of it, while I’ll be dreading each day that draws me closer to a lifetime with Piper.
When I got back, I meet our campaign manager Beatrice coming out of the Palace smoothing her hair.
Hmmm.Looks like someone’s just been fucked.
She nodded to me and as soon I opened the door I came face-to-face with Rook.
“Admit it,” I said.
His tightened lips were like a harsh line across his face.
“I admit it,” he growled. “Happy? I don’t want to be bound to her either and I’m fucking dreading the wedding. But we can’t back out now, can we?”
CHAPTER7
Piper
Ithink at this point I should have some urge to nest, to decorate my quarters, fill my rooms with cozy items that make me happy. After all, I’ve been given a credit card by Rook and assured that it has basically unlimited funds on it. But I haven’t bought anything except some cat food with it.
My Alphas are supposed to be doting on me, but they aren’t doing that at all. In fact, I’ve barely seen them, between Rook being busy with his political campaign, Erain working on an upcoming art competition, and Teddy prepping for football season.
I want to not care, but I feel more trapped every day. If it wasn’t for my kittens, I don’t know what I’d do.
Finding them was the luckiest thing.
I had been wandering around the palace grounds, by myself of course, when I followed a weak little trickling stream and made it all the way to the end of the property. Back here, as far away from the palace as you could get, there was a little cottage next to the boundary line.
I was delighted to see that past the cottage there was a bit of forest. I couldn’t tell how deep it was, butsometrees were better than nothing.
I headed past the house when I was stopped by the sound of mewling.
Curious, I stopped to see where it was coming from, even more interested to see a big pie on a windowsill, suspended in some sort of spindly contraption.
Just as I took an appreciative sniff, a naughty little orange kitten hopped up and shoved the pie all the way over on the ground.
